St. Dom’s forward Jon Rutt has been one of the top skaters in Maine high school hockey for three years. This year, his 24 goals and 23 assists place him among the leaders in Western Class A, and that total led the second-ranked Saints.
Now, Rutt is among an even more elite class – he is a candidate to become the third St. Dom’s recipient of Maine high school hockey’s most prestigious award, the Travis Roy Award.
“Obviously it means big things for the players that win it,” said Rutt. “It would be an honor to win. It’s just an honor to be in the final three.”
Since 1996, the award is given annually to the top high school senior in Maine based not only on skills on the ice, but on grades and community leadership as well.
“For three years, Jon has been a solid varsity athlete for this team,” said coach Bob Boucher. “His creativity with the puck and his ability to create with his linemates is great, and he is a solid player defensively as well. But the award is more than on the ice. It’s based on sportsmanship and academics, too, and his 3.2 grade-point average proves he does well in the classroom.”
“I guess I had strong finish,” said Rutt. “(The season) started out slow for me, but I seem to have found a groove with my scoring and my shot lately.”
According to Boucher, this year’s list of candidates was strong, and Rutt deserved to be nominated as one of the top three.
“I had heard some names kicked around in rumors,” said Rutt, “but I hadn’t heard my name as one of those. I was shocked when they told me.”
Brian Toussaint of St. Dom’s won the award in its inaugural year, 1996, and Joe Dumais won in 2001.
Last year, Edward Little forward Kyle Smith was that school’s second award winner in three years, joining Josh Benson. Waterville has also had two award recipients, Chad and Nate Hart in 1999 and 2003.
The other finalists are Bangor goaltender Aaron Buzzel and Falmouth forward Peter Gustavson.
Buzzel, an All-State goalie for two years, continues to set records for Bangor. He holds the all-time goals-against-average record at Bangor with a 2.19 average and a save percentage of .931. Buzzell also holds the Rams’ record for wins with 36, and plans on playing junior hockey next year. His Rams are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Class A playoffs.
Gustavson led all Western Class A players with 54 points in 20 games, and led the Falmouth Yachtsmen to a surprising 13-6-1 record and No. 4 seed in the Western Class A tournament.
“Peter brings a lot of intangibles to our team” said Falmouth coach Scott Rousseau. “He has an outstanding work ethic and serves as an example to the younger players in the program. His senior leadership has been as important as his scoring to the success of the team.”
He will graduate as the most accomplished player in Falmouth hockey history, holding records for most goals in a season, most goals in a career, and most points in a career at Falmouth.
The Travis Roy Award will be handed out on Sunday, March 20, one week following the state title games, at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in Lewiston.
Comments are no longer available on this story