Laaouan takes pride in his game

Islanders veteran named league’s top defensive defenceman

Noah Laaouan is rock solid.

The Charlottetown Islanders have known it for years and now the rest of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League agrees.

The 20-year-old Halifax native won the Kevin Lowe Trophy as the league's top defensive defenceman on Wednesday.

“I just take a lot of pride in playing solid defensively and being someone that is hard to play against,” he said. “For me, my game always starts on the defensive side of the puck.”

Laaouan, an associate captain with the Islanders, was quick to thank his teammates and coaching staff for putting him in a position to succeed.

“A lot of what I have been able to achieve has been in wide part thanks to my teammates, especially this year, we were so good … on both sides of the puck,” he said. “But defensively, (with) the D corps we had and with Colten (Ellis) in net, it wasn't just an individual effort. Winning an award like this is a testament to the people around me as well.”

Those comments don't go unnoticed by his head coach. Jim Hulton said Laaouan understands the team concept.

“He gets the fact that when the team does well, the individuals will get recognized, not the other way around.”

The award announcement was made in a video by Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang, who won the award in 2006-07 while playing for the Val-d'or Foreurs. The league released the video Wednesday afternoon after announcing the nominees (Laaouan, Chicoutimi's Louis Crevier and Halifax's Justin Barron) earlier in the day. Laaouan and Barron were teammates throughout minor hockey until they played for different under-18 squads.

Laaouan, who is the first member of the Islanders to win the trophy, said he was shopping when he noticed he had won the award.

“I saw it pop up on my Twitter,” he said. “It was pretty cool to see, exciting news for sure.”

Wednesday was also the first day out of isolation for Laaouan. The Islanders began work-isolation in late January due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were in bubbles in Quebec during the playoffs. Laaouan had to do 14 days of isolation upon returning home to Halifax after the season.

Hulton called Laaouan a wonderful leader who is fun and easy to coach.

“It's really nice to see him get league recognition for the role he played,” he said. “He was an enormous player for us this year. Despite have extremely good numbers, it still feels like there are times that he's somewhat underappreciated.”

And while Laaouan was recognized for his play in his own zone on Wednesday, he isn't a one-trick pony.

He was named as a finalist Thursday morning for the Émile-bouchard Trophy, the league's defenceman of the year award. His D partner Lukas Cormier and Cornwall native Jordan Spence, who played for Moncton and Vald'or this season, were the other finalists. Cornwall was announced as the winner on Thursday afternoon.

“Taking care of my defensive zone first is what I take pride in, but I think it's also led to a lot more chances offensively,” Laaouan said.

Laaouan has a year left of junior eligibility and is expected to play a key role as the Islanders look to compete for their first President Cup title. They came oh so close this year, losing 2-0 (including an emptynet goal) to the Victoriaville Tigres in Game 5 of the bestof-five semifinal. Victoriaville defeated Val-d'or in the final.

“I couldn't really watch much of the final series because (our semifinal) was so close with Victoriaville and you see Victoriaville end up winning it all,” Laaouan said. “That Game 5 was just a matter of one goal. … At the end of the day, we hit a crossbar and they didn't hit the crossbar.”

The initial pain of the loss has dissipated, but it will also help drive the two-way blueliner during the off-season.

“That little bit of sting that we carry with us from this year, with the group that is back, is going to be very good for us next year,” Laaouan said.