Four Janesville Jets players and head coach Parker Burgess have been awarded with 2021 Midwest Division honors, the league announced on Tuesday.
Charlie Schoen and Cade Destefani were named to the All-Midwest Division Team as forwards, along with Luc Laylin of the Minnesota Magicians, defensemen Karl Falk of the Magicians and Jasper Lester of the Fairbanks Ice Dogs and goaltender Luke Pavicich of the Kenai River Brown Bears.
Schoen and Destefani ended the regular season tied in points for the Jets, both with 45. Schoen posted 27 goals and 18 assists, while Destefani’s points were almost evenly split with 23 goals and 22 assists. Schoen led the team in game-winning goals with eight, and Destefani was Janesville’s top power play helper with six assists. Both were also first and second on the team in shots, with 141 for Destefani and 106 for Schoen. Both received multiple Midwest Division Forward of the Week awards and were named the Bauer Forward of the Month once: Destefani in November and Schoen in April.
Schoen, an Andover, Minn. native in his second season with the Jets, was also named the 2021 Midwest Division Forward of the Year. In addition to leading the division in points, he also came in at No. 16 in the league for the regular season, and added six more points in four playoff games.
Parker Burgess received the high honor of Midwest Division Coach of the Year following his debut season in Janesville. The challenge was no easy one for Burgess, who take the helm of the Jets in the middle of a global pandemic. Despite this, Burgess posted a 31-13-4-0 record (.68 win percentage), led the Jets to their first Midwest Division regular season title since 2017 and helped secure four Division I college commitments.
Forward Jaxson Ezman was the recipient of the 2021 Midwest Division Academic Achievement Award. Ezman displayed his strong academic and athletic prowess when he committed to Ivy League school Princeton in February. Ezman finished his rookie season in Janesville 11th on the team in points with eight goals and seven assists.
Two-time Jets captain Carter Hottmann was given the Midwest Division Leadership Award as he caps a prolific career with the Jets. A home state kid, Hottmann suited up for 155 games total with the Jets and tallied 55 points. Always willing to give back, Hottmann is also a two-time Jets Community Service Award winner. His final game with Janesville on May 29 was his 104th in a row, and Hottmann will go down as a fan favorite and one of Janesville’s longest-tenured players.
The Midwest Division awards come on the heels of the league’s rookie awards, which were announced on Monday. Forward Matt Romer and goaltender Owen Millward represented Janesville on the Midwest Division All-Rookie Team. Romer, an Arizona State commit, was seventh on the team in points for the regular season with 25 in 41 games. He also spent time with the U.S. National Development Team Program in February and got to play against his future team.
Millward saw action in 25 games for the Jets in the regular season and tallied 13 wins, two shutouts and a .901 save percentage. Millward was recently named No. 29 on the list of North American goalie rankings by the NHL and is eligible for the Entry Draft this summer.