BY RANDY SCHULTZ—
The Fifth Annual Tyler Putnam Awards were recently held at the Whitter House in Rochester. This year’s event honored 26 players from 26 high schools and hockey programs from around the Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse area and hosted another record breaking 300+ people. It was a great experience for all involved and raised thousands of dollars for local charities.
The recipients were:
Corey Lewis, Aquinas Institute; Max McHale, Irondequoit High School; Rene Gangarosa, Brighton High School; A.J. Hussar, Monroe County Youth Hockey; Alex Spoto, McQuaid Jesuit High School; Mitchell Culver, Rochester Junior Monarchs; Kyle Huber, Canandaigua Youth Hockey; Andrew Della Donna, Syracuse Nationals 04 AAA.
Ryan Briggs, Victor High School; Josh Brown, NewEdge Hockey Development Academy; Marco Viola, Penfield High School; Jason Vent, Webster Thomas High School; Sirena Fitzery, Frontier/Lakeshore/Orchard Park High School Girls Hockey Team; Angel Bennett, Rochester Edge; Brandon Drexler, Webster Youth Hockey; Keegan Ahern, Rochester Grizzlies 06 Coalition.
Jonathan Newcombe, Fairport High School; Chris Schwarm, Greece Olympia High School; Morgan Bronstein, Pittsford High School; Darrick Smith, Rush Henrietta High School; Peter Taccone, Brockport High School; Sam Sedia, Hilton High School; Justin Gibb, Webster Schroeder High School; Brennan Lee, Rochester Youth Hockey.
Noah Schwartz, Canandaigua High School; Victor Benjovsky, Tri-County Youth Hockey.
Winner of the Joshua Opladen Goaltender Award was Mason Burdick, Monroe County Youth Hockey.
Tyler Putnam’s dream was to play for his High School Hockey team, The Irondequoit Eagles, Junior Hockey, Division I Hockey and ultimately Professional Hockey. Tyler was able to realize two of those dreams, having played for The Irondequoit Eagles as an eighth and ninth grader and then with the Maksymum Junior team here in Rochester, NY.
At the conclusion of his first Junior season, Tyler was well on his way of realizing his next dream as he was offered roster spots on five Junior A teams from Rochester, Minnesota to San Diego, California.
In July of 2011, Tyler’s hockey dreams ended tragically when he died of an illness called “meningococcemia”, which is an infection that affects the bloodstream. Tyler Putnam was known for his high energy, incredible work ethic, and desire to achieve his goals.
Tyler has been memorialized with a banner hanging above the ice at a local hockey arena as well as by a memorial helmet sticker that dawns the symbol of a hard hat – a symbol of Tyler’s hard work and dedication to the game that he loved.
The NewEdge Hockey Training Company awards a Tyler Putnam Award to each player from the above listed organizations and programs who exemplifies hard work, commitment, and dedication to the game of hockey.
