SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch are proud to announce that Daniel Walcott has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Syracuse community during the 2017-18 season.
Throughout the season, Walcott has worked with a variety of organizations to become a socially informed and active member of the Syracuse community. During the holiday season, he joined his teammates in decorating ornaments that were sold to support the team’s Change for Change campaign benefitting Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. He also participated in the team’s Molson Canadian/Miller Lite Celebrity Bartending Series to raise funds for local charities. This season, the team brought back Crunch At Your Service, a fan-favorite fundraising event. The event requires players to compete for tips through dancing, karaoke and additional antics all for a charitable cause. Walcott was one of the top fundraisers at the event and encouraged his teammates and fans to donate to the Crunch Foundation and the American Heart Association.
Throughout his three years in Syracuse, Walcott has adopted a sense of social responsibility and his outreach has extended beyond hockey. For the past two seasons, he has worked with the team chaplain and hockey missionary, Steve Birch, to visit young inmates in the John C. Dillon Public Safety Building. The pair meets with 45 teenagers serving long-term sentences for serious crimes. In these sessions, Chaplain Birch discusses spirituality, while Walcott speaks about overcoming adversity, staying disciplined and reaching goals. In addition, he has joined Syracuse Police for ride alongs to learn more about the community.
This season, Walcott also visited a group of 10 children in the Hillbrook Juvenile Detention Center to speak about his life as an athlete, encourage them to strive to be their best and offer an opportunity to play hockey in the gym. He helped expose the sport to a group of kids facing an opportunity to change their path.
During his time in Syracuse, Walcott has built relationships with a number of fans and corporate partners. He has spent time at different schools, organizations and community centers, including Canton Woods Senior Center and numerous youth hockey practices. He also visited French Clubs and local high schools to speak about being bilingual and cultural diversity.
Walcott’s positive energy and willingness to interact with fans makes him a favorite in Syracuse. He consistently volunteers to participate in team events and he motivates his teammates to do the same. He worked with the front office this season to develop new ideas, such as the Locker Room Karaoke Battles video series. His involvement with the community and fans make him a great role model on the team and a positive representative of the Syracuse Crunch organization.
Walcott is now one of 30 finalists for the AHL’s 2017-18 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League at a later date.
