It’s that time of the year again, New Jersey hockey fans!
With the 2018-2019 season now closed, Jersey Sports Zone is excited to announce the four finalists for our Player of the Year award, voted on by dozens of New Jersey high school coaches and credible members of the media.
The winner of the Player of the Year award will be announced Monday, March 25 at our All-State hockey banquet hosted by the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
So without further adieu, here are the finalists:
Michael Balzarotti, Delbarton
No player in New Jersey received more attention for a single goal this season than Delbarton’s Michael Balzarotti. The Green Wave senior undressed a pair of defenders in the Gordon Cup semifinals and the goal was featured as the No. 3 play on the Feb. 14 edition of SportsCenter and was shown on MSG and other popular social media accounts. But there’s more to Balzarotti than just this one goal — he led the Green Wave in scoring with 29 goals and 36 assists and leaves Morristown as a two-time state champion:
Jude Kurtas, Hillsborough
The numbers are eye-popping. 57 goals, 55 assists for 112 points. Jude Kurtas took Hillsborough to new heights. The junior helped the Raiders reach the Prudential Center and the state finals for the first time in school history. We’ll be posting our Jude Kurtas feature later on tonight on JSZ
Liam McLinskey, Don Bosco Prep
Imagine being committed to a Top-10 nationally-ranked hockey program and by some people, not be considered your team’s top threat? Well, Liam McLinskey proved the doubters wrong. He led Don Bosco Prep to it’s first state title in school history behind a team-high 76 points and truly clutch play in the final month of the season:
Tyler Sedlak, Don Bosco Prep
To put it plainly, Don Bosco Prep’s Tyler Sedlak is a stone-cold assassin on the ice. His ability to shoot the puck with deadly accuracy and elite speed made him arguably New Jersey’s most feared scorer. His 40 goals were a team-high and it was Sedlak’s dominant play that was a major component to Don Bosco Prep winning a state championship for the first time in 54 years:
