Neville Named SPHL Defenseman of the Year
April 13, 2020 - 12:30 pm
Neville Named SPHL Defenseman of the Year
Neville becomes third Rivermen to win Defenseman of the Year award
Peoria, IL – On Monday afternoon, the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) announced that Nick Neville has been named SPHL Defenseman of the Year. This, along with all SPHL awards, was voted upon by players, coaches, and media across the league.
Neville, 26, becomes the third Rivermen in SPHL history to win the award, joining Dave Pszenyczny (17-18) and Brandon Greenside (15-16). Nick was a finalist for the award last season when Fayetteville’s Travis Jeke took home the honors.
In 46 games this season, Neville scored six goals and collected 35 points to lead all SPHL defensemen in scoring. He also finished with the league’s second-best plus/minus, with a +21 rating. The 5’11”, 190lb defender played in every game for the Rivermen this season, including a Sunday afternoon contest in February against Knoxville where he scored the overtime winner.
“It’s a huge honor to win it, but I’m really just a product of a system put in place by Jean-Guy Trudel,” said Neville. “He gave me the opportunity I needed to be successful. I’m grateful to have him as a coach and I also have to thank my teammates. Without them, this award isn’t coming to Peoria. Any individual award comes from a team effort. I also need to give a shout out to my defense partner Ben Oskroba for being rock solid all season.”
For parts of the last four seasons, Neville has spent time with the Peoria Rivermen. A Michigan native and former NCAA-DI blue liner at the University of Denver, Neville began his pro career in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays before going to the Reading Royals. He has spent all of the past two seasons in Peoria. All told, Neville has 76 points in 113 SPHL regular season games.
