This afternoon the Flyers revealed this year’s winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Trophy, awarded to the member of the team that exhibits a lot of very good intangible qualities; stuff like class, kindness, dignity, things of that nature. This award is voted on by the PHWA, so really this is the guy that is nicest to the beats. But that’s okay! Being nice is good!
From the team’s official release:
Originally called “the Class Guy Award,” the honor dates back to the 1976-77 season. It was renamed in 1999 to recognize the memory of the late Yanick Dupre, who passed away at age 24 on August 16, 1997, after a 16-month battle with leukemia.
Laughton has become one of the local media’s go-to players after wins and losses alike. He’s candid and honest in assessing both the team’s performance and his own. Laughton is especially good in terms of between-game media availability in answering questions about attention-to-detail areas of the game.
The Class Guy/ Dupre Award is the second oldest among the Flyers team awards. Only the Barry Ashbee Trophy (best defenseman) has been around longer. By tradition, no player can win the Dupre Award more than once. While many of the winners have been among the stars on the team, it can also be a way to honor well-liked tenured role players and highly respected veterans.
Laughton joins fellow team award winners Travis Konecny (Toyota Cup winner for most points) and Kevin Hayes (Gene Hart Memorial Trophy winner for most heart) on the ever-growing list of Flyers being honored for having an outstanding season this year.
