Winterhawks named WHL Scholastic Team of the Year

The Western Hockey League today announced that the Portland Winterhawks have been awarded the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy as the 2022-23 WHL Scholastic Team of the Year.

This marks the seventh time the Winterhawks have earned WHL Scholastic Team of the Year honors, most recently doing so in the 2018-19 season.

Every player on the Winterhawks’ roster was enrolled in either high school or college coursework this year and the team performed exceptionally in the classroom.

Fifteen players were enrolled in two university courses and all 15 students earned between an 84-98% average in their studies. The credits are transferrable to Canadian and U.S. universities so players can get a head start on higher education before even taking advantage of their WHL Scholarship, a fully-guaranteed academic scholarship with no requirement to play university hockey to qualify, upon graduating from the league.

Eight Winterhawks were enrolled in high school this season, including seven who attended Sunset High in Beaverton, Ore. They were enrolled in classes all morning and arrived at the rink in the afternoon to hit the ice and/or work out. The Winterhawks previously recognized Josh Zakreski, 17, as their Scholastic Player of the Year for achieving a 96% grade in his 11th-grade coursework, including biology, advanced mathematics, and English.

Hear from @pdxwinterhawks education advisor Sue Johnson upon the Winterhawks being named the WHL Scholastic Team of the Year!#WHLAwards pic.twitter.com/SlS6T98C4Y

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 8, 2023

The team also visited Nike, Wieden+Kennedy advertising, and Portland Fire for career-related learning experiences. The “Respect in Hockey” curriculum has been presented to the players accompanied by several speakers who shared their personal stories focusing on diversity and inclusion.

In addition to their work in class, the Winterhawks have continued their commitment to the Portland community this season with volunteer service. The Hawks joined with First Tee, a national youth organization that enables kids to build character and life skills through mentoring and golf, where they were matched with the program’s youth as pen pals and golf partners in a mentor relationship. Winterhawks players also volunteered at the Sunshine Division food bank, worked with youth organizations and visited elementary schools throughout the season.

Back to school, back to school 🎶

The boys hit the books with students at Walker Elementary this morning! 📚 pic.twitter.com/MZ1IeMEzgv

— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) March 2, 2023

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Thank you to our passionate fans and partners for another terrific season of Winterhawks hockey! We can’t wait to see you again this fall. Season tickets are now available for the 2023-24 season!

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