Lefebvre selected IHL MVP

A potentially miserable off-season just became a little more tolerable for Patrice Lefebvre.

The Las Vegas Thunder right wing, who led the league with a team-record 116 points and 89 assists, has been awarded the Gatschene Trophy as the International Hockey League's most valuable player.

"It feels great," Lefebvre said. "It's a good satisfaction, but it's not something I did all by myself. I have to thank my teammates for helping, especially (linemates) Ken Quinney and Jesse Belanger."

The award was voted on by the league's head coaches. Lefebvre received four first-place, four second-place and three third-place votes for 35 points. His closest challenger, Fort Wayne goaltender Bruce Racine, totaled 19 points.

Lefebvre, 31 next month, is the first Thunder player to win the award.

"In evaluation of a player's importance to his team," Thunder general manager Bob Strumm said, "certainly I think the voters were hard pressed to find somebody who did more for their team than he did."

Although Lefebvre earned the inside track for the Gatschene Trophy when he captured his first IHL scoring title, he didn't expect to win the award because of the Thunder's dismal season.

The Thunder completed its worst season in franchise history at 33-39-10 and was eliminated by the Long Beach Ice Dogs in the first round of the Turner Cup playoffs.

Lefebvre also feuded with team management after he asked to be let out of the remaining two years on his contract to play in Europe next season.

"It was a big surprise because usually the MVP award goes to someone on one of the first-place teams," he said. "Considering the year we had this year, this tops the year."

But Strumm claimed the Thunder's tumultuous campaign provided even more reason to grant Lefebvre the honor.

"He had a great year," Strumm said. "Given the type of season the club had and the season he had individually it was a great accomplishment.

"He's had a great career here and he probably was deserving of (the MVP) maybe even prior to this year. But this season he was an obvious choice."

Lefebvre recorded his gaudy numbers despite the fact the first line was not intact for much of the season. Belanger missed 28 games with a knee injury. At the time Belanger went down, he was leading the IHL in goals.

"If we would have kept on going the way we were before Jesse Belanger got hurt, it would have been scary," Lefebvre said. "We probably all would have finished with 100 points at least."

The Gatschene Trophy is the first major award Lefebvre garnered from the IHL, but he is no stranger to prestigious honors. He was inducted last year into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame, ahead of legends such as Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque and Patrick Roy. Lefebvre left the QMJHL as its all-time leading scorer with 595 points from 1984-88.

"A scoring title is great, too. Don't get me wrong," Lefebvre said. "But being the MVP shows what you mean to your team. It shows you the other coaches or GMs see you as a big value to your team."

"What makes it great is that people recognize that."

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