Colorado Eagles’ forward Johnny Lazo is the CCM ECHL Rookie of the Month for January.The 27-year-old scored nine goals, added three assists and was a +7 in nine games during the month.Lazo scored at least one point in five of his nine games, and had three points three different times. He tallied two goals and added an assist in a 5-1 win at Rapid City on Jan. 22 and in a 7-2 victory over Alaska on Jan. 30 while notching his first professional hat trick in a 6-3 win against Utah on Jan. 27.A native of Winnipeg, Lazo joined the Eagles on Jan. 5 after starting the season with Vipiteno of Italy’s A League, where he tallied 35 points (16g-19a) in 22 games.Lazo spent the previous five seasons with the University of Alberta, recording 132 points (55g-77a) in 136 games. Prior to joining the Golden Bears, he tallied 170 points (76g-94a) in 217 career games with Tri-City of the Western Hockey League. Runners Up: Derek Arnold, Manchester (13 gp, 7g, 4a, 11 pts.), Greg Chase, Norfolk (7 gp, 7g, 3a, 10 pts.) and Justin Crandall, Reading (13 gp, 2g, 12a, 14 pts.).Also Nominated: Chris Rumble (Evansville), Justin Hamonic (Fort Wayne), Tommy Fallen (Idaho), Cody Sharib (Indy), Tanner Fritz (Missouri), Ryan Massa (Orlando), Austin Coldwell (Quad City), Tyler Sikura (Toledo), Josh Macdonald (Utah) and Cody Wydo (Wheeling).
PREVIOUS WINNERS
MONTH | PLAYER | TEAM |
October | Steve Michalek | Quad City Mallards |
November | Vitek Vanecek | South Carolina Stingrays |
December | C.J. Motte | Elmira Jackals |