2019 NHL Fan Choice Awards winners deserve all the treats

The 2019 NHL Fan Choice Awards winners have been announced.

The 2019 NHL Fan Choice Awards winners have been announced, and they all deserve treats in our opinion.

But especially deserving among the National Hockey League’s brightest and shiniest are all the good boys and girls in the Best Dog and Best Team Dog categories.

The “Best Dog” referred to a dog belonging to a player, while “Best Team Dog” referred to dogs officially tied to the organization, either as a guide dog in training or for promotional or morale purposes.

Claiming the title of Best Dog was the smol fluffer (to use the ) of Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin, who helped his dad get some extra practice before the playoffs started. They earned 39 percent of the vote.

Ralph the Shiba Inu’s post wishing his dad, Chicago Blackhawks right wing Alex DeBrincat, a happy birthday, was the runner up in this category after earning 25 percent of the vote. Ralph has his own Instagram at @ralph_debrindog, where his adventures can be followed.

San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Eduard Vlasic’s post about his offseason training bike ride with his Golden Retrievers was third, earning 22 percent of the vote.

Coming in fourth with 15 percent of the vote was Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jacob Slavin’s dogs Simba and Lola dressed as Minions from the Despicable Me franchise.  They can be followed on Insta with the handle @twofloofydoodles.

Also worth mentioning: the Hurricanes won “Best Celly” (celebration) for “The Surge,” which should make Carolina fan Moose McCreery pretty happy, and Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (Bark-Andre Furry’s namesake) won Save of the Year, which should make Bark, Goldie and Sir Winston pretty happy.

Washington Capitals center Alexander Ovechkin, who Ovie the Bulldog was named after, also claimed several awards as well.

Winning the Best Team Dog award, with 40 percent of the vote, was the St Louis Blues‘ Barclay the Labrador. This is really no surprise, given that he became the internet’s favorite of the team dogs, and given his extensive air time during the playoffs as St Louis won the Stanley Cup. He can be followed on Instagram at @STLBluesPup.

All four Team Dog nominees were Labs, incidentally.

In second was the original team dog, Ranger of the New York Rangers, with 26 percent of the vote. His Twitter/Instagram handle is @NYRangersPup.

In third was the only Canadian entry, Rookie of the Ottawa Senators. He got 18 percent of the fans’ votes. His Instagram handle is @RookieTheSensPup.

Finally, Radar of the New York Islanders was a little under it, receiving just 16 percent of the vote.

Congratulations to all the great puppers who were nominated or became 2019 NHL Fan Choice Awards winners! We are firmly of the opinion that there really should have been a category for Best Fan Dog, though.

The full alphabetical list of categories for the 2019 NHL Fan Choice Awards was as follows: Best Beard, Best Bromance, Best Celly, Best Dog, Best Dressed, Best Fan Video, Best Feel Good Moment, Best Follow, Best Goalie Mask, Best Halloween Costume, Best Handshake, Best Hockey Smile, Best #HockeyTwitter Moment, Best Mascot, Best Team Dog, GIF of the Year, Goal of the Year, Save of the Year, Top Hidden Talent, Top Team Video.

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