The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
journalists
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
writing for
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...
s,
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s and
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...
s. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 voting members.
The association was founded as the National Hockey League Writers' Association, then renamed itself to the Professional Hockey Writers' Association in 1971, to distinguish itself from
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL) teams.
Functions
PHWA members vote for the following seven NHL individual awards:
Hart Memorial Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was dona ...
,
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, formerly known as the Lady Byng Trophy, is presented each year to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of ...
,
Calder Memorial Trophy
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...
,
James Norris Memorial Trophy
The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Ja ...
,
Conn Smythe Trophy
The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general ma ...
,
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL ...
, and
Frank J. Selke Trophy.
[ Members of the National Hockey League Broadcasters' Association vote for the ]Jack Adams Award
The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The league's Coach of the Year award has been presented 47 times to 39 coaches. The winner is selecte ...
(coaching),[ while the NHL ]general managers
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
vote for the Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...
(top goalie).[ Members of the ]National Hockey League Players' Association
NHLPA (french: AJLNH) is the labour union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) located in the United States and Canada. The association re ...
vote for the Ted Lindsay Award
The Ted Lindsay Award, formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players' Association. First awarded in 197 ...
. There are several other NHL awards, including the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award and the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.[
The members of the PHWA also vote for the ]Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award
The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is an accolade presented annually to a print newspaper columnist or reporter in recognition of their achievements covering the game of ice hockey. The award is "to recognize distinguished members of the newspaper ...
, presented by the Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...
to professional hockey writers.
The association is dedicated to "preserving the rights and improving the access for members of the North American–based media who cover the sport of hockey all over the world".
Presidents
List of presidents of the National Hockey League Writers' Association (1966–1971), and the Professional Hockey Writers' Association since 1971:
See also
*List of National Hockey League awards
The National Hockey League presents numerous annual awards and trophies to recognize its teams and players. The oldest, and most recognizable, is the Stanley Cup. First awarded in 1893, the Stanley Cup is awarded to the NHL's playoff champion. ...
* National Sports Media Association
References
{{Reflist
External links
Professional Hockey Writers Association official website
National Hockey League mass media
Ice hockey organizations
American sports journalism organizations
*H
Canadian journalism organizations
Journalism-related professional associations
Organizations established in 1967