The Crunch's Walcott voted for the winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award | TheAHL.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that the Syracuse Crunch forward Daniel Walcott was chosen as the winner of Yannick Dupré Memorial Award in 2023-24.

The award has been presented annually since 1998 to an AHL player for outstanding contributions to his community and charitable organizations. The winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award is chosen by the AHL and its representatives IOA again An American Specialty among the honorees for each of the 32 Man of the Year categories.

In his ninth season with the team, Walcott is a five-time recipient of the Crunch's IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award, who has consistently worked with various organizations to become a socially aware and active member of the Syracuse community. Since 2018, he has worked with PEACE, Inc. Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, they form a long-term mentoring bond with their “little” Jeremiah, helping the young person with responsibilities at school and at home. Walcott was recently a keynote speaker at OnTECH Charter High School to talk to Jeremiah and his classmates about careers and leadership.

Walcott's strong relationship with his teammates and Crunch fan base is evident as he continues to be a leader in the organization's efforts to support the greater Syracuse community. In November, Walcott led the team's Change for Change program, joining teammates Felix Robert and Shawn Element to raise more than $10,000 for cancer research. He also led the way to rally his fellow players to raise money for Crunch's premier fundraiser, Crunch At Your Service, to help raise money for the Crunch Foundation and the Kinney Drugs Foundation. Walcott continues to work with local youth hockey programs, including running a summer camp — along with former Crunch PC Labrie — designed to promote healthy lifestyle education for young athletes.

Walcott also works closely with the Crunch front office each season to develop video ideas that will entertain fans, providing an opportunity to get to know the players off the ice. This season, Walcott helped bring the team to the recording studio where the players produced “12 Days of Crunchmas” and released the song on all streaming platforms.

A native of Ile-Perrot, Que., Walcott has made Central New York his home, and is the Crunch franchise's all-time leader with 443 games played.

The annual AHL Player of the Year award is named after the deceased Yannick Dupré, who died in 1997 at the age of 24 after a 16-month battle with leukemia. A second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1991, Dupré played four seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears and was an AHL All-Star in 1995.

Active since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and over the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honorary members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.