Monarchs Insider

Manchester – On Monarchs award night a guest star from Los Angeles stepped into the Verizon Wireless Arena spotlight at center ice.

Nashua's Jeff Giuliano, who skated 53 games this season with the LA Kings, was recognized as that club's unsung hero. Giuliano said the selection, which came after a vote of the team's players, came as a complete surprise.

"Total shock for me," said Giuliano, who did not score a goal for the Kings. "It means a lot coming from your teammates. It means a lot because I'm just out there working hard every night. It goes to show they appreciate how hard you work. But, I didn't expect anything like this."

Monarchs captain Gabe Gauthier, who is out with a leg injury, was named the Ace Bailey Most Valuable Player and he was the Monarchs AHL Man of the Year for his charitable work with the Monarchs Care Foundation. For his two seasons here Gauthier has been a "go-to guy" when it comes to work for the team in the city.

The very popular 6-foot-7, rookie center Brian Boyle was voted the New Hampshire Union Leader Fan Favorite Award winner. After taking one for the team playing nearly half the season on defense as a learning experience, the LA Kings finally moved him to offense here and he has flourished. Boyle is the second-leading rookie scorer in the league behind his teammate, rookie Teddy Purcell, who was the top rookie in the league and the all-star game most valuable player.

Center Matt Ryan, a fourth-year pro, was voted the Mark Bavis Unsung Hero by the Monarchs players and Boyle was voted the Booster Club Award winner also.

Giuliano played a career-high 53 games with the Kings after his call-up from Manchester in December. Giuliano is not on the Monarchs playoff roster. He played in.23 games here.

"I have a lot of friends here so that's tough for me," said Giuliano of not coming to play in the AHL playoffs for the first time in six seasons. He is a past Union Leader Fan Favorite Award winner.

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"I would have loved to be in the playoffs here and help these guys out," said Giuliano. "Last year was the most fun I had in hockey in a long time (Manchester reached the Calder Cup semifinals). But (Kings) have a lot of young guys here, prospects who need the experience."

Giuliano is now an unrestricted free agent. He can sign with any team in the NHL. He has 100 career NHL games under his belt. The Kings said they want to talk specifics with Giuliano before the July deadline, most likely in hopes of re-signing him. Giuliano, a product of Boston College and St. Paul's School in Concord, is a noted "energy guy," resilient and rarely injured.

NOTES: To avoid injuries Friday at Providence, Morris rested D Troy Milam, D Peter Harrold, LW Matt Moulson and RW Teddy Purcell ... Past UNH star and Hobey Baker winner Jason Krog, playing for the Chicago Wolves (Atlanta), won the AHL Les Cunningham Award symbolic of the most valuable player. Last season his UNH linemate Darren Haydar won the award while also playing for Chicago.

Kevin Provencher covers the Manchester Monarchs for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News.