Published Oct 30, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 6\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 2 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Only one Winnipeg Blue Bomber is up for a CFL player award this year, but he was so good he could come home with two.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. 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Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Kick returner Trey Vaval, who played a little defence on the side, is a finalist for the Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player awards.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The league finalists were unveiled on Thursday, just hours before the Bombers boarded a plane to Montreal, where they take on the Alouettes in a crossover East Division semifinal on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n Vaval will play a key role in the game and again during Grey Cup week in Winnipeg, regardless of what happens on Saturday. But first things, first.<\/p>\n The 25-year-old from Blue Springs, Mo., didn\u2019t dress for the final regular-season game and earlier this week said the rest did wonders for him.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel amazing, man. I for sure needed that,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the most games I\u2019ve ever played in a season. I had a month-long camp, two pre-season games. So yeah, I sure needed that rest. I for sure felt it in my body.\u201d<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The most games Vaval ever played in a college year was 14, two of them playoff games.<\/p>\n The pressure of a win-or-go-home scenario doesn\u2019t seem to bother him.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing is guaranteed,\u201d he said. \u201cSo not taking nothing for granted. There\u2019s a lot of people that have been to Grey Cups and made runs in the playoffs here, so I\u2019m just trusting my guys around me and just following them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s exciting for me. I don\u2019t really feel nervous. I like big games. I like the pressure. So no nerves in this. I\u2019m just super juiced.\u201d<\/p>\n Vaval will stack up his league-leading four return touchdowns against Canadian linebacker Devin Veresuk of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the top rookie award.<\/p>\n Veresuk, the second-overall pick in this year\u2019s draft, burst onto the scene with 67 tackles, two quarterback sacks, an interception for a touchdown and a fumble recovery for another major.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Vaval chipped in 21 tackles and an interception for the Winnipeg defence.<\/p>\n For the top special teams player award, he\u2019ll face competition from a former Bomber, Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, who booted an Argos record 57 field goals, the fifth-best total in CFL history. Hajrullahu\u2019s 12 field goals from 50 yards or more was also a record.<\/p>\n The rest of Winnipeg\u2019s nominees were shut out from the awards, including Brady Oliveira as most outstanding player and top Canadian, both trophies he won last year.<\/p>\n B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke is the West nominee in both categories this time.<\/p>\n Rourke will face Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell for the top prize, and is up against Montreal D-lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund for the best Canadian award.<\/p>\n The top defensive player will be either Mathieu Betts of B.C. or Julian Howsare of Hamilton.<\/p>\n While Winnipeg\u2019s Stanley Bryant isn\u2019t up for another top O-lineman award, his former teammate, Jermarcus Hardrick of Saskatchewan, is. The East nominee is the Ticats\u2019 Brandon Revenberg.<\/p>\n The coach-of-the-year finalists are Corey Mace of the Riders and Jason Maas of the Alouettes.<\/p>\n Awards night is the Thursday of Grey Cup week at the Club Regent Event Centre.<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-251501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Rooke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Trey-VavalOnline-e1749609759234.jpg\")
Kick returner Trey Vaval, who played a little defence on the side, is a finalist for the Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player Awards. Photo by Winnipeg SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.8.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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