FPHL 
OFFICIAL SITE OF THE
FEDERAL PROSPECTS HOCKEY LEAGUE
SINGLE A MINOR PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY
SITARSKI, FISH, TALLIEU, & WILKALIS RECIPIENTS OF 2023-24 WAYNE BONNEY TOP CREW AWARD
Binghamton, NY - The Federal Prospects Hockey League has announced Referee’s Jonathon Sitarski and Adam Fish along with Linesmen John Tallieu and Andrew Wilkalis have been named the recipients of the 2023-24 Wayne Bonney Top Crew Award.
This award honors the seasons top 4 selected on-ice officials (2 Referee’s & 2 Linesmen). It is in Honor of Wayne Boney, a retired National Hockey League Linesman. His NHL career started in 1979 after a brilliant career with the WHA, and ended in 2004. During his career (in which he wore a helmet from the mid-1980s until his retirement), he officiated 2,470 regular season games (both WHA and NHL), 134 playoff games, five Stanley Cup finals, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and one All-Star game. From the 1994-95 NHL season until his retirement, he wore uniform number 94. He also became the first NHL official to wear a visor.
FPHL Director of Officiating Paul Jene gave a statement on this years Top Crew Recipients saying, “The staff did a great job this year. There was defiantly some hiccups during the season and everyone learned from those errors, thats just part of the job. But the top guys in the league stepped it up and showed their leadership. Although this award only recognizes a handful of officials, there were a number of guys that were deserving this season." Jene further added, “Our staff during the playoffs knocked it out of the park. Very proud of my the guys and their professionalism. This was undoubtedly one of the best playoffs in the history of the league and everyone was on their game for it."
All four officials gave statements upon receiving the news.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
JONATHON SITARSKI - Referee
Jonathon Sitarski is the first 2 time recipient of the Wayne Bonney Top Crew Award. Sitarski stated, "I am honored to receive this award for the second time. We as officials rarely receive recognition for all the hard work we do. It is definitely an uplifting feeling to be recognized in a sport that scrutinizes officiating the way it does.” Sitarski added, "This was my 5th year officiating games in this league. I have seen very positive steps being taken to improve the officiating aspect of the FPHL and I hope that these positive strides continue to attract officials from all levels of hockey to come be a part of the league."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ADAM FISH - Referee
Adam Fish stated, “I would like to say "thank you" to all the staff that I got to work with this year. The officials in this league are some of the best. I am looking forward to getting back on the ice with all of you in the upcoming 24-25 season. Great work by all the staff this year!"
Adam also currently is an official for the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA - NCAA D3). Adam also has a lot of veteran experince working in the NAHL & USHL with the USA Hockey Officiating Development program & Western Hockey League (WHL). He has also worked NCAA D1 in the CCHA and his other Professional career has had him work in other leagues such as the CHL, IHL, UHL, ECHL & SPHL.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
JOHN TALLIEU - Linesman
John Tallieu stated, "I just wanted to thank Paul and all of our supervisors in the FPHL. It has been exciting to work this league with some of my old friends and also exciting to work with new officials and help mentor some of them in their path with officiating. I look forward to working many more years in the FPHL!"
John has also worked in the American Hockey League (AHL) & the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ANDREW WILKALIS - Linesman
Andrew Wilkalis stated, "I’m honored to receive the Wayne Bonney award alongside John Tallieu, Jon Sitarski, and Adam Fish. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and teamwork that we, as officials, bring to the game. Thank you Wayne Bonney for setting the standard of excellence in officiating that we all strive to achieve. Thank you to my family, friends, and mentors for their unwavering support."
Andrew is also currently an official in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The FPHL congratulates the outstanding on ice work, effort, and ethics of these officials as well as all the hard work the entire on ice officiating staff put into this past season.
The FPHL is a Single A Minor Professional hockey league and will be entering its 15th season in the fall of 2024.