Humboldt Broncos goaltender Jacob Wasserman has been nominated for the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Top Rookie Award.

“I was pretty excited. Pretty proud of the season I had. It was a good year with a good group of guys. But a little frustrating, obviously, with how I’m doing right now,” Wasserman told Bolt FM before a physiotherapy session at Saskatoon City Hospital.

“I’m pretty happy with how I’m doing, it’s just a lot of work ahead of me yet.”

He posted a record of 14-8-2-3 with his hometown Broncos, recording a 2.60 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. He also helped Team West to a victory at the CJHL Top Prospects Game in Mississauga, Ontario.

His grandfather and uncle were both goaltenders, and Wasserman fell in love with the position the first time he tried it, he said.

“It’s exciting when you’re the last line - if everybody else screws up in front of you, you’ve got to sometimes bail out people. You’ve got lots of guys that can save you, though, too. So it’s just fun.”

He survived the fatal April 6 Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

Goaltending at such a high level is a group effort, he said.

“It’s all the guys ahead of me and the coaching staff I had. They were amazing this year.”

The CJHL Top Rookie Award recipient will be named in the coming days, the league says.