Mar 13, 2009 - 10:15 AM

By Brian McNair

The announcement of Brett Parnham as the fans' choice for the Oshawa Generals' most valuable player this season offered about as much surprise as the way the blockbuster movie, Titanic, ended.

And there's no doubt Parnham is a deserving winner; after all, he's scored exactly one-third of the team's goals since a certain superstar was traded away to the London Knights at the deadline, and hit the 50-goal mark Wednesday on a team whose next best sniper has a mere 16.

But it's not necessarily a slam-dunk win for Parnham on this club, no matter what the final tally may have said (attempts to get the voting numbers from the Oshawa Generals were unsuccessful).

Calvin de Haan should have received serious consideration for the award as well.

Just as Parnham has done a fabulous job picking up the slack left by the loss of John Tavares, de Haan has stepped up and made the blue-line his own in the wake of Michael Del Zotto's departure.

In fact, a case could be made for de Haan having been the team's best defenceman even prior to the blockbuster deal with London.

There's no question now.

A third-round pick of the Generals in 2007, de Haan spent last season playing Tier 2 in Kemptville, where he not only grew in a hockey sense, but physically as well, sprouting from 5-foot-9 to about 6-feet while gaining some 15 pounds.

He's still no bruiser, to be sure, but he's as intelligent a hockey player as they come, a swift-skating, sweet-passing defenceman who rarely makes a bad decision and compensates for his 170 pounds by gaining proper positioning on his opponents.

Statistically, he's scored seven goals and added 54 assists and, as of Thursday morning, was tied for fifth among OHL blue-liners with 61 points, along with Del Zotto, who's surrounded by a fair bit more talent.

He's also sixth among OHL rookies in points, with four of the five players ahead of him a year older than he.

But, the most telling stat where the Generals are concerned is de Haan's +3, accomplished despite oodles of ice time on a team in which only one other current player (Nick Esposto) is a plus. Parnham, for comparison's sake, is -24.

So it's safe to say that if the Generals are to grab a playoff spot with their two remaining games this weekend, it will be de Haan as much as Parnham leading the way.