You don't have to look much further than Ken Wood's recent cell phone bill to understand the worth of his rookie benchboss.

Just over two months removed from his Coquitlam Adanacs winning the Minto Cup, players are coming out the woodwork to see if there's a spot for them on next season's club.

A big reason behind that spate of phone calls is Curt Malawsky, who was named the B.C. Lacrosse Association's coach of the year last weekend.

"My phone's ringing off the hook from players who want to come play with us this year," Wood said. "When you've got a credible coach with that much experience and that much of a winning record, it makes it so much easier [to recruit]. The guy's record speaks for itself."

The 40-year-old Coquitlam coach officially turned the treble over the weekend by winning the John Cavallin Merit Award, capping off a year that saw the Adanacs win both the league and national titles.

"I've never been in this game for personal accolades, but at the end of the day, it's nice to be honoured by your peers and to be recognized," he said. "I got the prize that we wanted at the end of the season, but to get this one, it's the sort of thing where you look back on down the road at some point."

Malawsky came to an Adanac team that enjoyed a bevy of regular season success under former coach Dan Perreault, and made his mark by instituting new systems and an increased focus on fitness.

"One of the biggest reasons we won the Minto Cup was because of the systems he implemented and the discipline he made us stick to -- whether it was with fitness or making sure we do every little thing right," said outgoing Adanac captain Matt Beers. "He's very intense. The one thing about him is that there's not one guy in the room who wants to win more than him. He's all about the team."

Malawsky entered the season long list of accomplishments and a championship pedigree, after led the Burnaby Lakers to a pair of Minto Cup wins on top of a National Lacrosse League title with the Calgary Roughnecks.

His team waltzed to a 19-1-1 regular season record before dusting off Delta and New West en route to the B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League crown. In late August, the team captured the Minto Cup mantle that had eluded them the previous year after downing the defending champion Orangeville Northmen.

"He looked at what we had and realized that we had to press buttons differently, guys had to think differently, guys had to prepare better and he drove them hard all year to do that," Wood said. "I have never worked around anybody with so much intensity and drive for any one thing. He goes above and beyond. I don't think there is anything in a game that he misses."

The junior Adanacs also hauled off the Martin Merit Award Trainer of the Year Award, which went to Christina Martinello and Teresa Agar, while Coquitlam's Garrett Ungaro and PoCo's Linda Wiseman were given President's awards in recognition of their volunteer work.

The senior Adanacs also got in on the party, as general manager Les Wingrove was handed the Hugh Gifford Merit Award as manager of the year.

"I was kind of surprised to win it to be honest with you," said Wingrove, who's club went 9-9 in the regular season before falling to Victoria.

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