Walleye forward Coetzee top vote getter in The Blade's “My Favorite Walleye” online poll

3/23/2013

Toledo Walleye forward Willie Coetzee emerged as the winner of an exclusive online poll as more than 22,000 votes were cast to determine the team's most popular player.

Coetzee was the top vote getter in The Blade's “My Favorite Walleye” online poll. Coetzee, a 22-year-old native of South Africa, will be honored prior to tonight's game against Reading at the Huntington Center.

Coetzee received 10,340 votes or 45.8 percent of the total votes cast. Forward Travis Novak was second with 7,114 votes, followed by defensemen Phil Oreskovic (2,397 votes) and Wes O'Neill (1,307).

There were 22,585 votes cast in the poll which ran from March 6-21. This is the second year The Blade has run the online poll. Forward Riley Emmerson earned the most votes last season.

Coetzee, a highly-skilled, offensive forward, has been Toledo's top producer this season. He leads the team in points (62), goals (27), and assists (35).