Dan Condon said he “had a point to prove” this season for the Maranacook/Hall-Dale/Winthrop hockey team.

The Winthrop sophomore did that — and much, much more.

Condon scored an Eastern A-leading 37 points after being moved up to forward from defenseman.

“I didn’t expect that at all,” he said of his numbers. “I just wanted to go out there and play my hardest.”

For his accomplishments this season, Condon is the Kennebec Journal Hockey Player of the Year. Linemate Matt Plourde and Cony goalie Matt Swan were also considered.

Condon grew up a defenseman before switching to forward midway through his freshman season with the Hawks. However, he broke his leg during a game in December of that season and missed much of the year.

He returned this season with a renewed purpose, but opened the preseason as a defenseman.

“I started him out on defense earlier this year,” MHW coach Andy Dube said. “I didn’t see a lot of scoring from us so I put him up front hoping he’d put some points up for us. It turned out to our advantage. Right off the bat, within a couple of games, he was scoring, and I knew we’d have a powerful line. You have to have a line that produces and by the third game I knew it was a good move.

“He won quite a few games for us. He scored some clutch goals for us.”

Condon finished with 17 goals and 20 assists in 19 games. He skated on the Hawks’ top line with Jared Hanson and Plourde.

Condon said it took some time to adjust to playing forward.

“It was tough the first year, learning the position,” Condon said. “It was tough learning where to be and when. But after the first year I learned it pretty quick. I still look at myself as a defenseman, though.”

The move to forward gave the Hawks a much-needed boost.

Condon helped the team qualify for the Eastern A playoffs for a third consecutive season. MHW earned the fifth seed and lost in overtime to Cony in the quarterfinals.

“I didn’t expect him to put these kind of numbers up and really be the guy who carried the team,” Dube said. “He really showed his true colors. He’s only a sophomore and so there are parts of his game he needs to work at. His biggest strength is that he can read the play. He sees the game very well and reads the play coming out of the corner. He makes quick decisions, whether it’s a pass or a shot.

“I’m very pleased with how he worked with his linemates, and his leadership was there all year. As a sophomore, it was really unheard of.”

Condon scored plenty of big goals this season, including one with 14 seconds left in regulation that sent the quarterfinal game against Cony into overtime.

“That was the highlight of the year,” Condon said. “It was intense. It was a big moment. The top two lines have to produce and we really worked well together.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com