Caleb Schroer knows what it’s like to have to scramble just to get into a North American Hockey League lineup.

That made receiving the NAHL Midwest Division Most Valuable Player and Forward of the Year awards particularly satisfying for Schroer, a Coulee Region Chill forward who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Sunday.

“I’m not going to lie. I was proud,” Schroer said of when he learned about the award. “I put in a lot of hard work. I put a lot of years into this sport. It’s great to see when your hard work pays off.”

Schroer, the NAHL’s fourth-leading scorer, understands that he did not do it alone.

“We had a really good club,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that had to fall into place for me to get that award. We had a lot of good players.

“It wasn’t just me carrying the award.”