honorable mention vs laurels

honorable mention and laurels both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
honorable mention	Yes	No	No	No
laurels	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, laurels is a hypernym of honorable mention; that is, laurels is a word with a broader meaning than honorable mention:

Other hypernyms of honorable mention include accolade, award, honor, honour.

honorable mention (noun)	laurels (noun)
an official recognition of merit	a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
	the state of being honored