Burnaby/Surrey/Chilliwack – There are 11 BCHL alumni up for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, as announced by the voting committee today.
Given annually to the top player in NCAA men’s hockey, the Hobey Baker recognizes players for their excellence on the ice but also for their academic achievement and community contributions.
At this stage of the process, there are 66 players eligible and fans can vote once per day for their choice via the Hobey Baker Facebook page. BCHL alums up for votes right now are:
|
Name |
NCAA program |
BCHL Team(s) |
Hometown |
|
Michael Garteig |
Quinnipiac |
Powell River Kings, Penticton Vees |
Prince George, B.C. |
|
Danton Heinen |
Denver |
Surrey Eagles |
Langley, B.C. |
|
Mario Puskarich |
Vermont |
Langley Rivermen |
Fort Walton Beach, Fla |
|
Luke Juha |
Penn State |
Vernon Vipers |
Mississauga, Ont. |
|
Max French |
Bentley |
West Kelowna Warriors |
West Kelowna, B.C. |
|
Mitch Gillam |
Cornell |
Chilliwack Chiefs |
Peterborough, Ont. |
|
Tyler Morley |
Alaska |
Surrey Eagles |
Burnaby, B.C. |
|
Kevin Boyle |
UMass-Lowell |
West Kelowna Warriors |
Manalapan, NJ |
|
Alex Petan |
Michigan Tech |
Coquitlam Express |
Delta, B.C. |
|
Jordan Masters |
Arizona State |
West Kelowna Warriors |
Rochester, NY |
|
Jamie Phillips |
Michigan Tech |
Powell River Kings |
Caledonia, Ont. |
Criteria for choosing the finalists is weighted with fan voting accounting for a minority percentage. The list will be narrowed to 10 finalists as the road to the NCAA Frozen Four begins. A ‘Hobey Hat Trick’ of three players will be announced after that with the winner ultimately being named during the Frozen Four, happening this year from April 7 to 9 at Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Former BCHLers to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award are Ryan Duncan (North Dakota, 2007), Jason Krog (New Hampshire, 1999), Brendan Morrison (Michigan, 1997) and Paul Kariya (Maine, 1993). Other notable names to win are Neal Broten (1981), George McPhee (1982), Chris Drury (1998), Ryan Miller (2001), Matt Carle (2006), Johnny Gaudreau (2014) and Jack Eichel (2015).
