Thursday, March 19, 2015

10 Named Hobey Baker Finalists

All six conferences represented among top 10 for prestigious award.

10 Named Hobey Baker Finalists
Cody Wydo led Robert Morris to its first regular-season Atlantic Hockey championship.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award announced the list of 10 finalists for the 2015 honor, a group selected by voting by all 59 Division I head coaches and online fan balloting. The finalists are:

  • Daniel Ciampini, Union
  • Jack Eichel, Boston University
  • Matt Garbowsky, RIT
  • Zach Hyman, Michigan
  • Tanner Kero, Michigan Tech
  • Joey LaLeggia, Denver
  • Zane McIntyre, North Dakota
  • Mike Reilly, Minnesota
  • Jimmy Vesey, Harvard
  • Cody Wydo, Robert Morris

Nine of the 10 finalists are in action this weekend at their respective conference tournaments, with 2014 NCAA champion Daniel Ciampini the lone exception. All six conferences have at least one representative in the group, with Atlantic Hockey (Garbowsky, Wydo), Big Ten (Hyman, Reilly), ECAC Hockey (Ciampini, Vesey) and NCHC (LaLeggia, McIntyre) each boasting two finalists.

A 27-member selection committee made up of coaches, media and NHL scouts will choose the 2015 recipient of the award from this group of 10 finalists. Criteria for the award include: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements. The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on April 2.

The award, which honors college hockey’s top player, will be presented on Friday, April 10, at historic Matthews Arena. Hobey Baker – a former Princeton star and decorated World War I veteran – played at Matthews Arena, then known as Boston Arena, shortly after its construction in 1910. The announcement will be televised live by NESN and NHL Network.