The long list of candidates for the Hobey-Baker Trophy was unveiled Thursday, and three hopefuls for the Montreal Canadiens are on it.
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This honor makes it possible to honor the student athlete par excellence in American college hockey every year. The winner will be determined by a selection committee and a public vote.
The first list of 82 candidates was published on the Hobey-Baker Trophy Foundation website. They include goalkeeper Jakub Dobes, defender Lane Hutson and forward Sean Farrell, three players drafted by the Habs.
Dobes, a 2021 fifth-round pick, is in his second season with Ohio State University in the Big 10 conference. This season he has an outstanding 15-8-1 record, a .920 save percentage and a goals-against-average of 2.20.
For his part, Farrell picked up where he left off after excelling in his first campaign with the program at Harvard University. He leads his team in goals (10) and points (25) just under three years after being ranked 124th at the 2020 amateur auction.
Finally, Hutson is arguably the CH hope who has shed the most ink since the Montreal organization picked him at the end of the second round of the final repechage. The short, attacking defenseman already has eight goals and 22 points in 20 games with Boston University — one of the best starts to a season in NCAA history for an 18-year-old guard.
Other names vying for attention include Montreal’s Devon Levi (Northwestern University) and top contenders Cutter Gauthier (Boston College), Adam Fantilli and Luke Hughes (University of Michigan).
The identity of the Hobey Baker recipient will be announced on April 8th.
In 2022, goaltender Dryden McKay, now a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, received this honor. A certain Cole Caufield was the lucky winner in 2021.