Edmontonian a Hobey Baker Finalist

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Former Fort Saskatchewan Trader Matt Frattin has officially bounced back from some tough times. Today Frattin, a North Dakota Fighting Sioux forward was named one of the 3 finalists for the Hobey Baker award, given out to the NCAA's most outstanding player.

Top 5 Tuesday: Hobey Baker Candidates

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On Thursday the NCAA will unveil the 10 players voted into the second stage of contention for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey. The initial 71-man list was open to public vote through to March 7th. "Phase two of fan balloting will then begin on March 19th from the list of Top Ten Hobey Baker finalists. The fans’ vote accounts for a full 1% of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year’s award recipient."

I suspect that my pre-season Hobey candidate list won't hold up, several of the players I predicted to be in contention actually had worse years than the previous season. Still, at least one guy is on my new top 5 list and I stand by my thoughts on the others... they failed to play to their potential this year, not me!

Here are my top 5 choices for guys who will be on Thursday's Hobey Baker list...

NCAA Update - January 18

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It's been a while since I did a NCAA update, mostly because of the break over the holiday season but that has all come to an end now and so we're back at it again. In case you missed it, there was also an outdoor NCAA game at Fenway Park and the first round of candidates for the Hobey Baker Award have been released.

Wednesday Re-Set

The March 31st edition of TPS presented previews and discussion on the OHL playoff picture as well as a look ahead to the Frozen Four. We also spoke with another notable 2009 eiligible draft prospect and chatted with a top prospect recalled by the Edmonton Oilers.

Taylor Chorney started the show off by joining us for a pre-game conversation while Liam Reddox and Marc Pouliot waited to go for supper. Chorney discussed his situation with the Oilers, his performance early on in Springfield compared to the second half of the season and also what the coaching change has meant for some of the AHL roster.

Our OHL insider, Sam Cosentino of Rogers Sportsnet, then walked us through the goings on of that league's post season including a eye witness account of Ottawa 67's bench boss Brian Kilrea's final game. Sam laid out who we should expect to see in the OHL semi-finals and then we all made our predictions as to who would represent the league at the Memorial Cup in Rimouski.

The WHL rookie scoring champ this year was Kellan Tochkin of the Everett Silvertips. The playmaker talked to us about the year that was and looked ahead to the draft and the U18s which he suprisingly isn't going to be a part of. His acceptance of that news and his outlook on the draft rankings was quite surprising. Tochkin has already got us thinking that he could be a steal at the draft if he goes in the mid-late rounds as ISS has him slotted (123rd).

Finally, our planned NCAA Frozen Four round table didn't come off as expected as one of our contributors fell ill and couldn't join us. So it was up to D.J. Powers of Hockey's Future to carry us through explanations of why NCAA relies so heavily on the pairwise rankings system. Then we all took turns with our Frozen Four and Hobey Baker predictions.

It was a big show and if you missed it live you can click the archive... RIGHT HERE.

Coming Down the Pipe... next week: Our Annual Frozen Four Coach's Show featuring interviews with all four coach's of the four NCAA team vying for the National Championship.

Top 5 Tuesdays: 2009 Hobey Baker Finalists

The ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award were announced back on March 19th but the field will be narrowed down to the "Hobey Hat Trick" this coming Thursday April 2nd. Here now are my own personal top 5, they'll be different choices from many people I'm sure and there's no guarantee that even one of my five will be in the Hat Trick let alone the eventual 2009 Hobey Baker winner. I'd be interested to hear from those of you who are able to follow NCAA hockey more than we can up here, you tell us who the favorites should be.

Before I begin, here's a bit of the criteria that is considered by the 25-member selection committee: "Strength of character on and off the ice", "displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game", "sportsmanship", and "Scholastic achievements". Keeping those in mind...

5. Colin Wilson - Boston University

He's one of the most talented players in college hockey and has the individual stats and awards to prove it. He was drafted 7th overall by Nashville at the 2008 NHL Draft and there was a lot of talk that he would skip the rest of his college career and jump straight to the NHL. He chose instead to return for his sophomore season and went on to lead the Terriers in scoring with 52 points in 41 games... so far. He's picked up a bunch of individual Hockey East accolades and scpred 3 points in a 5-2 Bean Pot Final victory. His charity work revolves around 'Autism Speaks' and his major is History.

Wilson was a guest on The Pipeline Show in May of 2008.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievement.

4. Viktor Stalberg - Vermont Catamounts

As far as I know, the Hobey Baker Award has never been one by a European player (wrong! see comments). Stalberg hails from Sweden and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 6th round back in 2006. He's wrapping up his junior season at Vermont and he was very productive this year scoring 24 goals and 45 points. Like Wilson, his season isn't quite done yet so he's got a chance to pad his stats and maybe capture a National Title in the process. Academically he's got a 3.6 GPA as a Business Administration major. I find it impressive that an import can succeed so well both at the rink and in the classroom.

Downside: No mention of charity work.

3. Chad Johnson - Alaska Fairbanks

The only goalie to make my list is also the only Canadian. The former AJHL goalie was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 5th round of the 2006 draft and has now completed his NCAA career. Johnson recently signed with the Penguins. On the ice, Johnson's .939 save percentage was tops in the country and he had a 1.69 GAA and 6 shutouts to go along with it. The fact that his record is 14-14-5, coupled with those impressive stats, suggests a quality netminder on a team with little defence. Away from the rink Johnson volunteers with Habitat For Humanity.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievements.

2. Matt Gilroy - Boston University

I'll admit I'm a sucker for an emotional story and Matt Gilroy's telling of why he wears #97 in honor of his deceased little brother... well it had me going. He's riding an ironman streak of +140 games and has the distinction of being the first player in Hockey East to be named a First Team player three times. Talk about character, this is a guy who paid his own way this year after the program gave his scholarship away because they were positive he was turning pro last summer! His charity work includes Autism Speaks and volunteer work at a Long Island summer basketball league.

Gilroy was a guest on The Pipeline Show on March 24th.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievements.

1. Jacques Lamoureux - U.S. Air Force Academy

Like Gilroy, Lamoureux has a captivating back story as well. Long story short - he was deemed mentally unfit to join the military a few years ago as he fought inner demons that nearly led to his suicide. With help from family and his own inner will, Lamoureux has not only taken control of his personal life but he's giving back by visiting schools and speaking to kids about suicide and ways to survive life's problems. On the ice he's one of NCAA hockey's leading scorers with 53 points in 41 games - after missing a year because of a transfer from Northern Michigan! His family is drenched in hockey from his father, his twin sisters to his brothers including Jean-Philippe who was up for the Hobey last year as goalie for North Dakota.

Lamoureux was a guest on The Pipeline Show this past November 18th.

Downside: No mention of scholastic achievements aside from "completion of Combat Survival Training".

(photos courtesy: Boston University, Alaska-Fairbanks, Air Force, Vermont, USCHO.com)

School Wrap Sunday

It was a weekend of upsets south of the 49th as a couple of NCAA powerhouse schools fell on Friday night.

We start with the phrase, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. That rang true for the defending champion, and #1 ranked (atleast going into this weekend) Boston College Eagles. While they won a non conference game against Bowling Green Friday night, all the talk was about their loss to the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday. The big dogs took down the Eagles in front of a sold out Northeastern crowd. BC gave up 2 shorthanded goals and while they were upset with the ice conditions, the Eagles might want to think about putting away more chances. Huskies netminder Brad Thiessen turned away BC 38 times on route to the 4-3 victory. You would have to think the Eagles will not be ranked #1 come Monday. As for Northeastern, they were just outside the top 20 before the season started and this win should definitely get them into the big boys club.

In the CCHA Northern Michigan goaltender Brian Stewart made 15 saves in a 2-0 shut out of the # ranked Michigan Wolverines. Michigan knocked the Wildcats out of contention last year and this one was all about redemption. To many penalties by Red Berenson's squad was Michigan's demise. The Wolverines did rebound on Saturday though, thanks to a pair of goals from Florida Panthers 2007 fourth round pick Matt Rust, but couldn't take advantage of #1 ranked Boston College losing and moving up in the top 20.

As for who will take over #1? You would think it would have to be Colorado College. The Tigers swept Michigan Tech with 2-0 and 4-2 wins respectively. Leafs 2005 7th round pick Chad Rau (pictured) led the way with 4 points in the 2 wins, giving him 8 in 4 games this year. The Senior had 42 points in 40 games last year and his 112 points in 3 years should make Leaf fans excited about him turning pro next year. The speedy Billy Sweatt, whom the Blackhawks chose 38th overall in 2007, chipped in with a goal and 2 helpers in the 2 victories.

Another WCHA team wasn't as successful as CC. The North Dakota Fighting Sioux didn't put up much of anything Friday night getting smoked 5-1 by Minnesota State. Junior forward Zach Harrison beat UND 3 times while shorthanded, giving him 4 goals in 4 games, and becoming just the 6th player in NCAA history to record a shorthanded hatty. It was the 3rd straight loss for Dave Hakstol's club who previously dropped games to BU and UMASS in the Ice Breaker tournament. The Sioux did rebound Saturday night, battling back from a 2-0 3rd period deficit to take the lead, only to need Chris Vande Velde, an Oilers 4th rounder from 2005, to take charge with a short handed game winner with only 9 seconds to play.

Elsewhere, Denver swept Wisconsin, Boston University split with New Hampshire, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers took a pair from St. Cloud State.

Lastly, it's never to early to start thinking Hobey Baker, so here's Elliot Olshansky forecasting for the most prestigious award in college hockey.