Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

NCAA Hockey: Hobey Baker Award field down to three finalists

E-200-2

The NCAA announced the Hobey Hat Trick today for the three players who are the ultimate finalists for the Hobey Baker Award for college hockey’s top player. While the teams playing in this year’s Frozen Four in St. Paul may have been a surprise, the three players in the running for the Hobey Baker Award are not.

North Dakota’s Matt Frattin, Miami University’s Andy Miele, and Boston College’s Cam Atkinson, who recently signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets got the call to be at the Frozen Four to see if they can take home the year’s top individual prize. Their résumés this year are each very impressive.

Matt Frattin is the top goal scorer in the country with 36 for the Fighting Sioux and he’s helped lead his team to the Frozen Four. The senior from Edmonton, Alberta and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is having the best season of his career and is persevering after running into legal problems just two years ago being arrested for DUI and getting dismissed from the team for half a year before being reinstated halfway into last season. This year with 36 goals and 60 points and a shot still at the National Championship, Frattin has made for quite the redemption story.

Miami’s Andy Miele is the nation’s top scorer with 24 goals and 47 assists this year, good for 71 points. Miele, a senior, led an offensively powerful Redhawks team to their first CCHA Tournament championship and a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Miami was unceremoniously bounced out of the tournament by regional fourth seed New Hampshire but that does nothing to take away from Miele accomplished this season with Miami and his case for the Hobey is a strong one given how well he did personally and for what his team accomplished. Miele is an undrafted free agent and will likely net a deal with an NHL team in the very near future.

Cam Atkinson once again showed why Boston College does so well year in and year out. Despite being 5'8", Atkinson scored 31 goals and added 21 assists for the Eagles as they won the Hockey East championship yet again this year. Atkinson’s offensive output helped lead BC to a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament and, like Miele’s Redhawks, were ousted in the first round of the tournament, this time by Colorado College. Atkinson’s junior season was a great follow up to his sophomore year that saw him score 30 goals last season and a big reason why the Blue Jackets opted to sign him now. After all, what more could he show at the NCAA level aside from score more goals and win Boston College another National Championship? Huh, when you write it out like that it doesn’t sound so bad after all. Of the three players in the Hobey Hat Trick we’re considering Atkinson to be the long shot of the bunch.

The Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced Friday, April 8th from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, the day between the National Semifinals and the National Championship game.