Hobey Baker Watch: Week 6
The college hockey season is now in full swing. With teams entering conference play, individuals will look to separate from the pack with outstanding performances to take home college hockey’s most prestigious individual honor, the Hobey Baker Award. Let’s take a look at some of the top competitors for the award so far.
Jack Dugan, Providence
Sophomore forward Jack Dugan may be the surprise story of the season thus far. After only managing 10 goals and 29 assists in 40 games as a freshman, Dugan has already tallied five goals, along with an NCAA-best 19 assists and 24 points in only 10 games this season. This includes six assists in a pair of games last weekend against Boston University. Dugan has factored into nearly 60% of Providence’s 41 goals on the season.
Cole Caufield and Alex Turcotte, Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Badgers started the season in electric fashion, tallying three wins over top-10 opposition in their first six games. This was partly due to the electric goal-scoring form of freshman forward Cole Caufield, who netted seven goals in those first six contests. However, Caufield’s production has since dipped. With only a single goal in the last four games, the prized prospect of the Montreal Canadiens is beginning to struggle and slip in the Hobey Baker race.
However, Caufield’s Wisconsin teammate, Alex Turcotte, has begun to pick up his game and show the potential that caused the Los Angeles Kings to draft him No. 5 overall. Turcotte doubled his goal-scoring total this past weekend with three goals and an assist. His performance netted him honors as the Big Ten’s second star of the week. With six goals and six assists on the season, Turcotte is one of the Hobey Baker Award’s strongest contenders so far.
Tyler Wall, UMass Lowell
With a name like Tyler Wall and a 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound build to go along with it, there’s no wonder why the senior is one of the best goaltenders in all of college hockey. Wall’s sample size is proficient at 11 games played, second most in the NCAA. His 1.59 goals-against average is second most of any goaltender with at least five games played, and his .949 save percentage is also second best of any such goaltender in the country.
David Farrance, Boston University
Given that two of the last three Hobey Baker winners have been defensemen, specifically those who produce offensively, it’s only proper to put junior David Farrance on the shortlist for this year’s award. Farrance leads Boston University with eight goals and 14 points, tied for third and seventh in the nation, respectively.
Although, if Farrance wants to walk away with the award, he will likely need to do a better job at leading his unit defensively. Boston’s 29 goals conceded is the 15th-highest total in college hockey. That’s a high mark for a defenseman competing for the title of best player in the country, considering that the last two defensemen to win the award, Cale Makar and Will Butcher, played for defenses that finished the season ranked outside of the top 20 for most goals conceded.
While there is still plenty of time left in the 2019-2020 college hockey season, players will look to pad their Hobey Baker Award résumés while also trying to lead their teams to hot starts in conference play.
Andre Magaro is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ajm7362@psu.edu.
