The Hobey Baker Award Committee has announced the Top-10 finalists, with Chilliwack Chiefs alum Jordan Kawaguchi on the shortlist.
The Hobey Baker award is given annually to the top player in NCAA men’s hockey.
Finalists were selected by voting from all 60 NCAA Division I head coaches plus online fan balloting.
Kawaguchi played a key role for the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks as they captured the National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season title. The junior forward who is an assistant captain at UND earned 45 points to finish second in the nation in scoring. He proved himself in clutch situations with 13 game-winning points, including five game-winning goals.
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Kawaguchi played four full seasons with Chilliwack from 2013 to 2017, notching 242 points in 215 regular-season games and another 82 in 55 playoff games. The Abbotsford product finished second in league scoring in 2016-17 with 85 points in 55 games and was named a first-team BCHL all-star.
The next round of voting will see input from the 30-member selection committee, as well an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey Baker website from Mar. 19-29.
The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be named on April 2 and the winner will be announced on April 10.
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