Photo credit: Russ Hons (Kawaguchi)
The Hobey Baker Award Committee announced the Top-10 finalists for the award today and BCHL alums Jason Cotton (Sacred Heart) and Jordan Kawaguchi (North Dakota) were both included on the list.
The 10 finalists were selected by voting from all 60 Division I head coaches plus online fan balloting.
F Jordan Kawaguchi – Jr. – University of North Dakota (Chilliwack Chiefs)
The Fighting Hawks captured the NCHC regular season title while claiming the top spot in the pairwise rankings and they were led by the dynamic Kawaguchi. He earned 45 points to finish second in the nation in scoring. The assistant captain was valuable in clutch situations with 13 game-winning points, including five game-winning goals.
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, B.C. native finished second in league scoring in 2016-17 with 85 points in 55 games and was named a First-Team BCHL All-Star.
F Jason Cotton – Sr. – Sacred Heart University (West Kelowna Warriors)
Collecting a career high 37 points in 34 games, Cotton soared to the top of Atlantic Hockey in scoring. The co-captain of the Pioneers is best known as a competitive, 200-foot player effective in all zones of the ice. Conference foes took notice and named him the circuit’s Player of the Year and First Team all-conference. Cotton topped all Atlantic Hockey snipers with 20 goals.
The Parker, Texas native played two seasons for the Warriors from 2013 to 2015, finishing his career at over a point-per-game with 117 in 108 regular-season contests.
The next round of voting will see the 30-member Selection Committee, as well an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey website from Mar. 19-29, determine this year’s Hobey Baker winner.
The other finalists include:
- F Morgan Barron – Jr. – Cornell University
- F Jack Dugan – So. – Providence College
- D David Farrance – Jr. – Boston University
- F John Leonard – Jr. – University of Massachusetts
- G Dryden McKay – So. – Minnesota State University
- F Marc Michaelis – Sr. – Minnesota State University
- D Scott Perunovich – Jr. – University of Minnesota-Duluth
- G Jeremy Swayman – Jr. – University of Maine
The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be named on Apr. 2 and the winner will be announced on Apr. 10. You can stream the award ceremony on the Hobey Baker website.
