The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Committee announced today the 2018 recipient of college hockey’s top individual prize is Adam Gaudette from Northeastern University. The announcement came during the NCAA Frozen Four championship in a live ceremony held at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota and aired nationally on NHL Network.
The junior forward from Braintree, Massachusetts led all Division I players in the nation in total points, goal scoring and points per game. Due to his relentless compete level, it wasn’t unusual for Gaudette to log almost 30 minutes of icetime each game. He was honored by the Hockey East conference as their Player of the Year, First Team all-conference and Hockey East Scoring Champion. On two occasions (January and February), he was named national player of the month by the College Hockey Coaches Association.
Gaudette powered home 30 goals, dished out 30 assists and totaled 60 points in just 38 games, averaging a national best, 1.58 points per game. For most of the season, he was joined on the Huskies top line by Dylan Sikura (also a Hobey Baker top ten finalist and third in the nation in scoring) and Nolan Stevens, terrifying goalies across the land. Lethal on the power play, Gaudette sniped 11 power play goals and led the nation by recording 27 power play points.
Best known as a complete, 200 foot two-way player, Gaudette proved to be tough to defend with his deceptive speed and his passion to compete at both ends of the ice. He had plenty of local support having grown up in the Boston area and was enthusiastically cheered along by his large extended family who became known around Matthews Arena as “the Gaud Squad.”Recently, Gaudette was named the 2018 winner of the Walter Brown Award given annually to the top American born player in New England.
Adam Gaudette becomes the first Hobey Baker Award recipient from Northeastern University. He has surpassed 50 points in two straight years and in 116 career games, has totaled 142 points. Adam recently signed a pro contract with the team that drafted him, the Vancouver Canucks (2015, fifth round) and will forgo his senior season. A Communications major, Adam is active in community projects including a couple of children’s cancer efforts, reading at elementary schools and assisting Northeastern students during move-in weekend.
Hobey Baker was the legendary Princeton (1914) hockey player known as America’s greatest amateur athlete one hundred years ago. He redefined how the game was played with his coast-to-coast dashes in an era when hockey was contested with seven players and no forward passes. Baker, a member of the U.S. Army’s Air Corp, died testing a repaired aircraft at the end of World War I after he had completed his military service. The Hobey Baker Award criteria includes: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements. Gaudettewas selected from a group of ten finalists by a 27-member selection committee and online fan balloting.
NOTE: Members of the media can access a photo of Adam Gaudette with the Hobey Baker trophy by visiting www.hobeybaker.com/media. Gaudette will be honored at the Hobey Baker Award Banquet on May 23, 2018 at 317 On Rice Park in Saint Paul, Minn. Visit www.hobeybaker.com for more information on the Hobey Baker Memorial Award or to access images of the Hobey logo and trophy from the media file.
