St. Paul, Minn. – The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation is pleased to announce its 2026 Legend of College Hockey recipient as Mike McShane, a veteran college hockey coach of 37 years at three different institutions.  

Coach McShane’s longest tenure was as head coach of the Norwich University Cadets for 23 seasons from 1995 to 2018 from where he retired. During his tenure behind the Cadets’ bench, McShane led Norwich to four NCAA National Championships and 12 Frozen Four appearances, establishing the program as a perennial national power at the NCAA Division III level.

McShane was recognized 11 times as New England Hockey Conference (NEHC)/ECAC East Coach of the Year and earned the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Ed Jeremiah Award, presented annually to the nation’s top coach, on five occasions—a testament to his impact both regionally and nationally. At Norwich, McShane compiled an extraordinary 498-130-38 record (.776 winning percentage).

Additional head coaching assignments to his extensive resume includes his first five seasons as head coach at St. Lawrence University (1980-1985) where he compiled a 93-65-6 record in Division I ECAC (.585 winning percentage). His next stop was with Providence College of Hockey East where over a nine-year run from 1985-1994, his Friars went 151-153-25 (.497 winning percentage). Overall, Mike McShane compiled a record of 742-348-69 (.670), placing him seventh among the winningest coaches in college hockey history.

Besides his many on-ice accolades as a head coach, McShane will be inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame on April 25 as part of the class of 2026 in Vermont. Coach McShane will be honored along with this year’s Hobey Baker Award winner at the annual Hobey Baker Award banquet and golf outing this summer in St. Paul, Minnesota. Banquet and golf information will be available soon by visiting the Hobey website at: hobeybaker.com.

Key Hobey Baker announcement dates for 2026 include:

• Top Ten list of candidates: March 18
• Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists: April 2
• Hobey Baker Award announcement: April 10

The 2026 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced from a field of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists on Friday, April 10, 2026 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in

Las Vegas, NV. The award ceremony will include several other Division I national awards including the Mike Richter Award, Hockey Humanitarian Award, National Rookie of the Year, National Unsung Hero and the East and West All American teams. The awards ceremony will be broadcast nationally on NHL Network and streamed live at hobeybaker.com. For more info on the Hobey Baker Award please visit www.hobeybaker.com.  To access the Hobey logo and trophy photos, please visit www.hobeybaker.com/media.