Foregoing pro career offers after his junior year, Matt Gilroy elected to complete his education and captain the BU Terriers, where he wore number 97 to honor his deceased brother, Timmy. That season he helped power BU to a national championship and became the school’s second Hobey Baker Award winner. He produced 37 points in 45 games on 8 goals and 29 assists, tying for second nationally among defensemen. The first defenseman in Hockey East history to earn First Team all-star honors three times, Gilroy also received the Walter Brown Award as best American-born college player in New England and ended his college career having played 145 consecutive games. Off the ice, the Long Island native helped with his family’s summer basketball league and volunteered with the Autism Speaks program. Signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers, he spent two seasons there, then signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011, and was traded mid-season to the Ottawa Senators. In 2012-13, Gilroy returned to the Rangers, where he split time with the NHL and AHL farm club in Connecticut. In the summer of 2013, Gilroy signed with the Florida Panthers.

The Award: