Neal Broten of Roseau, Minnesota, was the first winner
of the Hobey Baker Award. He scored 71 points in 41
games as a freshman with the Gophers in 1979, and scored 71 points in 36 games as a sophomore on 17 goals and 54 assists in his Hobey Baker campaign of 1980-81. He scored the game-winning goal in Minnesota’s 4-3 win over North Dakota in the 1979 NCAA Championship game. He spent the 1979-80 season with the U.S. Olympic Team, helping them to the 1980 gold medal. He was selected by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, and received the North Stars’ Bill Masterton Memorial Cup in 1984 and again in 1986. Broten spent 15 seasons with the Stars franchise (Minnesota and Dallas, 2 stints) before being traded to the New Jersey Devils in February, 1995, the year the Devils won their first Stanley Cup. His number was retired by the Dallas Stars after 17 years in the NHL. Broten currently resides in River Falls, Wisconsin.

The Award: