Beniers, Hughes Among 10 Finalists for Hobey Baker Award
3/16/2022 1:00:00 PM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Committee announced Wednesday (March 16) its top 10 finalists for the 2022 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, naming both Matty Beniers and Luke Hughes of the University of Michigan hockey team among the group. The Hobey Baker Award is given annually to the top NCAA Division I men's ice hockey player in the nation.
The No. 2 overall draft pick in 2021 by the Seattle Kraken, Beniers is a first-team All-Big Ten selection and finalist for Player of the Year. He missed collegiate competition for both the Olympics and World Juniors and still led the league in points with 26 in 18 games to earn the Big Ten scoring champion award. Overall, Beniers has 40 points on 19 goals and 21 assists in 33 games, averaging 1.21 points per game. He had a point in 23 games and 14 multiple-point games. Beniers leads the league in on-ice rating with a +29 and power-play goals with 10, the fourth most in the nation. He has scored four game-winning goals, won over 200 face-offs and has blocked 26 shots as an alternate captain. The HCA Player of the Month in January with 14 points in eight games, he also notched three consecutive two-goal games in November.
The nation's top-scoring defenseman, Hughes has 36 points in 37 games. The No. 4 overall draft pick in 2021 by the New Jersey Devils led the Big Ten in goals scored with 13 tallies in conference play, more than any forward. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year and second-team all-Big Ten selection currently has 17 goals and 19 assists to rank second in the nation in rookie scoring, behind a forward. With a +25 on-ice rating, Hughes has points in 22 of his 37 games and began his collegiate career on a six-game point streak. A B1G All-Freshman team selection, he earned back-to-back First Star of the Week honors as he led the conference in scoring in February with six goals and nine points total. This season, he rewrote the Michigan records book. His 17 goals surpassed Dean Turner's freshman defenseman record of 13 from 1976-77 and his 36 points pushed him ahead of Jack Johnson's 32 as the leader for points by a freshman defenseman at Michigan. His brother, Quinn, was a finalist for the Hobey in 2019.
The top 10 finalists will now be voted on by a 30-member selection committee and through a second round of fan balloting (March 17-27) to determine the Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists, which will be announced on Friday, April 8, on the NHL Network during the Frozen Four in Boston.
The nomination marks the 23rd and 24th times a Michigan student-athlete has been tabbed as a Hobey Baker finalist. Michigan has had 20 different players named a finalist since the award was first given out in 1981.
Michigan has had two Hobey Baker winners in Brendan Morrison (1997) and Kevin Porter (2008).
Michigan's Hobey Baker Memorial Award Finalists
1991 - Denny Felsner
1992 - Denny Felsner
1994 - David Oliver
1994 - Steve Shields
1994 - Brian Wiseman
1995 - Brendan Morrison
1996 - Brendan Morrison
1997 - Brendan Morrison (winner)
1997 - John Madden
1998 - Bill Muckalt
2000 - Mike Comrie
2001 - Andy Hilbert
2005 - T.J. Hensick
2007 - T.J. Hensick
2008 - Kevin Porter (winner)
2009 - Louie Caporusso
2012 - Shawn Hunwick
2015 - Zach Hyman
2016 - JT Compher
2016 - Kyle Connor
2016 - Tyler Motte
2019 - Quinn Hughes
