Way-Too-Early Hobey Baker Award Contenders for 2026-27 Hockey Season

We’re just over a month away from the start of the college hockey season, and players are reporting and participating the first workouts of 2026-27.]

It also means that we’re just 228 days from the next Hobey Baker winner being announced at the Frozen Four, which will be played at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. — but who’s counting?

There’s a ton of hockey to be played between now and then, especially when considering that it’s the longest season of all the collegiate sports. Injuries will happen, players will get hot or cold, and the only thing anyone knows for sure is that there will be surprises galore.

So yes, it’s too early to call anyone a frontrunner for hockey’s version of the Heisman Trophy, but here are more than 25 players who fans should be watching from day one:

5 Early Favorites

Michael Hage, C, Michigan: As a sophomore last season had notched 13 goals and 39 assists in 40 games and finished tied for third nationally in scoring. He could top that this season. The Wolverines could be the preseason No. 1 and should be strong contenders for the Big Ten and national titles. Montreal was so high on him that it traded up to grab Hage at No. 21 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, for three selections, the No. 26 pick, No. 57 in the second round and a seventh-round selection to the Kings. They turned into forward Liam Greentree, goaltender Carter George and forward James Reeder. He could be challenging to be the Canadiens’ second-line center this time next year.

Johnny Hicks, G, Denver: Goaltenders don’t win the award very often as Minnesota State’s Dreyden McKay in 2022 is the only one since Michigan State’s Ryan Miller in 2001. But since taking over as Denver’s starter in January, Hicks hasn’t lost (16-0-1). He finished the 2025-26 season with an NCAA-record .957 save percentage, 1.19 goals against average, and was named the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Performer. He’s earned his place here, but It’ll be interesting to see how opponents attack him after having the offseason to study his tendencies.

Max Plante, F, Minnesota Duluth: He only won the award last year, but do you know who was the last repeat winner of the Hobey Baker? No one, it’s never been done before. Granted, most winners subsequently move on to the pros, but Plante opted for another season with the Bulldogs to play a season with older brother Zam and younger brother Victor, a freshman. Max Plante finished tied for second nationally in goals (25), and tied for third in points with 52 in 40 games. The last Hobey winner to return was Ryan Duncan at North Dakota, who won as a sophomore in 2007, when he had 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 points. He had 18 goals and 40 points as a junior, and 20 goals and 39 points as senior.

Max Plante is our vote for Hobey.

Bulldog born. Hobey Bound. pic.twitter.com/pbShoxMLoa
— UMD Men's Hockey (@UMDMensHockey) March 31, 2026

Hayden Stavroff, F, Dartmouth: He led the nation in goals, which is even more impressive when factoring in that he played fewer games than a lot of the other contenders due to the Ivy League’s late start. The 29 goals were still four more than anyone else, and his 48 points were tied for eighth. Not only was he the first Dartmouth player to lead the nation in goals, but the first to be named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year. Here’s the statistic that will be difficult for him to repeat, he led the ECAC in shooting percentage at 26.1 percent.

Ethan Wyttenbach, F, Quinnipiac: He could be the player to beat. As a freshman on a young team with 10 first-year players he led the NCAA in scoring with 59 points (25 goals, 34 assists) in 40 games. He was tied for second in goals and fourth in assists. The only other freshman who was in the top 25 in all three scoring categories was Michigan State’s Porter Martone, and he was tied for 25th in assists. Wyttenbach was named the winner of the Tim Taylor Award as the best first-year player in college hockey over the likes of Gavin McKenna and Martone. He was selected in the fifth round (No. 144) of the 2025 draft, the same year he was the inaugural winner of the USHL’s Johnny Gaudreau Award with the Sioux Falls Stampede.

10 Strong Contenders

Can a freshman win the Heisman Trophy of College Hockey? Yes, of course, but only four first-year players have done so: Paul Kariya (1993, Maine), Jack Eichel (2015, Boston University), Adam Fantilli (2023, Michigan) and Macklin Celebrini (2024, Boston University).

Even though the last two on that were very recent, the "Hobey Hat Trick" of the top three finalists hasn’t included a freshman the last two years, including with McKenna last season. Has maybe pendulum swung the other direction somewhat in that regard? We shall see.

For 2026-27, the top incoming freshman is probably Landon DuPont, who is being hyped as the potential top pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. However, he has two things working against him: 1) He’s a defenseman. Only nine have won the award (UMD’s Scott Perunovich being the most recent in 2020, one year after UMass’ Cale Maker), and none were a freshman. 2) Michigan will likely have a couple of other top candidates like Hage and goaltender Jack Ivankovic, which can make it tougher for a player, especially a new one, to stand out.

Nevertheless, in addition to DuPont and Ivankovic, here are eight other strong contenders to watch, all of whom played at least part of last season:

Oscar Hemming,. LW, Boston College
Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University
Dean Letourneau, C Boston College
Vaclav Nestrasil, RW, Massachusetts
Jack Parsons, G, Providence
Justin Poirier, F, Penn State
Jan Špunar, G, North Dakota
Will Zellers, LW, North Dakota

Top Draft Selections

First-round Picks in 2026 who are all heading to the NCAA this season:
Carson Carels, D, North Dakota (No. 6 overall, Flames)
Wyatt Cullen, F, Minnesota (No. 10, Predators)
Jack Hextall, C, Michigan State (No. 30, Flames)
JP Hurlbert, LW, Michigan State (No. 23, Red Wings)
Nikita Klepov, F, Michigan State (No. 15, Ducks)
Ryan Lin, D, Denver (No. 21, Sharks)
Caleb Malhotra, C, Boston University (No. 3, Canucks)
Ilia Morozov, C, Miami (No. 20, Sabres)
Chaase Reid, D, Michigan State (No. 7, Kraken)
Daxon Rudolph, D, Denver (No. 4, Sabres)
Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota (No. 9 Sharks)

Max Plante (@UMDMensHockey | @DetroitRedWings) is the winner of the 2026 @HobeyBakerAward! https://t.co/vpkO3QIeKT pic.twitter.com/JxGaNuEvJi
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) April 11, 2026

Arizona State Player Collapses

Arizona State confirmed on Sunday that a hockey player remained hospitalized after collapsing during an outdoor workout Thursday. “The university offers its support for the student-athlete, their family and all of our student-athletes during this difficult time,” it said in a statement by Chris Fiscus, vice president of media relations.

The name of the player was not released out of respect for the family. It was widely reported that the player was a newcomer to the Sun Devils (most of the roster turned over from last season).

Thursday was the first day of classes on the Tempe campus.

Puck Drop: Monday, August 24, 2026

• It was a big weekend in recruiting. Among to top players to make commitments included forward Ethan Sung to Wisconsin, and left wing Dima Zhilkin to Michigan for 2027-28.

• Quinnipiac received a commitment forward Julien Maze, who split time between the WHL’s Regina Pats and Calgary Hitmen last season. Meanwhile, Yale is adding legacy prospect Henri Giroux, a defenseman, for 2028-29.

• Air Force landed a commitment from forward Tate Swanson out of Hibbing, Minn. It also added for 2027-28 goaltender Maverick Avent, right wings Caleb Mahar and Will Kortan, and center Trey Hinton. But yes, you read that correctly, the Falcons added a player named Maverick and three wingmen.

• Former Mercyhurst center Joseph Serpa, who was expected to head to the University of New Brunswick, will instead transfer and join the Alaska Nanooks.

• Right wing San Spehar out of Chaska, Minn., is reportedly no longer committed to Denver for 2027.

• A replica version of the PWHL championship trophy, the Walter Cup, being used to help the Montreal Victoire celebrated its title, has gone missing. It was en route to Lethbridge, Alberta, where Dara Greig (Wisconsin) grew up, but did not arrive.

• Denver Alumni hosted their counterparts from the Colorado Avalanche at Magness Arena on Sunday for their annual charity exhibition. Check out the rosters, but note that they didn’t stay intact:

Colorado Avalanche Alumni
• Forwards: Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Steven Reinprecht, Mark Rycroft, Andrew Cogliano, Darren Helm, Peter Mueller, Dan Hinote, Scott Parker, Cody McLeod, Yan Stastny

• Defensemen: Rick Berry, Kyle Quincey, John-Michael Liles, Ken Klee, Tyson Barrie, Aaron Mackenzie

• Goaltenders: Ryan Miller, Julien Hernandez

• Coaches: Peter Stastny, Michel Goulet, Adam Foote, Pierre Turgeon

Denver University (DU) Alumni
• Forwards: Gabe Levin, Kyle Ostrow, Paul Stastny, Tyler Bozak, Rhett Rakhshani, Drew Shore, JP Testwuide, Angelo Ricci, Chris Knowlton, Zac Larraza, Matt Tabrum, Kevin Doell, Michael Davies, Quentin Shore

• Defensemen: Adrian Veideman, Kelly Hollingshead, Matt Carle, Matt Laatsch, Jason Grahame, Nick Larson, Matt Donovan

• Goaltenders: Evan Cowley, Danny King

• Coaches: George Gwozdecky, Joe Colborne

TRADE ALERT 🚨

The Avalanche have acquired Paul Stastny in exchange for Mark Rycroft in the middle of the second period. pic.twitter.com/NaC9qMuo8J
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 24, 2026

Countdown to the 2026-27 Season

… 39 days

Hockey Quote of the Day

"It's better for me to take a chance than someone else.”
Hobey Baker’s supposed final words

This Date in Hockey History

August 24, 1933: Michigan center Wally Maxwell was born in Ottawa, Ontario.

August 24, 1953: Michigan State defenseman Norm Barnes was born in Toronto.

August 24, 1953: Boston University forward Paul O’Neal was born in Charlestown, Mass.

August 24, 1959: Boston College winger Gary Sampson was born in Atikokan, Ontario.

August 24, 1972: The Hockey Hall of Fame announced what many believe is the greatest induction class in the history of the sport: Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, Bernie Geoffrion, Hooley Smith and executive Weston Adams.

August 24, 1972: Boston College defenseman Ian Moran was born in Cleveland. He went on to play 489 games over 11 years in the NHL, most of which with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

August 24, 1977: Merrimack center Greg Glassen was born in Aylsham, Saskatachewan.

August 24, 1980: Following a 4-3 loss to the Soviet Union in Innsbruck, Austria, brothers Peter and Anton Stastny left the Czechoslovakian national team and defected to Canada. Both signed with the Quebec Nordiques and a year later they were joined on the team by brother Marion. The family had a big impact on college hockey as Paul and Yan Stastny played at Denver and Spencer suited up for Notre Dame.

August 24, 1988: Bemidji State defenseman Brad Hunt was born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.

August 24, 1988: Dino Ciccarelli of the Minnesota North Stars was sentenced to a day in jail and a $1,000 fine for clubbing Luke Richardson over his head with a stick numerous times during a January 6 game at Maple Leaf Gardens. It was the first time an NHL player received a jail term for an on-ice attack on another player. Richardson wasn’t significantly injured, but he did get punched in the mouth.

August 24, 1992: Former Wisconsin forward Brian Mullen was traded from the San Jose Sharks to the New York Islands for the rights to Swedish center Marcus Thuresson. Mullen scored 18 goals and 32 points for the Islanders during the final season of his career, but Thuresson never played in the NHL.

August 24, 2017: The Colorado Avalanche signed free-agent forward Alex Kerfoot out of Harvard. He had been drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, but the team hadn’t been able to sign him.

We'll Leave You With This ...

Eric Robinson grew up playing hockey in Jersey with Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau and was coached by their dad, Guy.

Years later, he brought the #StanleyCup back to where it all started, giving Coach Guy the chance to hoist it. ❤️

(📸: @keeperofthecup) pic.twitter.com/7ub3PDW3tt
— NHL (@NHL) August 22, 2026

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