University of Maine junior goaltender Jeremy Swayman is one of three Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalists, it was announced Thursday morning. The Anchorage, Alaska, native had a .939 save percentage while leading the Black Bears to a home ice spot and potential NCAA Tournament berth, before the coronavirus put a halt to the college hockey...
University of Maine junior goaltender Jeremy Swayman is one of three Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalists, it was announced Thursday morning.
The Anchorage, Alaska, native had a .939 save percentage while leading the Black Bears to a home ice spot and potential NCAA Tournament berth, before the coronavirus put a halt to the college hockey season.
Swayman, who signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins on March 17, is up for college hockey’s top individual award alongside North Dakota junior right Jordan Kawaguchi and Minnesota Duluth junior defenseman Scott Perunovich.
If I had a vote, it would be going to Swayman. He had the second-best save percentage in college hockey, but he did so on a team that was nowhere close to being as good as the teams of other top goaltenders.
Perunovich, a two-time NCAA champion during his first two seasons at UMD, is also a deserving winner. The Hibbing, Minn., native has signed a NHL entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues after a stellar three-year career in Duluth. He had six goals and 34 assists in 34 games this winter, and amassed 105 points in just 115 career games.
Kawaguchi is a very good offensive player, but he’d be third on my list among these three finalists. In 33 games this season, he had 15 goals and 30 assists. An undrafted free agent out of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Kawaguchi recently announced he will be returning to school for his senior season.
While the NCHC had better teams than Hockey East this season, I thought some of the top players in college hockey were skewed this way. Swayman and Perunovich are no-doubters in terms of belonging in the Hobey Hat Trick. However, I’d have preferred to see UMass junior right wing John Leonard, who led Division I in goals with 27, or Providence sophomore right wing Jack Dugan, the top scoring player in college hockey, as the third Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist.
This year’s Hobey Baker Award winner, originally to be announced at the Frozen Four, will be announced Saturday, April 11, live on ESPN’s 11 p.m. SportsCenter. Also to be announced on the show will be the winners of the Hockey Humanitarian Award, the All-American Teams and the Mike Richter Award for the country’s top college goalie.
