College Hockey:
Atkinson, Frattin, Miele make up 2011 Hobey Hat Trick

USCHO Staff Report • March 30, 2011

The nation’s top scorer and the country’s top two goal scorers make up the three finalists for the 2011 Hobey Baker Award.

Miami’s Andy Miele, North Dakota’s Matt Frattin and Boston College’s Cam Atkinson make up the Hobey Hat Trick, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation announced Wednesday.

Miele leads the nation with 71 points. Frattin and Atkinson are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in goal scoring — Frattin has 36, Atkinson 31.

The finalists reflect the top three vote-getters from a 23-member selection committee and fan balloting. The vote this week also establishes the winner; there is no more voting.

The criteria for the award, according to the foundation, are: strength of character on and off the ice, displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.

The award will be presented during a show that begins at 6 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 8, live on ESPNU. It will take place at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on the day between the national semifinals and national championship.

Atkinson, a junior who recently gave up his final year of eligibility to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, helped Boston College to the Hockey East regular season and playoff titles. He added 21 assists to his 31 goals for 52 points in 39 games — 16 of those games being multiple-point contests.

Frattin, who was suspended by the team for the first half of last season after a pair of arrests, then earned his way back onto the roster, was named the WCHA’s player of the year as a senior. Behind his leadership, the Fighting Sioux won the league regular season and playoff titles and have advanced to the Frozen Four. The Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick has 24 assists, giving him 60 points in 43 games.

Miele, the CCHA’s player of the year, leads the nation in points, with an 11-point margin over Frattin. The senior’s scoring line reads 24 goals and 47 assists in 39 games, and he has 22 multiple-point games to his credit. He helped the RedHawks win the CCHA playoff title.

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Guest
Figures that Jack Connolly is left out because we need to have someone from the east.
- Goalie fan
  There’s no way they can give it to Atkinson after he bolted to the pros right after BC got KO’d from the NCAAs can they? Even nominating him seems like a joke! Doesn’t matter though as we all know who is going to be crowned Hobey Baker at the end: #21 anybody!
  - Playerfan
    Cam Atkinson was a great player to watch, he deserved to be nominated after such dominating games in HE tournament play. He was consistent all year and so what if he went striaght to the pros after they lost. However I dont believe that he will win it. I’m thinking Miele will, 71 pts is amazing.
- Anonymous
  what a turd
  ya, cam atkinson can’t hold connolly’s jock…idiot
  - Frattin
    Nice Comment. We all know Cam is a great hockey player. But saying that comment makes you look really smart. Keep up the good comments bud.
- WCHA Fan
  I agree. Connolly is very deserving of the award as well. Atkinson leaving for the pros right away doesnt look goo
Brian
I do agree with these final three. I believe Matt Fratton has been the most consistently dominant college hockey player in the country.
Nickel
Frattin has been dominant throughout the year and showed how important he is to his team in the Final Five. Miele and Atkinson couldn’t lead their teams past first round of regionals.#21 baby
- HockeyFan
  Really? I don’t know what Frattin did to “lead” his team out of the regionals. North Dakota is so good that they would have rolled without Frattin. I think the fact that Miami lost shows how valuable Miele is to the RedHwaks. Whenever he doesn’t play like himself, Miami struggles offensively. Miele was/did everything for the RedHawks this season
  - Nige
    Wow did you really just argue that because Miami lost Miele is the better player? You might want to re-think that…
    - HockeyFan
      No dumb@ss.I said you could really tell how valuable Miele was to Miami. Frattin could have rode the bench both games and North Dakota still would have walked through regionals. And that was my response to someone saying that Matt was SOOO important to UND in their games against RPI/Denver.
  - Jonathanlvoigt
    How about score 36 goals? That’s pretty leader like. What Miele showed was that even though he had a great season, he couldn’t spur his team past the first round. Remember, this isn’t the “Most Valuable Player” award. This is the BEST player. Part of that is winning in the post season.
    - Anonymous
      Dude, show some consistency. You specifically mentioned that Atkinson and Miele couldn’t lead their team to the FF. Then someone points out Frattin wasn’t a one man wrecking crew in the regionals either…and then you throw out that he scored 36 goals? That doesn’t make any sense.
    - Guest
      What happened to strength of character in this award? If it does matter then it should be taken out as part of the criteria!
  - Jdorf40
    Well, scoring the game winners in both the semi’s and championship game of the WCHA tournament assured them the #2 seed overall. We saw what happened to the #3 and #4 overall seeds. BC would have probably stayed out East and the Sioux would have probably ended up in a much tougher bracket. And Frattin might not have been the leading scorer on the weekend out in Green Bay, but he wasn’t -2 or held off the score sheet. True story. I don’t think the award should be based on 1 weekend of hockey either, but I thought going into the conference tournaments that people had 2 knocks on Frattin. 1)He scored a ton of points against Michigan Tech and didn’t do much against the top teams in the conference. He put those rumors to rest by scoring the game winners in both games of the conference tourney. He scored a goal and had an assist against RPI (I know, RPI…) and still managed an assist against DU. That was the first time in 10 games that he didn’t score a goal. Did people expect him to score a goal in each of the last 10 games of the season?
    - Jdorf40
      Forgot to put #2 down. His off ice issues. He’s put those rumors to rest too. Since he was suspended from the team over a year and a half ago, he’s done absolutely everything he could have done to show that he’s learned his lesson. If he doesn’t get the nod because of this reason, they shouldn’t have allowed his name on any ballot to begin with.
- Joe C
  A one-game sample size seems just a tad small to be making judgements about the Hobey Baker winner. An NCAA regional first round game and your team loses? This disqualifies you from winning a Hobey Baker. Even if the opposing goaltender is Ken Dryden? Well, I suppose Ken would win the Hobey Baker…
http://twitter.com/bestdamnangler Ben Chorn
Mr. Arrest-Twice? Really???
- HockeyHockeyHockey
  Giving the Hobey to Frattin would send the message to all the other players that “Its okay to get in trouble, its okay to get DUI’s, and its okay to be kicked off the team; as long as you do the right thing at the end”
  If they give it to him, they seriously need to edit the criteria for the award to:
  A hobey candidate must exhibit the following:
  1. Score a crap-load of goals.
  2. Be eligible
  - Hockey
    you are an idiot
    - Stopnpux
      Seriously? So if people make mistakes, learn from them, mature, and become leaders, they should be banned from ever being recognized for their efforts and progress? Do you want to shut down the Grammy’s, Emmy’s, ESPY’s, Nobel Piece Prize, Medal of Honor, and all other recognized awards? I’m sure winners of those awards made mistakes in their past and learned from them.
    - HockeyHockeyHockey
      How am I an idiot? Really, I want to know? If Frattin wins the award, where is there a flaw in anything that I said? How about instead of just saying “you are an idiot” , you enlighten me somehow.
      - Duh
        Cause he didn’t get a DUI, you IDIOT.
      - HOCKEYYYYY
        A good lawyer can get a person acquitted of ANYTHING. Wow, you North Dakota people sure is smart…….
      - thisyrwillbe#8
        blog protocal #1: if your giong to insult someone’s intelligence, make sure you use proper grammer and spelling.
      - thisyearwillbe#8
        and yes, i did that on purpose.
      - HOCKEYYYY
        apparently your not intelligent enough to pick up an an obvious error for emphasis?
      - siouxfaninbisoncountry
        ha “grammer”
      - Jdorf40
        Now that was funny! I hope Frattin wins it, but the one I’m more concerned with is the one they’ll be handing out a week from Saturday. Let Miele have it. It’ll probably be the last award he’ll have a shot at. Frattin and Atkinson will both be raking it in playing in the show while Miele is tearing up the men’s league back home.
      - Suture1
        You are an idiot. Sorry, if the shoe fits where it little buddy……:)
      - Suture1
        Sorry for the typo…..I meant “if the shoe fits, wear it”. Sorry…and don’t call me an idiot……idiot…..:)
  - Sioux guy
    How come NO ONE brings up Atkinsons arrest??? Only Frattin’s past gets brought up…weird.
    - http://profiles.google.com/jonsobel1978 Jonathan Sobel
      Most likely they don’t bring up Atkinson’s arrest because everyone knows this is actually a two horse race, not a three horse race.
  - Gottalove#19
    For the record frattin never received a dui
- Sara
  get over it dude. go home and cry to your mommy.
  - Mattsbuddy
    were you the girl giving Frattin your phone number at the tavern? I was near him and he said you were a pig
    - Sara
      Buddy, I don’t live in Grand Forks, nor have I ever been to the tavern when I did.
    - DG
      U were next in line or what?
      - Jdorf40
        Well played DG. LOL
- Blisteriii
  You should be arrested for wearing a fedora, you clone…..
http://profiles.google.com/jonsobel1978 Jonathan Sobel
This is the Porter/Gerbe debate all over again. TWO guys who played dominant hockey all season long, one of whom had some less-than-shining character issues.
If you believe character is a necessary quality to win this award, Miele’s the only choice. If you don’t either one could win it and that would be ok.
- Sara
  apparently some people need to learn the difference between your “character” and your “reputation.” Nobody here… unless you know these 3 guys personally, has a clue what their “character” is off the ice. We’d all be smart to stop judging. But I don’t expect that considering all the narrow minded people commenting here. Oh, and if we’re back to the Porter/Gerbe thing … I’m TOTALLY okay with Miele winning the Hobey. I’d rather be screaming on a couple Sioux victories next week anyways.
- Guest
  Frattin has character. He saved Danny Kristo. Carried him to the hospital in a -33 degree blizzard from what I hear.
  - Jdorf40
    Uphill!
- Suture1
  Wow, that was narrow minded. See my other post Johhny. You would think Frattin raped or murdered someone by the way you are talking…as are others. This is just silly. The kid drank too much and at the wrong time/place. Is it wrong and illegal? Yes. Is this a reason to shun him from the Hobey if he otherwise deserves it? I wouldn’t think this is reasonable thinking. Some of you are saying “NoDak” fans are using this argument or that argument as to why Frattin should win. Well, I find it very interesting the Miele bandwagon seems to be hanging their hat on the committee viewing Frattin’s drinking escapade ( 2 years ago now) akin to a class A felony…..geeeesh….
Mark
Jack Connolly got screwed….58 points on the year, and a sparkling person off the ice…..
Anonymous
I’m a BC fan and this should be Miele in a landslide. Frattin has no business winning for obvious reasons.
- Joe C
  As a BU alum, I have no problem with any of the three candidates winning. I did not like the fluff piece ESPNU did on the Frattin “incidents”, but these incidents did not take place this year. He spent his year away, went back as a walkon candidate and earned his place back on the team.
  I cannot tell how sincere his reformation is but it seems sincere enough for the committee. A player that comes back from such self-made problems, faces them and admits to them seems like a worthy candidate. Maybe other people know things I do not.
  The only player I know well enough from watching game play is Atkinson and I can definitely say he is worthy of being a Hobey Baker winner. I did not get to watch Miele play in the tournament, but Atkinson was not the reason BC got bounced by Denver. He was one of the reasons Denver was nervous until the final few moments of the game. Denver exploited flaws in BC’s defensive corps, while BC missed a number of chances to regain momentum. These are things that happen in playoff hockey.
  - Jdorf40
    Solid post.
  - http://www.facebook.com/Dash.driver Brandon G Boetcher
    The people from Colorado Springs Hate being referred to as Denver. DU is in Denver Colorado College is in Colorado Springs.
    - Joe C
      Sorry about confusing Colorado College and Denver. I apologize, but if you replace CC for DU, the points I made still stand.
  - Brett
    I agree, but if we’re talking about past indiscretions, I’ll trust the kid who had a few alcohol related issues which he dealt with head-on waaaaay before the kid who comes from a family that calls each other up to come beat the snot out of some teenage kids for riding bikes then shows his ‘character’ by ridiculously arrogant tweets and leaking the fact that he made the top-3. On one hand ‘drunk and throwing stuff out of a garage’ the other hand ‘a family who gets together to beat up kids’. HMMMMM. That’s a tough one. Must be us North Dakota folks and our backward ways that don’t understand the sophisticated east coast hierarch.
    That said, Miele made a great case for himself but I firmly believe Frattin’s the best college player in the country.
    - Jay
      You can’t hold a kid’s family against him, just the actual decisions made by the kid. Frattin made worse decisions.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501157411 Joey Loeffler Jr
  Miele should win because of bias . . . when you realize that Bochenski didn’t win the Hobey and then you think about player such as Zach Parise, Toews, and Drew Stafford that didn’t.
  Where were Miele and Atkinson in the tournament? You can’t win against real competition everything else is moot.
  - siouxfaninbisoncountry
    Joey- my vote for best Sioux season to fall short of winning the Hobey goes to Jeff Panzer 2000-2001.
    Ryan Miller set a standard that season that has now made it near impossible for a goaltender to win the award.
  - Jay
    Like I said, Frattin shouldn’t win for OBVIOUS reasons.
    - ballgamer2
      Please list them and please don’t shout.
- Jdorf40
  For obvious reasons huh? Kind of like Cam Newton winning the Heisman IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INVESTIGATION? The NCAA has their favorites. They’ll probably give it to Miele because he’s the only one of the three that wasn’t drafted. That’s the type of logic these boneheads use most of the time. Last time I checked, this is the 2011 Hobey Baker award, I’m pretty confident that Matt Frattin’s 36 goals and being 2nd overall in points (while actually helping his team make the Frozen Four) is more impressive than somebody who racked up 71 points (only 24 goals) while playing on a line with another Hobey Hopeful that wasa -2 and kept off the score sheet in the most important game of the season. But Miele will probably still win it. That’s how PC works.
  - Blinky The Wonder Chimp
    Hey pinhead, the NCAA has nothing to do with this award. Sorry to break the news to you.
    A lot of the buffoon fans from North Dakota seem resigned to the fact that Frattin will not win this award. That is good news because I can only imagine the freaking out and shock if you had expected this criminal to win all along and got a bad surprise in St. Paul on Frozen Friday.
    Character matters. Frattin can have as many goals as he wants. He has a big zero in that character stat column.
    - bigsiouxguy
      zero in character? what the… are you talking about. He was a college kid that made some bad choices. Anyone else would have gone back to CAN to play major juniors or sign on with the pros. he wanted to finish what he started. This guy has tested character…. I dont consider character to be leaving the college ranks BEFORE you finish yoru degree to and leave your team 1 year before your elidgibility. THATS bs. i wouldnt trust him with my pet lizard.
      - Blinky The Wonder Chimp
        Hahahahahahha. I really hope you don’t believe what you just wrote. Frattin has character… it’s just BAD character.
      - Jdorf40
        Yeah, and they never won the Hobey Mr. Obvious. Are you this jealous with your boyfriend?
      - Blinky The Wonder Chimp
        I can only imagine how low the character is of guy’s like Toews and Parise (they left their team with 2 years of eligibility remaining) and Oshie (1 year left of eligibility and throw in 2 arrests at University of North Dakota just for the heck of it).
        I won’t even go into the giant softball you lobbed over the middle of the plate by mentioning a lizard, the draining of which is something that Oshie knows so much about (in an elevator, of course).
    - Jdorf40
      Hey pinhead…the NCAA has something to do with everything. Despite the way the process is drawn up, they have their say and will get their 2 cents in. Do you drive with your hands at 10 and 2 as well Mr. Obvious?
    - Frattin
      Hey Blinky, are you Frattin’s Roomate? Just curious how you know him so well.
- ballgamer2
  What obvious reasons. Please explain, but don’t bloviate!
guest
frattin racked up most of his points against the bottom half of wcha teams, didn’t do very much against tuc’s…and a dui? Way to go selection committee
- Sioux guy
  You don’t think Miele would have taken more goals if he could have gotten them against non-TUC teams and the bottom half of his league? Too bad. Glad your making the argument that Miele couldn’t score against the worst teams they played..
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501157411 Joey Loeffler Jr
  Actually guest you’re wrong about tucs, and of course he scored more against the weaker teams how are you going to hold that against him. He was the best player on the best team in the conference with the highest strength of schedule. He did not get a DUI, he was acquitted . . . and I think going home, working, PAYING tuition to come back and working his tail off instead of going to Toronto shows some character at least.
  - BC ROX SOX
    While Matt Frattin’s comeback after his arrest is a commendable story in itself, it’s unfair to use that as evidence in his favor when the other candidates didn’t put themselves in that situation in the first place.
    In reference the the DUI acquittal arguement, it reminds me of a conversation I once heard on “The Steve Wilkos Show”.
    Steve Wilkos: Did you stab your baby with a fork?
    Deadbeat father: Yes, but I was not convicted!
    Matt Frattin still stabbed his baby with a fork, per se.
    - Guest
      But beating up a kid on a bike is okay? Everybody talks about Frattin’s record but nobody mentions Atkinson and his brother being charged with 3rd degree assault?
      - BC ROX SOX
        Cam Atkinson got charged with 3rd degree assault. There now somebody mentioned it.
        Please, no one is saying its ok. And you’re acting like I’m saying Atkinson should win the award, which I’m not. I’m surprised that he even got to the final 3. Miele gets my vote, but then again I’m swayed by the 70+ points on a team with two Hobey finalists. But I don’t actually vote either, so who cares what I think.
    - Jdorf40
      I think that what you meant to say was that the other candidates never got caught doing something wrong. If you really think that they never broke any laws or rules you aren’t living in reality.
      - Smeh
        HAHAHA.. Nodak fans have resorted to the “the other guys just didn’t get caught” clause. Classic
      - Jdorf40
        You’re right. They’re probably at class, building houses for the less fortunate, visiting the elderly people and elementary students or at church when they’re not on the ice. They never attended a party or had an “adult beverage” despite being under age. And they’re always in bed before 10pm. I wasn’t trying to “resort” to anything. But it’s as naive as Tiger Woods to think that Matt Frattin is the only person in college hockey that has ever done anything that could be classified as a mistake.
    - Suture1
      Nobody who is thinking Frattin should win is USING his arrest and eventual comeback as a means to gain an advantage over the other candidates. They (the Frattin supporters) are only responding to all the criticism that is being levied against Frattin by some of the posters. I find it ironic that many on here pass judgment on a guy who CLEARLY has shown excellent strength of character by his exploits over a 2 year time frame. This was not a willy-nilly change of heart, Frattin has shown what the human spirit is all about….what America is all about. I would love to see how many people on here have done something ill advised in their lives….and would do what Frattin has done to regain his personal and peer respect? Give this kid some credit regardless of who wins the Hobey. The one thing about Frattin that impresses me the most is that he truly and honestly does not care about the Hobey when compared to his team winning a title. Maybe Miele is similar in this regard, I don’t know? Anyway, it would be nice to see some of you back off a little when it comes to the derogatory comments about Frattin’s personnal life. I think he has done all he could to make his life better from the situation he got himself into. Are any of us free of mistakes and errors in judgment that we can sit back and judge others as Frattin is being judged here? I would think not. Remember one thing, Frattin is not out on the corner yelling for people to give him the Hobey. The kid is simply playing hockey and making the best of his life after a mistake or two when he was 18 years old. Fortunately, the committee has the wisdom, age and experience to realize Frattin deserves consideration for this award.
- jtb
  Now you’re inventing statistics.
  Only 6 of UND’s 43 games weren’t against Teams Under Consideration. Removing those 6, Frattin had 28 goals and 18 assists on the year. By comparison, Miele had 15 goals and 23 assists vs. TUC and Atkinson had 17 and 12, respectively.
- Jdorf40
  That argument was put to rest when he scored the game winning goals in the semis and championship of the WCHA tourney. That extended his goal scoring streak to 8 games. I don’t know if there was a game all season that he was -2. Somebody in the hat trick was. And they were also held off the score sheet. And it happened to be in the biggest game of the year.
- siouxfaninbisoncountry
  Dude- 10 of 12 WCHA teams sometimes 11 were TUCS. UND only played 8 games against non-TUCs. Do some research please. Keep in mind part of the “bottom half” of the WCHA included Colorado College. Maybe we should see what Cam Atkinson did against the “bottom half”
- DG
  Frattin was never charged with a DUI
- Blisteriii
  The teams at the bottom of the WCHA are better than 2/3rds of the rest of college hockey….. Michigan got the lucky draw, and where is that over/rated/inflated Yale team?
  - mich fan
    Not sure I would say Michigan got the lucky draw. For them to win the title they have to beat four of the top WCHA teams in two weeks . Tough chore .
  - Frattin
    I am pretty sure Michigan did not get a lucky draw. TWO WCHA teams and BC in the same bracket. Come on every team in the Frozen Four earned there way.
Sioux Fan
it shouldnt matter about any of the player’s pasts. the hobey is about the player’s performance for that hockey season. so if you dont think about the pasts of the players, just the performance of the players for this year. it is obvious that #21 Matt Frattin should get the hobey
- Jdorf40
  I agree. If they based it on anything but that specific season, then there’s no way that Zach Parise shouldn’t have won the Hobey. That guy put together some absolutely sick numbers his freshman and sophomore seasons.
My Am Ee
24 goals is still a lot, and you gotta figure that those 47 assists lead to 47 goals. Not saying this is an obvious pick, but I don’t see how the NoDak supporters can be so certain that Frattin will win. Sort of like how CC Sabathia won the Cy Young in 07 with 19 wins, vs Josh Beckett’s 20; he pitched 240 innings vs Beckett’s 200ip. You can’t always look at the “Sportscenter stat”. (The stat that seems to carry the most weight, most likely to be shown on Sportscenter because of its perceived importance to the casual sports fan).
BC ROX SOX
I think Matt Frattin is on PEDs, look at the way his goal totals inflated his senior year. They need to test for doping in college hockey.
- Jdorf40
  Actually, if you look at what he did the second half of the season last year after sitting out the first half…it was pretty redonk. But if you were to ask Kevin Wehrs if he thought Frattin used PED’s…he’d probably tell you it’s either that, or he took some of the HULK formula. He probably thinks the same of Malone.
  - BC ROX SOX
    19 points in 24 games is redonk? Granted, I don’t know the contexts of those points, but that hardly jumps off the page to me. From my vantage point, nothing Matt Frattin did in college hockey is “redonk” except his 36 goals this year. DISCLAIMER: As a non-UND follower, I know nothing of his intangibles as a player, like does he play on the PK a lot? Is he a good two way forward? What his linemates stats look like, etc? So I’m knowingly basing my comments on incomplete information.
    - UNDalum
      Frattin is a great 2-way player, 2nd on the team with a +28 rating on the year. Ben Blood, a defenseman for the Sioux, is first on the team with +33 rating.
      Yes, he plays on the PK unit, with 3 short handed goals on the season (most in the league is 4).
      - BC ROX SOX
        UNDalum – thank you for answering my questions and for not assuming that I was implying that Matt Frattin did none of the things that I was asking about.
        siouxfaninbisoncountry – I was trying to point out that the numbers weren’t impressive, since I don’t watch many (if any) UND games, which is why I asked about the context of the points and what kind of player he was.
        Seems like Frattin and Miele are both worthy candidates, and I won’t be surprised to see either win.
      - UNDalum
        No problem, and if you wanted to compare his +/- rating to Miele’s, his was +22, also 2nd on his respective team, 1st was Reilly Smith with +27.
        Then Atkinson’s was +21, good for 3rd on his team, 1st was Gibbons at +26…
    - siouxfaninbisoncountry
      BC- He had 3 points in his first 11 games back and then was re-united with buddies and past and current linemates Evan Trupp and Brad Malone. He scored 16 points in his final 13 games (including being shutout in a 2 game home series with Michigan Tech).
      That line is kind of a chicken and the egg argument. All three guys over 40 points for the year. Is that Matt Frattin’s goal scoring ability inflating the assist totals of his linemates or his linemates skills leading to more Frattin goals?
      - UNDalum
        Same could be asked about Miele; his (usual) linemate was Reilly Smith (54 points). and when on the wing with Camper (57 points) they racked up points (look at Northern Michigan in October)
    - Jdorf40
      I’m a Sioux fan but I try to keep an open mind and be rational about things. I really thought that it was anyone’s race going into the conference tournaments. I think Atkinson is as talented as Frattin or Miele to be honest with you. But I haven’t been this excited about a guy in a Sioux jersey for quite some time. In my mind, what separated him from the group was the WCHA tournament and the fact that without his performance in that tournament, they easily could have been sent travelling as a 3 seed (like BC was) and in case you haven’t noticed, the teams that have travelled over the past couple of years haven’t done well (the high seeds anyway). I live and work in the Ann Arbor area so I’m familiar with the CCHA as well. Miele is the real deal, but it’s hard to really compare he and Frattin because they’re two completely different types of players. And Miami’s top line was pound for pound as good as any line in the country. Their problem was that everyone talked about their growth in depth over the season but I didn’t see it. I really think Michigan was the best team in the CCHA.
      Frattin is easily the best two way player of the three. All 3 of them play the game pretty smart, and find ways too make up for some of the things that they might lack. But I’d be shocked if you could find somebody in college hockey with a better shot than Frattin. The puck looks like it’s shot out of a cannon when he let’s it go. And he’s ridiculously accurate. A majority of his goals are wrist shots that he let’s go somewhere between the dots and the tops of the circles and can range from boards to boards. He’s not afraid to get dirty either. He has rattled more than a few cages over the season. I don’t want to keep comparing him to former Sioux players, but he’s aggressive like T.J. Oshie was. Even if he’s got the puck, if he thinks that delivering a blow will allow him to keep the puck, he’ll be the aggressor. It’s fun to see and not many people can play like that. And as far as his linemates go…Trupp and Malone are both pretty darn good. Malone is probably the least creative of the 3, but he likes to muck it up and will hurt you around the net. Trupp is the smallest of the 3 and can do some amazing things with the puck. I encourage you to youtube “Evan Trupp showing off” and Even Trupp in the WCHA semi’s this year when he carried the puck from in front of the Sioux bench into the CC zone on the blade of his stick while getting a solid shot off. If he’d have scored, it’d be hard to find a better goal since that guy from Michigan that pulled a Houdini from behind the net against Minnesota. While you’re at it, youtube videos on all 3 of them because they’re all amazing to watch.
      Also too when you looked at the 19 points in 24 games from last season. Keep in mind he dressed for 24 games, but he didn’t play very much when he first came back last year. Hakstol definitely kept a tight leash on his ice time until the last 1/4 of the season. He got very hot at the end of the season last year and a majority of his points were scored toward the end of the year when Hakstol finally started putting him on the ice more.
      All of these guys are worthy and I won’t be surprised to see any of them win it. But if Frattin isn’t given the award, I just really hope they don’t base it on his off ice incident from a previous season. Since that happened he’s done everything in his power to be the person that any collegiate hockey fan would want their own players to be.
      - mich fan
        Good post . Thanks for keeping it about hockey.
  - siouxfaninbisoncountry
    Poor Kevin Wehrs. He got smoked last year by Frattin and this year by his line mate Brad Malone. Go Sioux. You Tube it, it’s awesome.
MP
Frattin will be your 2011 Hobey Baker winner!
Guest
Apparently the strength of character on and OFF the ice part of this award must be the last quality they look at because it appears that two of the three candidates have had some issues with the OFF ice part. This award in my eyes just lost all credibility. Like one of the poster said, ” score a crap load of goals and stay eligible.”.
CCHASam
Frattin deserves it because he’s from North Dakota and everyone knows they aren’t a deep team and without him they’d be in last. It’s so obvious that it’s not like he has a supporting cast of a bunch of kids drafted by NHL teams and he does it on his own. Plus he’s a double major. and he’s on parole
- Jennifer Nhuyt
  Have u ever played hockey? What a numb nut. CCHA fan- u guys don’t know anything about hockey. Nice turn out at your CCHA tourney. Were there 6 fans in the building? You need to get out of your moms house more.
- Jdorf40
  You’re right. He shouldn’t win it because he’s on the best team. We better not give it to Miele though either as he is on a line with another Hobey Hopeful that is really the reason Miele had so many points (based on the fact that of his 71 points only 24 were goals). Good thinking. Let’s give it to Atkinson.
GeauxSioux
Hobey loves goals.
Atkinson was also arrested.
Atkinson bolted first chance after BC’s ousting.
J. Connolly got hosed here.
IMO.
- Jay
  Not to defend Cam, but he was arrested because his father put him in a no win situation. His one arrest doesn’t compare to Frattin’s multiple and Cam’s happened before his time at BC.
  And, no, J. Connolly did not get hosed. Cam is more than a worthy finalist.
  Cam leaving after BC lost is no different than anyone else leaving after the season is over.
  - GeauxSioux
    Thanks, Jay. I didn’t know that about Atkinson’s arrest. I do agree that he is a worthy finalist, I just would’ve picked J. Connolly over him if I were on the committee. We are all entitled to our opinions, right?
    I’m not here to take stabs at Atkinson at all, I know he is a fantastic player and, from what I’ve read, a good person off ice as well. I guess I’m a little biased as I’ve only seen Atkinson play 6 or 7 times this year (and Miele even less, unfortunately).
    However, an arrest in the past is still an arrest.
  - UNDalum
    Cam was still 19 at the time though. His father called him and his brother after he got cut off by kids on bicycles. The 2 Atkinson kids (19 and 20) began punching and kicking one of the boys. This was the August when Cam was a Freshman.
    Frattin was 21 when he got into trouble.
MP
- Best player in the Hockey East, Matt Frattin
- Best player in the ECAC, Matt Frattin
- Best player in the CCHA, Matt Frattin
- Best player in Atlantic Hockey, Matt Frattin
- Best player in the Hockey East, Matt Frattin
Bottom line, best 2011 college hockey player of the year is no one else but Matt Frattin!
- Joe C
  Now there is some strong logic! I sure enjoyed Matt Frattin being MOP at the 2009 Frozen Four I attended, when the Terriers of North Dakota defeated the RedHawks of North Dakota in an epic thriller. The Beavers of North Dakota and the Catamounts of North Dakota both lost in the semi-finals.
  This message brought to you by Mattin Frattin of the North Dakota Hockey League.
  - GeauxSioux
    Had to like this. Your logic is flawless!
    Matt Frattin of the North Dakota Terriers broke through Matt Frattin and Matt Frattin of the North Dakota Redhawks and went top shelf on Matt Frattin. Great game for Matt Frattin.
- Blinky The Wonder Chimp
  Maybe he will win the USA hockey player of the year. I don’t think they take into account character for that award.
  Congrats to Miele for winning the Hobey.
puckluck
Come on folks … we have three worthy candidates. The past is the past and we need to focus on what have you done lately. Everyone has their own choices but the only one that counts is that of the committee. Let the chips fall where they may and let’s remember why each of the players were choosen. They were all exciting players and a barrel of fun to watch.
SiouxInMinny
Here’s hoping Matt Frattin wins it. All good candidates. It is peculiar that Aaron Dell did not get much attention. His season was unbelievable. He is now the top single-season winning goalkeeper in Sioux history.
- DG
  Ya that’s impressive especially when he had to beat Ed Belfour’s season where UND won ’87 Nat’l title. I don’t think he should win it by any means because he owes a lot of credit to the team in front of him but I do think he should have been a candidate
  - GeauxSioux
    Dell owes a lot of his success to his D-men.
Societyinahandbasket
If they give it to Frattin they should give a partial award to Hakstool and the UND administrators for overlooking his infractions and giving him chances that he never would have gotten if he was a scrub. Bottom line, North Dakota, like the U in Florida is always going to have assaulters, drunks, grade cheats etc on the team. If they’re college athletes the rest of teh teams will have to deal with these guys. I mean they’re giving Chris Brown lots of attention and he wailed on Rihanna, no?
- WOW
  Wow you just showed how arrogant and stereotypical you can be with this comment. Oh by the way these cheaters, drunks, and assaulters will make more money in one year then you’ll ever make in your lifetime. :)
  - SeeBerkas
    yeeehaa pardner. I’m all for that! to the drunks and criminals go the spoils. yeah Bernie Madoff!!!!! Yeah Bonnie and Clyde. Wooooohooooooo!!!!!
    - guest
      Which financial system isn’t a ponzi scheme? Get a bunch of money and then make small payouts, when all the money coming in is recalled the system collapses? Sound like social security anyone? Mortgage market?
  - Guest
    WOW!!! So basically out of loyalty, committment, and dedication to Fighting Sioux hockey, Frattin gave up a lifetime of earnings to be with his teammates for his senior year. A whole lifetime worth of earning is a big sacrifice!!!
  - Collector
    I hear Matt’s got a backup career selling Ralph’s gruesome WW2 collection.
- siouxfaninbisoncountry
  I find this argument against Frattin very interesting. Take a look at what Frattin did on the ice before his suspension. I can stomach a lot of things that uninformed people may say about UND or Matt Frattin, but arguing that they overlooked the actions of a superstar player holds no water. Frattin scored 25 points his sophomore year. He returned to a team loaded with draft picks and top recruits from around the country. UND did not need a trouble maker that scores 25 points a year on their team. Read up on the penance that Frattin paid. What you would learn is that he turned his life around and earned his way back on the team- he even paid for school himself when he returned for the second half of the season his junior year. He chose the long road back over the professional contract that he was offered by the Toronto Maple Leafs. What Coach Dave Hakstol and his staff saw in Frattin was a hard-working guy who put his life on the ice before his life off the ice. Matt Frattin’s performance on the ice has earned him the Hobey Baker- ask his teammates, ask the announcers in St Cloud. He has been the most dynamic player in almost every game he has played in this year. To me, off the ice is debatable with Matt Frattin. His history is his history and I can not tell you to decide that it helps or hurts him. For me, I think how he came back shows strength of character and I think that his performance on the ice- for the best team in the country against the third toughest schedule- shows that he is the country’s best player.
  Speak out against Frattin’s history but do not speak out against the way UND handled his situation specifically.
- Frattin
  Comparing North Dakota to Florida nice
Blinky The Wonder Chimp
The good news is that while Frattin will not win the Hobey, he will receive a special waiver from folks in Toronto and is being inducted into the NHL HOF on the Sunday after the Frozen Four.
His criminal record will not be on his HOF plaque so the folks from North Dagoata will at least have something to not cry about.
- DG
  We’ll all be sleeping one off anyway
- helmut
  hey blinky u r a dandy i like all three they all deserve it but it is fun listening to how jealous u r of north dakota go bulldogs
hockeylvr
If “character” really does have anything to do with it Frattin should be a good choice. How many of you kids and younger adults haven’t made mistakes. Who on here can say they’ve never ever done anything in their life that if they had been caught wouldn’t have been arrested. I don’t think there are any such people who have never EVER done anything wrong. Frattin could have bolted last year to the pro’s and taken the easy way out. Instead, he wanted to reset his life, clear his name, and be the person his parents could be proud of. To me that takes more character than anything else he could have done. All three are great candidates, but I’m one who’ll always have a bit more respect for those who look inside themselves and then overcome adversity. For that reason I’m hoping Matt Frattin wins.
- BC ROX SOX
  Yes, college kids make mistakes, but isn’t it unfair to reward him for overcoming said mistake when another (equally qualified) candidate didn’t put himself in that situation in the first place? I’m not saying Frattin shouldn’t win because of his past, but I don’t think that it should benefit him either.
  - Siouxhockeyrocks
    Agreed, I still hope he wins though.
mich fan
idiot , pinhead ,@sshloe Somewhere the post on this site has taken a turn for the worst ! All three of these hockey players deserve a shot at the Hobey. As far as Frattin , I know very few college kids that don’t get in trouble at one time or another. He paided for his mistake . He is a great player and has earned the recognition.
- Jdorf40
  Finally! Somebody with a rational post!
Guest 2
I still think that ot non-goal in the UNO michigan game was a terrible call….. when is the officiating in college hockey going to improve?
Brandtson42
Andy Miele: Not at the Frozen Four (playing at least)
Cam Atkinson: Not at the Frozen Four (playing at least)
Matt Frattin: Going to the Frozen Four
So regardless of any of the issues for Matt Frattin or Cam Atkinson there is only one still playing. Frattin puts in the winning goals in the WCHA tournament, by far the hardest most physical tournament in the country, against a team that took out Boston College and a quarterfinalist of the NCAA tournament. Where was Atkinson when his team got owned by the middle-of-the-pack WCHA team? I think you see what I am getting at. Frattin is still leading the #1 team in the country to the Frozen Four. UND preseason rank was #1 and it takes an amazing team to end at #1. He is a man among boys. Frattin for Hobey. There is no other option.
LegendSnacks
Atkinson lead the nation not only in goals as a sophomore but also to a frozen four championship with two of the hardest earned goals I have seen. No one can touch him nor ever will be able to.
LegendSnacks
PS: who cares if he signed to go to Columbus, He could have left last year and was asked to on more than one occasion, but he came back to help his team. He had a few major goals in mind: Topping the nation (again) with goals and winning the Hobey Baker. Not many college athletes can even compare to what Cam has accomplished in only three years. Remember haters will always hate, its all out of jealousy.
Gs
I’m at the end of the comments to this piece and feel heartsick. I certainly hope that the young men who are finalists for this fabulous award aren’t reading it. I offer my congratulations to all three. What an accomplishment!!
- mich fan
  I completely agree . Reading these post made me realize there are very few knowledgeable hockey fan on this site. The three candiates have worked hard from the time they could walk or lace up a skate.
  - Frattin
    After reading all this post. I think there is a lot of you that need to work on there character.
    - ballgamer2
      And you should do some work on your sentence construction and spelling.
stickontheice
This is about the most painful blog I have seen on USCHO and I really wish the whole thing would be removed. A reasonable person would expect to find debate about the Hobey finalists on the blog and here we have stabbing babies with a fork? Come on people! If you have something on topic that offers even a marginal value to the discussion, please post it. If you want to get into an online testosterone contest, go somewhere else as soon as possible.
- Frattin
  thank you!
Siouxhockeyrocks
My Two Cents:
Atkinson showed that he is very deserving of this award nomination. Very talented and in the few games I was able to watch of BC one of the noticeable players. That being said I don’t know much about Cam and cannot clearly make a judgement on his hockey skills. What I do know is from what I read. Cam is the best player on BC. Bold statement. We all know the best two teams this year (UND and BC.) If you disagree ask yourself how many other teams could play 5 games against either of these teams and win 3? You would be hard pressed to find any. Some of us hate to admit that and some of us love to remind everyone else. If the best player on the best team isn’t a finalist then there must have been something wrong so here we are. Atkinson had a great year and deserves to be talked about for it. He won’t win though.
I was able to watch Miele a handful of times and I was very impressed. I thought that Miami was mediocre and then that line would hit the ice and we’d all see a bit of magic. Well, sort of. My knock on Miele is when he was away from the puck or on D. I thought he kind of disappeared from my radar when Miami didn’t have the puck. That being said. When they were on O he showed why he is here and why he is deserving. I can remember Miele and that line keeping Miami together against Michigan (whom is better than most people think.) I supremely think if you can skate with Michigan you can skate with anyone. Bottome line Miele is a fantastic player. Very intelligent, fast, creative, and productive. All good attributes for a Hobey man!
Finally….Matt Frattin. I was able to watch a lot of Sioux hockey this year as I always try to do. I can honestly say that I can only think of one game where Matt wasn’t a cut above the competition. Frattin is a more bull nose north south type of player than the other two. Frattin is just as happy to go through you as around you. He displays uncanny ability to hold the puck not unlike the other two candidates although he’s less finesse. All three can score. Frattin has the best shot. He has an absolute boomer and it’s accurate. There is no argument about who’s shot is the best. Frattin can skate too. He is fast and unbelievably strong. Frattin was on an absolutely great college hockey line. You could say he was the sniper, Trupp was the playmaker, and Malone was power forward. Frattin also served tons of time on the penalty kill and in key situations for his respective team.
Of the three I’d say Frattin is the best player. He is the overall package right now. Is he the most talented? I’m not sure. I’d say he’s as talented as the other two. He’s just more of a power forward type and the other two are more skill oriented. I still think that it’s 60-40 Miele-Frattin for this award. And no I don’t think it boils down to character. Frattin’s past neither hurts or helps him in this case. Y
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