The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Wednesday the 20 NCAA Division I players that are semifinalists for the 63rd Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.
The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team ever to win the World Championship Tournament. Brown coached the Rangers to the title in Prague, Czechoslovakia, that year as the team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.
Fourteen teams are represented in the slate of candidates that includes 12 players from Hockey East, six from ECAC Hockey and two from Atlantic Hockey. The list includes 11 forwards, five defensemen and four goaltenders.
| Player's Name | Position | Class | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Anas | F | So. | Quinnipiac |
| Kyle Criscuolo | F | Jr. | Harvard |
| Thatcher Demko | G | So. | Boston College |
| Jack Eichel | F | Fr. | Boston University |
| Danny Federico | D | Sr. | Quinnipiac |
| Jon Gillies | G | Jr. | Providence |
| Matt Grzelcyk | D | Jr. | Boston University |
| Tyler Kelleher | F | So. | New Hampshire |
| Alex Lyon | G | So. | Yale |
| Trevor Mingoia | F | Jr. | Providence |
| Rob Nichols | G | So. | Connecticut |
| Danny O'Regan | F | Jr. | Boston University |
| Austin Orszulak | F | So. | American International |
| Mike Paliotta | D | Sr. | Vermont |
| Eric Robinson | F | Sr. | Dartmouth |
| C.J. Smith | F | Fr. | Massachusetts-Lowell |
| Frank Vatrano | F | So. | Massachusetts |
| Jimmy Vesey | F | Jr. | Harvard |
| Steve Weinstein | D | Sr. | Bentley |
| Dylan Zink | D | So. | Massachusetts-Lowell |
O’Regan, Vesey, Weinstein and Anas are repeat nominees from last year, while Grzelcyk and Gillies were both semifinalists in 2013.
“Competition throughout the East has been particularly spirited and intense this season,” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello in a news release. “Many individual players are having superb years. That’s the main reason that the committee expanded its roster of semifinalists from 16 to 20. Still, there were more than a few others who have played well enough to be on the list.”
The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of the NCAA tournament. The award will be presented to the winner at the New England College Hockey Writers’ Dinner in April.
The 2014 winner was Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau.
