A Quick Look At The Hobey

Last year my early favorite for the Hobey was Cornell goalie Ben Scrivens. Whoops. Hopefully this year’s pick goes much better.

Being halfway through the season, we obviously have a lot larger of a sample than last year when I took a look at the leading candidates. Let’s examine a couple front-runners:

Brendan Smith, D, Wisconsin

Smith has been a very good offensive player since stepping foot in Madison. Smith is tied for 6th nationally in points per game with 1.42, and leads all defensemen in that category. Smith also leads all defensemen in goals with 8.

However, I do have one knock against Smith. In the games I have seen him, which admittedly is only a handful, he has had some pretty poor moments in the defensive zone, curious given that Wisconsin is one of the best defensive teams in the country (2.2 goals allowed per game, 7th nationally). Now, I hate it when people base their Hobey vote (or to be less topical, their baseball Hall of Fame vote) on a small sample of games, but screw it I’m going to do it with Smith.

Gustav Nyquist, F, Maine

Maine has been close to the basement in Hockey East the past couple of seasons. This year they find themselves in 3rd, and they owe their success to the Sophomore from Halmstad, Sweden. Nyquist is 2nd nationally in points per game at 1.58, and he is 21st in goals per game.

Nyquist is as talented as former Black Bear Teddy Purcell, but has stuck around Orono for an extra year. He is ranked 12th amongst Wings prospects by Hockeysfuture.com, but in my opinion he should be at least in the top 3.

Corey Tropp, F, Michigan State

There is no doubt that when discussing Tropp’s candidacy, you have to examine the situation that happened with Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer at Yost last season. It was an ugly ugly situation that will definitely be a dark mark on his candidacy.

Statistically however, he has been awesome. He leads the nation in goals with 22, and is 4th nationally in goals per game. And after dealing with a 10-23-5 record last year, Michigan State sits at 14-6-2, and with 29 points they are 2nd in the CCHA. Michigan State is the 16th best scoring team in the country, and only one player on the Spartans is within 10 goals of Tropp.

Marc Cheverie, G, Denver

Cheverie has been phenomenal statistically. He has a .931 save percentage, and a 2.04 GAA. But after Cheverie got hurt against Minnesota State, getting slashed in the leg by a skate, Denver gave up 13 goals in the three games he missed. The Pioneers are one of the top teams in the country, but perhaps no player is as important to his team as Cheverie is to his.