Hockey’s latest worst-kept secret was revealed on Thursday when the finalists for the Hobey Baker Award — given to the top collegiate player — were announced. Among the trio of finalists is this year’s projected first-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Macklin Celebrini, alongside Jackson Blake and Cutter Gauthier.
Celebrini, 17, had 32 goals and 64 points in just 37 games in his freshman year at Boston University. He’s been the unanimous number-one pick among prospect rankings for some time and could make the jump to the NHL next season, depending on where he lands. He was also named Hockey East Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year and was the Hockey East scoring champion this season.
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Gauthier, who was the fifth overall pick in 2022 by the Philadelphia Flyers and is now in the Anaheim Ducks system, had 37 goals and 64 points in 39 games with Boston College this season. It was his second collegiate season in the NCAA. He is also the NCAA goal-scoring leader and leader in game-winning goals.
As for Blake, son of former NHL forward Jason Blake, he finished the year with 22 goals and 60 points in 40 games for the University of North Dakota. The 20-year-old was the fourth-round pick, 109th overall, for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021 and remains unsigned by them. Blake joined Zach Parise as just the second sophomore in the past 30 years to reach 100 points at UND, and he led the team as a freshman — the first to do so at UND since 1980.
The winner of the Hobey Baker will be announced Friday, April 12, 2024, live on NHL Network at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.