Step one towards the Hobey Baker was finalized on March 19th when they announced the top 10 finalists for the 2010 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Two Badgers, junior defenseman Brendan Smith and senior forward Blake Geoffrion were both picked as top 10 finalists.The second step in the process happens today when the powers that be announce the "Hobey Hat-Trick," or the three finalists who will be in attendance in Detroit when the Hobey is awarded.
There has been great debate over which Badger candidate should be the official candidate for the Hobey. Gandalf the Red presented his case for Geoffrion. I presented my case for Smith.
Up until this past weekend I thought it was going to be impossible to have two out of the three finalists for the Hobey. To be honest, at this point, I'd be surprised if we don't end up with two. I'll literally steal the trophy if we don't end up with one player in the hat-trick. In my opinion Smith has been a lock since the Michigan game and I don't see him not making the final three. Geoffrion continues to impress me every time on the ice and with his West Region MVP, how do you leave him out?
Looking at the third spot, I think you have to eliminate all of the goalies. None of them stand out above each other and none of them had great weekends. I think you look at two players, forwards Bobby Butler from UNH, and Gustav Nyquist from Maine. Nyquist is the leading scorer in the nation but his team didn't make the NCAA tournament. Butler is leading the country in goals scored and was the Hockey East player of the year. I think in the end Butler gets the nod.
So here are my predictions for today's announcement:
Blake Geoffrion-Senior Forward, Wisconsin
Brendan Smith-Junior Defenseman, Wisconsin
Bobby Butler-Senior Forward, New Hampshire
Check in with the blog later for the results.
Posts
