Avalanche top prospect Cale Makar named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award

It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but Colorado Avalanche’s star defensive prospect Cale Makar was among the ten NCAA players named as finalists for the Hobey Baker Award on Wednesday.

The trophy is awarded to the season’s best hockey player in the NCAA. 81 players were initially nominated for the first round of fan voting, which ran for a month and ended on March 10th. Makar was the only NCAA Avalanche prospect named to the fan vote, and finished second in voting to Corey Mackin of Ferris State.

Makar had one of the best seasons by a defenseman in program and conference history. His dominance this year helped the Minutemen capture their first-ever regular season title. Makar was twice named Hockey East’s best player of the week and the conference’s best defensive player three times this season. He averaged around 27 minutes of ice-time a game this season, and was a huge offensive catalyst for the team:

As far as individual accolades, Makar set a new record for most assists (26) and points (42) by a Minutemen defenseman in a single season. His point production put him fourth in program history for defenseman with 40-point seasons since the turn of the century. He leads the conference in scoring and is sixth overall amongst top scorers in the entire country. Makar was named a Hockey East first team all-star today as well, and was the conference’s only unanimous selection:

Fan voting (which accounts for one percent of the final ballot) for the top ten finalists opens today and will run until March 31st. The Hobey ‘Hat Trick’ (top three finalists) will be announced on April 4th, with the winner being named during the Frozen Four on April 12th.

So what are you waiting for, Avs fans? Voting opens today. Cast your vote here, because the #HobeyNeedsMoreCale.