College hockey has not seen a forward like Johnny Gaudreau in quite a while.
How long will it be before this level of hockey sees another player of his caliber?
Boston College’s Gaudreau became the first player in 11 years to reach 80 points in a Hobey Baker Award-winning season, and it’s little surprise that Gaudreau is USCHO’s choice as national player of the year.
In an era of moderate individual scoring totals, Gaudreau’s season resume sits at the top of the pile.
En route to a 36-goal junior season, he had eight multiple-point games. That was capped by a hat trick in the Eagles’ NCAA tournament first-round win over Denver.
That game also was one of 22 this season (out of 40) in which Gaudreau had at least two points. He had a hand in all six BC goals and finished plus-5 for the game.
He had at least one point in 31 straight games, from Nov. 1 to March 15, tying the Hockey East record set by Maine’s Paul Kariya in the 1992-93 season.
For more on Gaudreau’s season and three-year career with Boston College, read our feature written after he won the Hobey Baker Award.
USCHO’s awards were selected by staff writers at the Frozen Four. The All-USCHO teams, rookie of the year and coach of the year were unveiled earlier.
