The Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation announced Wednesday the three finalists for the 2021 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented annually to college hockey’s “finest citizen” for leadership in community service.
Jacob Adkins and Andrew Walker, Sophomore Forwards, UMass Boston
It all started with two pairs of roller blades and a friendly wager.
UMass Boston men’s hockey sophomores Jake Adkins and Andy Walker found a positive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they teamed up to become the “Men In Blades.”
The duo rollerbladed nearly 900 miles from Boston to Mason, Mich., this past summer to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS). Over the course of their journey, the pair raised over $30,000 for the ACS and raised awareness of the many charities that needed continued donations in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.
Josh Kosack, Senior Forward, Union
Two years ago, a chance encounter with a teenage fan at an away game inspired Union senior forward Josh Kosack to create “Kozi’s Kids,” an initiative that gives local Schenectady children a chance to experience a college hockey game – many for the first time.
Through the program, which utilizes unused game tickets and concession vouchers from Union players, Kosack arranges for transportation to a Union men’s hockey game, gives children a tour of the locker room before the game, and also answers questions from the children about life as a college student and a student-athlete. The nature of Kozi’s Kids changed dramatically this year due to the pandemic, but that did not stop Kosack from giving back to the community in different ways.
Without hockey games to bring local children to this season, he singlehandedly raised more than $5,000 to purchase Christmas presents for Schenectady children this past holiday season. And in the same week that his team received word that its 2020-21 season was canceled, Kosack delivered more than 100 coats to a local Schenectady charity as part of a drive he initiated on campus.
Even without a season of his own, Kosack still went to work helping others get through a challenging time.
Delaney Wolf, Senior Defense, Saint Mary’s
Wolf, a two-time finalist for the award, has proven to be a team leader from the minute she stepped on the Saint Mary’s campus.
Voted a team captain as both a junior and a senior, Wolf is beloved by her teammates, coaching staff and Saint Mary’s professors — because they all know she is going to bring her best to whatever she is asked to do.
Despite balancing the rigors of carrying a 4.0 GPA as a double-major in Biochemistry and Spanish and playing collegiate hockey, not to mention playing the French horn in the university band, Wolf finds time to give back — tutoring fellow Saint Mary’s student-athletes, hosting team meals, mentoring youth hockey players in the Winona association, and spending countless hours participating in local volunteer work both in her hometown of Bismarck, N.D., and in Winona, Minn.
Amanda Conger from Saint Anselm was honored as the 2020 recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award.
The 26th recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award will be honored in a ceremony on Friday, April 9 as part of the men’s Frozen Four weekend in Pittsburgh.
Additionally, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation will make a donation to the charity most important to each of the three finalists. These donations are made possible with the generous support of the award’s partners and donors.
