Hockey East announced today that Boston University freshman forward Macklin Celebrini has been named Hockey East player of the year and rookie of the Year.
In addition, Boston College’s Greg Brown was voted coach of the year by his peers.
All three awards were selected by the league’s 11 head coaches.
Celebrini becomes just the fourth player win Hockey East rookie and player of the year awards in a single season following Jack Eichel (2014-15), Paul Kariya (1992-93), and Brian Leetch (1986-87). As the youngest player in college hockey at 17 years old, Celebrini currently sits second overall in the nation in goals (30), third in points (55) and shots (158), and fourth in power-play goals (11). He leads all rookies in goals, shots, and power-play goals, and is tied for eighth with three game-winning tallies.
In 23 Hockey East games, he led all players with 44 points, nine power-play goals, 1.91 points per game and was second with 23 goals, 112 shots on net, and a plus-18 on-ice rating. He also won 190 faceoffs, 12th most in the league.
A top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft, Celebrini left his mark on several season-long categories, as no rookie has ever scored more goals in league play than his 23, and his 1.00 goals per game is the best mark among rookies and seventh-best all time in the 40-year history of Hockey East. His 44 league points are the fifth-most by a freshman ever and the most since Eichel’s 44 in 2014-15. At 1.91 points per game as a first-year player, only Eichel and Kariya scored at a higher pace. He recorded a point in 25 of 30 games played, including 19 multi-point games and six games with at least three points.
Celebrini, the first Terrier to record 30 goals in a season since Chris Drury scored 38 during the 1996-97 season, was the lone unanimous selection to the all-Hockey East first team and was one of three rookies selected unanimously to the all-rookie team. He was a six-time rookie of the week, two-time player of the week, rookie of the month in January and was named Hockey East and national player of the month in October.
Brown wins his first Bob Kullen Award in just his second season as a head coach at his alma mater. Top-seeded Boston College (29-5-1 overall, 20-3-1 Hockey East) claimed the Hockey East regular-season crown for the 18th time in program history as the Eagles are on a 10-game winning streak, have an 19-2-0 mark in their last 21, and ended the regular season riding a 13-game winning streak in league play.
They are the first program to win 20 games in Hockey East play since Boston College accomplished that feat in 2010-11 in a season where all teams played 27 league games instead of the current 24 and is the best mark in Hockey East play since Maine went 22-1-1 in 1992-93. Brown led a team that saw six underclassmen named to all-star teams including a rookie netminder (Jacob Fowler) who posted the second-highest single-season win total in Hockey East regular-season history.
Boston College is the first Hockey East team to win 10-games in a row since Massachusetts won 14 consecutively en route to the 2021 NCAA championship.
