The Hobey Baker committee released their list of the ten finalists for the award today.
Here are the finalists:
Nate Gerbe, Boston College
Ryan Jones, Miami
Lee Jubinville, Princeton
Simon Lambert, RIT
Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, North Dakota
Ryan Lasch, St. Cloud
Jeff Lerg, Michigan State
T.J. Oshie, North Dakota
Kevin Porter, Michigan
Kevin Regan, New Hampshire
I'm not sure what to say, other than that they must have had a really tough time coming up with ten names for this.
I understand that Jeff Lerg has name recognition, and does tremendously well in the character aspects of the awards. But he's only 11th in the country in save percentage and 17th in goals against average. There were only 66 goalies that played at least one-third of their team's minutes this year. That puts Lerg in about the 74th percentile among goalies in terms of GAA. Somebody who isn't in top quarter of goalies in a major statistic probably shouldn't be listed as one of the ten best players in the country. I know character plays a huge part of the award, but I don't care if Richard Bachman steals teddy bears from sick children, he should be in the top ten over Lerg.
T.J. Oshie is a great player, but did he really have a Hobey-caliber year? He's tied for 25th in the country with 39 points in 37 games. It's a nice season, but there are quite a few guys ahead of him on the list that had just as good, if not better, seasons. Plus, he's got the same problem as Nate Gerbe in that he spent a game in the stands for some poor behavior, and the award criteria is pretty explicit about candidates showing strength of character on and off the ice.
I'm sure a lot of people will complain about Lee Jubinville and Simon Lambert making the list as token conference representatives. I don't have much of a problem with Lambert. He's a senior that had great statistics. There's a pretty strong argument for him. Jubinville is a little tougher. He's even farther down the scoring list than Oshie, though he did help lead his team to a pretty nice year. Ultimately, I can live with each conference getting some representation. It's similar to the NCAA tournament auto-bids. There may be slightly candidates out there, but they're probably not taking a spot away from anyone who has a real chance at winning the award.
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No dog in this fight, however should the Hoby Baker award be just about statistics? The overall qualities of a player and what he brings to his team are most important. Stats are usually a poor judge of character. They in fact can be used to mislead many unsuspecting people into believing the incorrect truths. I believe that stats should be looked at when choosing a Hoby candidate and they should be given the proper weight. Maybe about 20% of the criteria should be a players stats.
Sorry, I meant Hobey... not Hoby
Good analysis. I agree with the Lerg and Oshie comments. Oshie may be thee best player in college hockey hands down, but doesn't deserve to win the Hobey. Not only for the off ice stuff but for the point deficiency as well. Both could easily be explained but they shouldn't have to be for a hobey candidate.
Lerg shouldn't have even gotten a sniff.
Cruthers from RMU should've been on the list.
The fact that Bachman isn't even a finalist is a joke. He is WCHA POY but can't be a finalist for the Hobey? I thought the Hobey Baker was awarded for the best college hockey player in the country, but it seems there is some obvious bias against freshmen. I can understand him not winning the award, since Porter is the front runner, but not being a finalist...laughable.
Similar to WCHA officials...laughable.
This has to be one of the weakest group of finalists in a while. I agree with you that the committee must have had a heck of a time coming up with a list. They probably looked at the candidates and said, "Is this the best we can do!?"
Oshie got in on name recognition. His numbers are good but hardly great. His character has to be questioned when you have multiple run ins with the police. Yeah, they may not be for major crimes but you should still keep your nose clean.
Porter looks like the clear favorite.
What are your thoughts on the Hobey Hattrick? Porter, Lasch, Lammy?
I hate Michigan as much as the next guy, but where's Kolarik?
And while Oshie is almost certainly one of the 10 best players in college hockey, he didn't have one of the 10 best seasons.
Chad Rau, anybody? 27 goals in 37 games. 6 shorties (granted about 4 of those were against my lowly Badgers). Oshie had 10 fewer goals in the same # of games, and 4 fewer points.
And I agree, Bachman has to be there, no matter whether he's a freshman or a senior.
Voters are a bunch of morans...and apparently not CC fans.
Concerning Oshie: Not to say he deserves to win the award, but he brings a whole lot more than stats to his team and anyone who has seen him play more than two or three times would know this. Also, dont forget that turning down the NHL for college hockey while facing the possibility of serious injury takes tremendous character.
That said, I agree that he has a couple of highly visible strikes against him, however I do not believe there is more of an impact player in all of NCAA hockey than TJ Oshie.
Disclaimer: yes, I admit, I am biased; no disrespect to Kevin Porter intended
I think Oshie is a great player having a little more than average season for him. He doesn't belong on this list over Rau who outscored him and didn't micturate in an elevator. Maybe that explains it, Hobey voters are all fans of "The Big Lebowski."
"Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos."
For Ralph's stormtroopers, I mean Siouxage fans.
Jubinville had 38 points in 31 games, while Oshie had 39 in 37. The points per game difference is dramatic, and catapults Jubinville into the top ten for points per game. Add this to the fact that Jubinville plays in the ECAC, where there is the lowest scoring in college hockey, his numbers are even more spectacular. Also, he goes to Princeton, which is of course, the alma matter of Hobey himself.
WCHA is the best conference period, no other team or conference can say they are better, and for the hobey to not go to someone from the WCHA is a joke. If players from the WCHA played in the ECAC, they would have 100+ points, same with other conferences. To play in the WCHA you have to be good, and you play against great teams. That of course brings down your point totals. I am from St. Louis and watch college hockey which is a rarity, so when it comes down to watching a WCHA, HE, AHA, or ECAC game, my dish always lands on the WCHA teams, why??? They have more draft picks, more players going on to play in the pros, and of course the level of play is a lot better.. besides how many Hobeys have the WCHA taken home in the past 8 years?
I believe the Hat-trick will be Porter, JPL and Oshie. Don't be surprised if the latter is given the nod.
i guess ppl are sick of seeing the hoby in colorado after sertich and carle.. thats the only logical reason bachman and rau are left off... if trotter stayed all year he'd probably be left off too...
OK, I will admit to being biased but please give me a reason why Chad Kolarik is not among the top 10?
And to brett b: maybe the best player on the #1 team who also happens to lead the nation in points should get it - geez, it's not a stupid conference award.
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