Six former Ontario Junior Hockey League players have been nominated for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, foundation officials announced on Wednesday.
The former OJHLers include:
- Former North York Ranger Cole O’Hara. The one-time Ontario Hockey Association Top Prospect plays at UMass.
- Former Toronto Junior Canadiens teammates Tyler Fukakusa – the MVP and scoring champ of the OJHL in 2022-23 – and Matthew Wilde who play for RIT in Rochester, NY.
- Noah Beck (Arizona State) and Ayrton Martino (Clarkson) who were St. Michael’s Buzzers teammates.
- Former Buffalo Jr. Sabres’ defenceman Michael Craig is a sophomore at Robert Morris in Pittsburgh.
They are on a list of 90 student-athletes representing the 64 NCAA Division I schools to be nominated for Phase I of the award process.
The Hobey Baker Award is awarded annually to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player in the nation. Award criteria include candidates exhibiting the exceptional character traits of the award’s namesake, Hobey Baker. A legendary American hero, Baker was a World War I fighter pilot and was known as America’s greatest amateur athlete in his day, excelling at hockey and football at Princeton University.
Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
The first phase of fan balloting runs now through March 10. Fans can cast their vote daily by going to the Hobey Baker website at http://www.hobeybaker.com/vote.
Following the conclusion of Phase I, the list of players will be narrowed to a Top-10 and that announcement will be made on March 19. Phase II voting on the Top-10 will take place from March 19-30. The fans’ vote accounts for a full one percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year’s award recipient.
The Hobey Hat Trick will then be announced on April 3 and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award will be presented to the winner on April 11 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in St. Louis, Mo.
