Hockey East honors continue for the Terriers as the league’s coaches have selected Lane Hutson as Rookie of the Year and Jay Pandolfo as Bob Kullen Coach of the Year. Northeastern goalie Devon Levi was named Player of the Year.
Hutson, who also was runner-up to Levi for POY, is the first freshman to lead Hockey East in scoring (34 league-game points) since Jack Eichel did so in 2014-15. His 25 assists and +19 were also league-leading marks.
Hutson becomes the only the third defenseman to claim conference ROY honors and the 11th Terriers to win the award. Proceeding him were Scott Young, Scott Cashman, Rick DiPietro, Brandon Yip, Colin Wilson, Kieran Millan, Charlie Coyle, Jack Eichel, Clayton Keller and Joel Farabee.
tw-align-centerTo the surprise of absolutely nobody, Lane Hutson is the Hockey East Rookie of the Year!#ProudToBU pic.twitter.com/OZUraaCgyq
— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) March 15, 2023
Pandolfo is the second consecutive first-year head coach to win the Bob Kullen Award presented by Bauer, following Northeastern’s Jerry Keefe. He became the first head coach in program history to win 20 games in his first season in charge of the Terriers and matched Jack Parker's 19-6-0 record in 1973-74 as the best start by a BU head coach in program history. He joins six-time winner Parker and David Quinn (2014-15) as previous COY winners.
• GoTerriers.com Hutson named ROY, Pandolfo tabbed at COY
• HockeyEastOnline report
• EliteProspects.com All Hockey East Rookies of the Year
►BU Hockey Writer Scott Weighart spoke with the Terriers about their focus on the task at hand—Friday's match-up with Providence at TD Garden—and how scoring across all four lines has been a key to BU’s success.
• GoTerriers.com Level-headed Terriers refuse to get ahead of themselves
►Boston Hockey Blog's Belle Fraser has authored a pair of stories about Player of the Week Nick Zabaneh.
• Boston Hockey Blog Zabaneh picking up goals, confidence at the perfect time
• College Hockey News Zabaneh's progress lights a spark under BU
Looking ahead
Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News has updated his draft rankings for several players including 2023 recruit Tom Willander, a Swedish defenseman playing for Rogle J20.THN now has the right-shot blueliner as a late first-round pick.
TOM WILLANDER, RHD, ROGLE (J20 NATIONELL)
Mid-season: Unranked Now: 32
Willander is one of the more interesting defenders in the NHL draft class. He is a right-shot defender with decent size, impressive mobility and flashes of skill that leave you wanting more.
The young Swede has produced at a moderately good rate at the J20 level. He diffuses oncoming rushes by closing the gap and dislodging the puck with his stick before quickly moving the puck to his forwards up ice. Willander shows intelligence in generating zone exits, whether with his feet or passing ability.
I’ve always believed that defenders at this stage of development must at least show they can do some of the flashy offensive things that captivate fans and scouts. Showing the capacity to do so is an excellent sign that at the next level, when they are settling into a middle-pair role as a defensive or two-way defender, they will be able to be effective in the modern game.
Gone are the days of the bruting, beat-you-down defender. The name of the game now is quick transitions. Thwart the chance and move up ice. Willander will use his body when needed but has shown the mold of the modern defensive-leaning blueliner.
Looking back
Alex Chiasson, who had goals in each of the recent Detroit-Boston games, addresses his appreciation for the opportunity to continue his NHL career with the Red Wings:
“I’m 32. These are perhaps my last years,” Chiasson said. “I never took it for granted. I always worked for my opportunities. I’ve had a lot of one-year deals in my career. I’ve had to reprove myself year after year. I’ve always said this — I think the NHL is a privilege. It’s one thing to make it, but to stick around, it’s a tough league to be in, to play for a lot of years. I’m trying to squeeze everything I got out of me and make the most of this opportunity.”
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