Awards hat trick for Celebrini: Hobey Baker, All-American, National ROY; Hutson signs with Montreal; NHL contract for Skoog; 2 added from portal

                              Photo credit Jim Rosvold

From Holy Macklin to Hobey Macklin!

Scoring phenom Macklin Celebrini capped his freshman year by winning the 44^th Hobey Baker Memorial Award in a ceremony in St. Paul that aired on the NHL Network. He joins Chris Drury, Matt Gilroy and Jack Eichel as Terrier Hobey winners.

At 17, Celebrini, a Hobey Hat Trick finalist along with BC’s Cutter Gauthier and North Dakota’s Jackson Blake, is the youngest player to win the award as college hockey’s top player and one of only four freshmen so honored.

Accepting the award, the North Vancouver native said “This is an honor to receive this award and I’m truly humbled and grateful to receive it.  I want to congratulate Denver and BC on their wins  and wish them the best of luck Saturday.”

"He's a special player and belongs in that special category because in every environment, every situation he goes, he can excel and that's hard to do as a 17-year-old," Central Scouting director Dan Marr said.

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Macklin Celebrini capped off an impressive freshman year by taking home the Hobey Baker Award! @JamisonCoyle talked with the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft following the announcement. @TerrierHockey | @HobeyBakerAward | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/JgCpdIrr15

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) April 13, 2024

With 32 goals and 32 assists, Celebrini ranks third in the country in points per game (1.68) and second in total goals (32). He was Hockey East's scoring leader with 44 points and is just the fourth player ever to claim conference Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season.

                                 Photo credit Matt Woolverton 

Criteria for the award includes: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game; strength of character on and off the ice; sportsmanship and scholastic achievements. The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is named for the legendary Princeton hockey player who was known as America's greatest amateur athlete of his era. He died testing a repaired aircraft at the end of World War I. 

● GoTerriers.com Celebrini wins Hobey Baker Award

● Hobey Baker Award Past Winners

●  Boston Hockey Blog "It's a surreal feeling"

● USCHO Celebrini becomes youngest Hobey Baker Award winner

● College Hockey News report

● HockeyEastOnline Celebrini wins Hobey Baker Award

● NHL.com Celebrini wins 2024 Hobey Baker Award

●  Bernie Corbett & Belle Fraser Report 

►Earlier in the day, Celebrini was named the Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year. He is the fifth Terrier to win that award in the past decade, joining last year’s winner, Lane Hutson, Joel Farabee 2018-19), Clayton Keller (2016-17) and Jack Eichel (2014-15).

● HockeyCommissioners.com: Celebrini is 2024 Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year 

● All-Time ROY Winners

                             Photo credit Matt Woolverton 

The third accolade of the day for Celebrini was his being named, along with sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson, as ACHA First-Team All-Americans.

BU last had two first-team selections in 2014-15 with Eichel and Matt Grzelcyk. Last season, Matt Brown earned second-team All-American while Hutson was first-team. Hutson joins an elite group of Terrier blueliners who earned first-team honors twice: David Farrance, Grzelcyk, Gilroy, Vic Stanfield, Bob Brown and Tom Ross.

● GoTerriers.com Celebrini, Hutson named First Team All-Americans

●  AHCA All-Americans for 2023-24

►A feature story in The Athletic (subscription) traces Celebrini's path to playing at BU and the far-from-settled next steps in his hockey career. 

● The Athletic Inside what may be Macklin Celebrini's final day of BU Hockey

►Also today, Lane Hutson has signed a three-year entry-level contract with Montreal who had drafted him in the second round of the 2022 draft. He’s expected to join the Canadians in Detroit next week. The announcement was made by GM Kent Hughes, who is the father of Terrier Jack Hughes.

In two highlight-reel seasons on the BU blue line, Hutson scored 97 points (30G,67A) leading the Terriers to the Frozen Four both seasons and to the Hockey East Championship in 2022-23.

Along the way, he earned a slew of individual awards, as reported by GoTerriers.com:

Hutson has a chance to become the 13th two-time First Team All-American in BU history and the first since defenseman David Farrance did it in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Hutson was twice named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, was a two-time Hockey East First Team All-Star and New England Division I All-Star, and was also selected as New England's Top Defenseman in both his seasons on Comm. Ave. He won the 2023 Walter Brown Award as the top American-born men's college hockey player in New England and was also chosen as Hockey East and New England Rookie of the Year.

● GoTerriers.com Hutson Signs Entry-Level Contract with Montreal

● Canadians: Three-year entry-level contract for Lane Hutson




Looking back   


Former BU standout Wilmer Skoog has signed an two-way, one-year contract with the Florida Panthers. Currently in his first year of pro hockey, the Swedish forward has a 19-8-27 line in 44 games with AHL Charlotte.

Following four seasons as a Terrier (40-36-76 in 103 games), he signed one-year contract with the Checkers last April.

● Florida Panthers Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Wilmer Skoog

►Former Terrier goalie Vinny Duplessis has signed an amateur tryout contract with the ECHL Utah Grizzlies. After three seasons at BU, he transferred to Quinnipiac and backstopped the Bobcats to the NCAA Providence Regional championship game. In 2022, he blanked Northeastern, 1-0, in the Beanpot championship game for the Terriers’ 30th tournament title.

►For the 2026 Winter Olympics, Team USA’s staff will include assistant general manager Chris Drury and director of player personnel Chris Kelleher. Drury is president and general manager of the Rangers. Kelleher is Director of Player Personnel for the Minnesota Wild.

Looking ahead

Journalist Mark Divver reports that BU is adding two veteran skaters from the portal: Merrimack center Matt Copponi and Lowell blue liner Brehdan Engum. Copponi led the Warriors in scoring this season with 32 points and has 72 over the past two seasons. Engum is a 6'3" LD, a shutdown defenseman who has played 102 games for the River Hawks during the past three seasons and was an assistant captain this season. Last summer he was invited to San Jose Sharks development camp.


Goalie Michael Chambre is no longer committed to BU. The former NTDP goalie, currently playing at Sioux Falls, now is committed to Mercyhurst. As a result, 2025 recruit Mikhail Yegorov, playing for USHL Omaha, is the only goalie in BU’s recruiting pipeline. Stay tuned.