Top 5 Hobey Baker candidates for 2026-27
The 2026-27 NCAA Men’s Hockey Season is set to get underway this weekend, with some of the bright young stars in the game ready to step up for their schools and chase national glory.
While there’s loads of talent scattered across the country, there are a select number of players who are going to stand out for the next few months and be in contention for one of the prestigious awards in hockey – the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
The award has been presented since 1981, with many of the game’s biggest names taking it home. Former stars like Paul Kariya, Chris Drury and Ryan Miller, as well as today’s greats such as Jack Eichel, Cale Makar and Macklin Celebrini, have earned the Hobey Baker before making it to the NHL.
Let’s take a look at five players who are in the running this season:
Max Plante, F (Jr., Minnesota Duluth)
It’s never been done before, but it could happen this year.
Max Plante caught everyone’s attention with an outstanding sophomore season in Duluth, bringing the Bulldogs back to relevance with his incredible skill and knack for putting the puck in the net. He beat out Michigan’s T.J. Hughes and Denver’s Eric Pohlkamp to win the Hobey Baker last year, and has the tools and setup in place to become the first player to ever earn the honor twice.
The biggest thing the Detroit Red Wings prospect has going for him is how he has many of the same faces around him this year as he did last season. His older brother, Zam, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, is back for his junior year as well, as the two were an efficient duo for UMD last year. Tampa Bay Lightning Jayson Shaugabay was the third member of the top line for most of the year, and was excellent at getting the puck to the Plante brothers. On top of that, Max and Zam’s little brother, Victor, is joining the Bulldogs, making opponents see triple.
All that to say, there’s a lot of momentum for Max heading into the new campaign. If he can score at the same clip he did last year, with his 52 points placing him tied for third in the country, he’s definitely going to be in the Hobey conversation once again.
Ty Hanson, D (Jr., Minnesota Duluth)
Staying in Duluth, Scott Sandelin has one of the most dynamic blueliners in college hockey. A longtime teammate of the Plantes dating back to his days at Hermantown High School, Ty Hanson has the tools and ability to be an efficient player at both ends of the rink in his third season with the program.
After a trying freshman campaign, Hanson really came into his own in 2025-26. The undrafted defender became one of the team’s most reliable players in his own end, while being more than willing to chime in on the offensive end. He set career highs in goals (10), assists (26) and points (36), finishing second in scoring by a defenseman behind Pohlkamp. His vision with the puck is exceptional and he has the same amount of awareness on the back end. While there are many rearguards who excel at one end of the rink or the other, few are as efficient at both ends as Hanson.
Like Plante, the fact that Hanson has plenty of familiar faces around him benefits him. Including the 21-year-old, UMD has six returning defenders, including Buffalo Sabres draft pick Adam Kleber and Minnesota Wild prospect Aaron Pionk. That level of camaraderie will benefit Hanson in his quest for the Hobey.
Ethan Wyttenbach, F (So., Quinnipiac)
The young man who sat atop the offensive charts last season was Ethan Wyttenbach. The Calgary Flames took the college game by storm, powering a rather mediocre offensive attack at Quinnipiac. Yet he led the team with 25 goals and 34 assists for 59 points, finishing first in the NCAA in scoring and tied for second in goals and fourth in assists.
Wyttenbach’s play led some to believe that he could make the jump to the NHL after his freshman season, which saw him earn the Tim Taylor Award as the best rookie in college hockey. His ability to be a dual-threat scoring weapon makes the lives of opposing defenders a nightmare, and with players like Antonin Verreault, Markus Vidicek and Chris Pelosi around him, the Roslyn, N.Y. native will have ample chances to light up the ECAC once again.
Sure, there’s the ever-looming sophomore slump, but if Wyttenbach can get into the same rhythm he did in his first year with the Bobcats, he might produce even more in Year 2.
Michael Hage, F (Jr., Michigan)
At the time when Plante was being awarded the Hobey Baker, it seemed as if Michael Hage was on his way to joining the Montreal Canadiens for their playoff push. However, it quickly came out that he wasn’t signing with the Habs, electing to give the college game another try.
It was a bit head-scratching to some, as Hage showed with the Wolverines last year that he seemed ready for the next level. He led the country with 39 assists, finishing tied for third in points with 52. The 20-year-old finished second among Big Ten skaters in points, only trailing his teammate, T.J. Hughes. Yet, Hage felt like it was best for him to return to Ann Arbor.
There’s no question that Hage is one of the most skilled players in the country. There are few in the college game that have the same playmaking ability, and even fewer have the same weapons to play alongside. Hage can get the puck to players like Penguins prospect Will Horcoff, Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Jayden Perron and some kid named Landon DuPont. I expect Hage to be back in the scoring of the scoring race once again.
Johnny Hicks, G (So., Denver)
You knew I was going to throw a goaltender on this list at some point.
While there are plenty of backstops who can steal the spotlight – Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic, Northeastern’s Lawton Zacher and North Dakota’s Jan Spunar, to name a few – Johnny Hicks is in the best situation to place him in the Hobey conversation.
Hicks was one of the best stories in college hockey last year. After Canadiens prospect Quentin Miller slipped up at the turn of the semester, the rookie Hicks took over the reins as the No. 1 and went on an incredible run. He didn’t lose one of his 17 decisions, ending the year on a 13-game win streak, capping his year off with a national championship. Hicks posted a record of 16-0-1, leading the country with a .957 save percentage and 1.19 goals-against average.
While it’s almost a guarantee that he won’t stay undefeated, especially given the talent pool in the NCHC, Hicks has the perfect team in front of him to stand out from the crowd. Unlike some goaltenders on great teams, Hicks has shown that he can steal a game and make clutch saves, an aspect of his game that we saw many times down the stretch, especially in the national tournament. If he can bring that level of play into his second season, he can be in the running to be the first netminder to win the Hobey since Dryden McKay accomplished the feat over four years ago.
Honorable Mention: Landon DuPont (Michigan), Hayden Stavroff (Dartmouth), Antonin Verreault (Quinnipiac), Jayden Perron (Michigan)