DENVER – Junior forward
Jack Devine of the University of Denver hockey team was named on Wednesday a top-10 finalist for the 2024 Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top men's college hockey player in the country.
Devine, 20, has played in all 38 games this season and leads the Pioneers with 27 goals and 54 points while his 27 assists are third on the team. Nationally, he is fourth overall in scoring and is tied for third in goals. He has tallied multiple times in eight games and has recorded 18 multi-point contests this season.
The Glencoe, Illinois, native was the first player in the country to reach the 20-goal mark and became the fastest Pioneer to hit the threshold in recent history, doing so in only 23 games. His 27 markers are the most by a Denver skater since Ryan Dingle also had 27 in 2005-06. Dave Shields (31) and Eric Murano (33) were the last DU players to score more than 27 goals in a season when they both accomplished the feat in 1989-90.
Devine opened the 2023-24 campaign with a career-long three-game goal streak and five-game point streak (Oct. 7-27), recording multiple points in each outing (6g/7a). It was the longest multi-point streak by a Denver player since teammate
Massimo Rizzo also had a five-game stretch from Oct. 21-Nov. 4, 2022 (4g/9a). Devine combined for six points (4g/2a) on Oct. 7-8 at Alaska Fairbanks to earn NCHC Forward of the Week honors.
The right wing registered a career-high five points (2g/3a) and matched a personal best with three assists on Jan. 19 at Omaha for the first five-point game by a Pioneer since Bobby Brink on Feb. 4, 2022 vs. St. Cloud (1g/4a). That performance came during a career-best five-game assist streak from Feb. 3-24 (1g/6a), which also tied his personal-long point streak from the start of the year.
Devine appeared in his 100th career game on Jan. 27 at North Dakota and became the 103rd Pioneer to reach 100 career points with a goal on March 8 at Colorado College. He was just the eighth DU player in the last decade to reach the century mark in scoring.
The forward was named to the 2023-24 All-NCHC First Team and is a finalist for both the conference's Player and Forward of the Year awards. In conference play, Devine finished third in scoring and second among forwards with 28 points in 24 games, and his 12 goals tied for fourth in NCHC play. Devine also leads all league players with a plus-29 overall rating this season
Selected by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round at No. 221 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, Devine was one of the youngest players in college hockey and helped the Pioneers capture their record-tying ninth national championship as a freshman in 2021-22. He has recorded 104 points on 44 goals and 60 assists in 112 career games, including scoring seven game-winning markers and posting a plus-minus rating of plus-59.
Devine is one of two players from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference to be named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, as North Dakota's Jackson Blake also joins him on the list. Denver junior forward
Massimo Rizzo and freshman defenseman
Zeev Buium were also among the team's nominees for the accolade earlier this winter.
The 10 finalists were selected by voting from all 64 Division I college hockey head coaches and online fan balloting. This year's Hobey Baker winner will be chosen from the 10 finalists by the 30-member selection committee, as well as an additional round of fan balloting running from March 20-31 on
hobeybaker.com. 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 final three Hobey Hat Trick finalists will be announced on April 4, and the Hobey Baker Award will be handed out on Friday, April 12 during the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota.
