DENVER – Denver Pioneers hockey junior
Boston Buckberger has been named to the inaugural 2025-26 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced on Thursday.
The Academic All-Conference Team is a new honor that is awarded to one student-athlete that holds the highest cumulative grade-point average on each NCHC. Recipients must be at least a junior in school and have spent a full academic year at their current institution (no first-year transfers).
This accolades adds to Buckberger's current list of honors which includes being twice recognized as a national All-American Scholar from the American Hockey Coaches Association (2024, 2025) and the recipient of the 2025 NCAA Elite 90 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among participants at the Frozen Four. He has also been named to the NCHC Honor Roll and a conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in each of this three seasons with the Pioneers (2022-2026).
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native is majoring in accounting at Denver while also getting his minor in finance. Last season, Buckberger was also recognized as DU hockey's Dr. Art Mason Top Scholar-Athlete Award winner (2024-25).
On the ice, Buckberger has appeared in 35 games this season and ranks tied for seventh among all NCAA defensemen with eight goals. He has also added 17 assists for 25 points on the campaign, tying him for 12th in the country at his position in total scoring. Buckberger leads the Pios in plus-minus rating (+24), power-play goals (4-tied), power-play points (13) and has blocked 28 shots while registering 16 penalty minutes.
He has tallied 82 points (22g/60a) in 120 career games across three seasons, including suiting up in each of the 85 contests before getting hurt in last year's postseason. His career plus-86 rating is the highest among all active players and is the fourth-highest in the NCAA in the last 20 years (since the start of the 2005-06 season).
The cumulative GPAs used to determine the new Academic All-Conference Team are based on grades at the end of the fall/first semester for the current 2025-26 academic year. There is no athletic component connected to this award and no voting was involved.
The previous NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, which recognized student-athletes with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or better, is now referred to as the NCHC Honor Roll and was announced in February, along with NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes.
TICKETS: Tickets for DU hockey's NCHC quarterfinal games vs. Miami this weekend are available now.
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