DENVER – University of Denver hockey junior defenseman
Eric Pohlkamp has been named a one of three Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalists for the 2026 award, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation announced on Thursday.
The Hobey Baker Award annually recognizes college hockey's most outstanding player that exemplifies character on and off the ice, sportsmanship, academic achievement and excellence on the ice. The 46th annual award will be announced on Friday, April 10 during the Frozen Four festivities in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ceremony will be broadcast live on NHL Network at 6 p.m. MT.
Pohlkamp, 22, is looking to become the third Denver player to win the award, joining
Matt Carle in 2006 and
Will Butcher in 2017. He is the fourth Pioneer to be Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist since Butcher's win in 2017, joining
Henrik Borgstrom in 2018,
Bobby Brink in 2022 and
Zeev Buium in 2025.
Pohlkamp leads all Denver players and NCAA defensemen this season with 18 goals and 39 points in 41 games and is also first among all skaters in the country with 185 shots on goal. He is third on the Pioneers with 21 assists while ranking tied for second on the team and ninth among the nation's rear guards in plus-minus rating (+25). Pohlkamp is first on DU with six power-play goals and is second on the squad with 12 power-play points (6g/6a).
Named the Offensive Defenseman of the Year in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Pohlkamp was also recognized on the All-NCHC First Team and was runner-up for the league's Player of the Year award. His 18 goals this season are the most in a single season by a defenseman in conference history, as he surpassed the previous mark of 15 tallies that was held by a pair of DU players in
Mike Benning (2021-22) and
Joey LaLeggia (2014-15) with a two-goal performance on Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.
The Baxter, Minnesota, native has combined for 98 career points with 40 goals and 58 assists across 117 games with Denver and Bemidji State (2023-24). His 18 goals this season are tied with Mike Busniuk for third-most in a single season by a Denver defenseman and are the most by a Pioneer blueliner since
Greg Woods scored 19 times as a freshman in 1975-76.
Pohlkamp has totaled three points in a game three times this season and owns seven such three-point contests in his career. He scored three goals for his first career hat trick in the home opener on Oct. 11 against Bentley, becoming the 12th defenseman to DU history to reach the mark. At the time, it was just the fifth instance and Pohlkamp became the fourth defenseman in the NCHC record book to register a hat trick. He also recorded his first career short-handed goal in the shutout victory of Bentley—the first man-down marker by a DU rear guard since
Antti Tuomisto on Jan. 23, 2021.
Pohlkamp also had three points with two goals and an assist on Nov. 21 at Arizona State and matched a career high with three assists on Feb. 13 at Omaha. He has recorded at least one point in 24-of-41 contests thus far and multiple points in 11 games, including three multi-goal outings.
He earned his first career monthly honors as both the NCHC and the National Defenseman of the Month for November after combining for seven goals and three assists in eight games. His seven tallies tied for the third-most by an NCAA blueliner in a single month since the start of the 2002-03 season (online records presently don't go back any further), with only Mercyhurst's Joseph Duszak (9, January 2019) and Boston University's Ahti Oksanen (8, January 2015) scoring more in a month. Pohlkamp registered eight goals in a nine-game period from Nov. 1-Dec. 5 and scored six times in a six-game stretch from Nov. 1-21, 2025, which included a career-long, four-game goal streak from Nov. 1-14, 2025 (4g/2a). The four-game run with a tally was longest by a defenseman in NCHC history and at DU since 2002-03.
Defensively, Pohlkamp is first on the Pioneers with 77 blocked shots and has blocked four or more in a game six times, including a career-high six blocks on Dec. 13 at St. Cloud State. He is fifth on Denver with 29 penalty minutes.
Pohlkamp represented NCAA hockey at the 2025 Spengler Cup from Dec. 26-31 and was one of the first 10 players to be named to the U.S. Collegiate Select Team. He recorded two goals and one assist while averaging 21:49 of ice time in three games, helping the college squad reach the championship game of the prestigious international tournament.
A 2023 NHL Draft pick of the San Jose Sharks at No. 132 overall (fifth round), Pohlkamp appeared in his 100th career NCAA contest on Jan. 16 at North Dakota. He registered his 40th career goal in the NCAA West Regional Final against Western Michigan on Sunday and picked up his 50th assists of his collegiate tenure on Feb. 13 at Omaha.
Pohlkamp joined Denver in 2024-25 after spending the previous season with Bemidji State as a freshman where he was named to the All-CCHA First Team and All-CCHA Rookie Team (11g/13a). Over the past two years with the Pioneers, he has registered 74 points (29g/45a) in 85 contests and has recorded double-digital goals in each campaign.
Pohlkamp is joined by Michigan sophomore forward TJ Hughes and Minnesota Duluth sophomore forward Max Plante as Hobey Hat Trick finalists. Denver junior defenseman
Boston Buckberger was also a team nominee for this year's award.
The three players were selected from the initial list of 10 finalists by the 30-member selection committee and a second-round of fan voting. All 63 Division I college hockey head coaches and a first round of fan balloting chose the 10 finalists for the selection committee last month.
