Brady Murray
North Dakota
Statistics: 37 GP, 19-27—46

Brady Murray faced some heavy expectations entering his first season of college hockey.

As the son of an NHL coach, he already had the spotlight on him. As if that wasn’t enough, he was selected in the NHL Draft and considered one of the top prizes in the rookie class of recruits.

Then he got on campus and found a spot alongside Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski on the Fighting Sioux’s top line. Head coach Dean Blais wondered if the trio might not combine to score 100 goals.

They didn’t quite hit that mark – they scored 69 goals – and didn’t spend all season together. But there’s no way you can say Murray didn’t meet expectations, no matter how high they were.

His 46 points tied for the lead among all freshmen in college hockey, and his 1.24 points per game easily led the nation. What’s more, he quickly became an integral part of the team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season.