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February
21, 2006
Go-To Guys: Rookie of the Year
Inside
College Hockey 's Go-To Guys – a look at the leading
candidates for individual honors in college hockey –
is back this week with a look at the country's top freshmen.
It's a deep pool this season, with a number of bona fide candidates,
and wading through the worthy field is a daunting task.
Inside
College Hockey editors and staff, in consultation with coaches
and media from around the country, compiled this list of how
we would vote today – not necessarily how we think the
race will turn out. And stay tuned, because a lot can change
each weekend; we'll continue our looks at this and other honors
as the season progresses.
| ROOKIE
OF THE YEAR
– Feb. 21, 2006 |
1.
Jack Johnson
Michigan |
Watch
him for just a couple shifts and you realize that 1) his
combination of size, skill, speed and toughness for a
freshman defenseman – or any defenseman –
is unbelievable, and 2) he'll be in the NHL soon. Perhaps
by April Fool's Day.
31
GP, 8-21—29 |
2.
Phil Kessel
Minnesota |
Maybe
he hasn't lived up to the hype. Maybe the hype created
unrealistic expectations. If his name were Guy Incognito,
however, and you noticed he was the second-leading scorer
for the nation's top team as a freshman, you'd probably
be pretty impressed.
30
GP, 13-25—38 |
3.
T.J. Oshie
North Dakota |
Oshie
wasn't the most heralded member of the Sioux's star-studded
recruiting class, but outside of Drew Stafford, he's been
the team's most consistent offensive threat.
32
GP, 17-15—32 |
4.
Jeff Lerg
Michigan State |
Since
taking over as MSU's no. 1 goalie midway through the season,
the Spartans are 11-2-2 and have become one of the nation's
stingiest defenses. Listed at 5-foot-6, 155 pounds, Lerg
plays bigger than his size.
11-4-5,
1.99 GAA, .927 sv% |
5.
Brandon Yip
Boston University |
Despite
their recent success, the Terriers aren't blessed with
overly gifted scorers. Balance has been the key, the freshmen
forwards have been crucial to BU's winning ways, and Yip
has been the most consistent of the bunch.
29 GP, 8-16—24 |
| Poised
to change on the fly |
Mason
Raymond (Minnesota Duluth), Erik Condra (Notre Dame),
Andrew Cogliano (Michigan), Shea Guthrie (Clarkson), Dan
Riedel (Ferris State) |
| On
the Super Doppler 5000 Radar |
Jeff
Zatkoff (Miami), Les Reaney (Niagara), Brian Leitch (Quinnipiac),
Bear Trapp (Sacred Heart), Ted Cook (Niagara), Ben Bishop
(Maine), Jerad Kaufmann (Nebraska-Omaha) |
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