For all he accomplished this season — Hockey East rookie of the year honors, the most points (45) of any freshman in the country, a whopping five goals in a win against Army — perhaps Stephane DaCosta’s most impressive achievement was his role in re-energizing a previously moribund Merrimack program.

The Warriors finished sixth in Hockey East this season and took defending national championship Boston University the distance in a first-round, best-of-three playoff series. That’s pretty heady stuff for a team that had not only missed the Hockey East playoffs every year since 2004, but had finished last in each of those five seasons.

The simplest measure of the Paris native’s impact is that he made everyone around him better. DaCosta had more assists than Rob Ricci, Merrimack’s scoring leader in 2008-09, had points, and the Warriors scored 109 goals this season, up from 72 the previous season. He was more than just a playmaker, however — he scored 16 goals, proving that a player from the City of Lights could light the lamp — and was a model of consistency, with two scoring streaks of nine or more games and one instance in which he was held scoreless in back-to-back games.

Most of Merrimack’s key pieces return next season, and the Warriors insist their climb up the Hockey East ladder isn’t finished. If that’s the case, expect DaCosta, a talented player with a terrific work ethic, to be the one leading the ascent.

Runner-up: Danny Kristo, North Dakota