The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is presented to a deserving recipient on the day before the last college hockey game of the season. But that doesn’t mean that college hockey fans, players, and media members don’t think about it all season. Inside College Hockey’s Hobey Tracker looks at our picks for the top three candidates and other players worthy of discussion.

Justin Schultz
Wisconsin | Sr. | D
To Date: 22 GP, 11-21—32, 5 PPG

The Skinny: One could draw a parallel between Schultz, who has 32 points in 22 games, and an offensive defenseman who won the Hobey in 2006, Denver’s Matt Carle. Carle put up ridiculous numbers (11-42—53) from the blue line in ‘06 for an above-average Pioneers team that didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament. It’s unlikely the Badgers will make the NCAAs, but Schultz is on pace to score 53 points (he already has 11 goals) for a team that doesn’t get much in terms of offense outside of him and Mark Zengerle.

Jack Connolly
Minnesota Duluth | Sr. | F
To Date: 22 GP, 13-23—36, 5 PPG, 2 GWG

The Skinny: Connolly’s got a bunch of things working in his favor. He’s the nation’s leading scorer in the midst of a 20-game point streak, captains the nation’s best team, and his team has a pretty manageable schedule the rest of the way— the only games against teams with records better than .500 are home dates with North Dakota (Feb. 10-11) and Colorado College (Feb. 24-25). Our hangup? Even without Connolly, the Bulldogs are still an NCAA-caliber club. Not sure you could say that about Colgate sans Austin Smith.

Austin Smith
Colgate | Sr. | Forward
To Date: 22 GP, 22-13—35, 4 PPG, 5 SHG, 5 GWG

The Skinny: Smith was the nation’s leading scorer for most of the year, but like his Colgate team’s record in recent weeks, his Hobey fortunes have started to slide a bit. With 35 points and five short-handed goals to match five game-winning goals. The senior is making the most of his last year on campus and is just six points shy of matching his career-best 41-point sophomore season. He’s a Dallas Stars property and is raising his personal value for sure, but there are other team goals that still lie ahead for a relatively surprising Colgate team.

A deeper look at a Hobey hopeful and an issue (or issues) surrounding his candidacy.

Troy Grosenick, Union: In a year that has seen several goaltending candidates make relatively short-term runs for Hobey consideration, the best long-term case at this point in the season belongs to Union’s Troy Grosenick. He leads the nation in both goals-against average (1.60) and save percentage (.939), and has three shutouts to his credit. His 11-3-3 record in 18 starts might be even better — in his three losses, Union has scored a total of two goals. The Dutchmen are also winless (0-2-3) in the games he doesn’t start.

Alex Guptill, Michigan: It’s not all that realistic to consider a rookie forward for the Hobey this year, but Michigan’s recent success has coincided in an uptick in production from Guptill. The Wolverines are unbeaten in their last nine games and during that span, the Newmarket, Ontario, product has five goals and eight assists—all at even strength. Through 26 games, Guptill has 12-12—24, second among NCAA freshmen in scoring behind Minnesota’s Kyle Rau. Michigan’s success this season hinged on replacing the offense generated by Carl Hagelin and Louie Caporusso; thus far, Guptill’s done his part.