(Photo: Riley Trujillo/WCSN)
In its fourth year as a Division I program, it has been a season of milestones for the Arizona State men’s hockey team.
From taking down their first-ever top-10 opponent, earning a spot in the national polls and breaking their single-season win total in just the first half of the regular season, the list has gone on and on for the Sun Devils.
While seeking to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history, No. 17 ASU can add two more honors to its remarkable campaign, with sophomore forward Johnny Walker and junior goaltender Joey Daccord being nominated for the 2019 Hobey Baker Award.
The Hobey Baker Award honors the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player in the nation for their excellence, dedication and character on an off the ice. For the first time in its young program history, not one, but two Sun Devils earn the honors.
“They both deserve to be nominated,” a proud coach Greg Powers said Thursday. “We hope our fans and people that support our program vote for those guys … I think you could make a serious argument that both deserve finalists for that award.”
Walker has made the biggest push this season for the Hobey Baker honors with an NCAA-leading 19 goals, which also broke ASU’s single-season record he set last year. The undrafted winger also leads the country with 8 power-play goals and 121 shots on goal.
The Phoenix-native sits among the top ten forwards in the country with 27 points and continues to extend the highest point total marked in a single season by a Sun Devil after just recently passing then-junior Brinson Pasichnuk’s record (26 points).
“It’s a huge honor to be noticed for such an award,” Walker said. “It’s really special, but it’s definitely not anything I did by myself. It’s a huge tribute to the team and everyone else around me.”
When Walker isn’t finding the back of the net, Daccord has held down the fort at the other end of the ice. The Ottawa Senators draft pick leads all NCAA goaltenders with 16 wins, six shutouts and 767 saves.
Along with his jaw-dropping saves and heavy minutes defending the goal, Daccord ranks among the nation’s best with a 2.24 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Daccord said. “Growing up, you see the kids that get a chance to be nominated and the guys that win it, and it’s an incredible group of players… I just feel really honored to be included in that group and even be in the mix for such a prestigious and coveted award.”
In addition to his recognition as a Hobey Baker nominee, Daccord will most certainly be in contention for the Mike Richter Award at the end of the season, the honor for the most outstanding NCAA goaltender in the country.
The Hobey Baker Award currently has a field of over 80 players. Nominees were submitted by the athletic departments of the Division I men’s hockey schools with a maximum of three players from any one school.
ASU is one of 26 Div. programs with more than one nominee, a testament the Sun Devils’ ability to compete with the nation’s best in just their fourth season as a young, budding program.
Fans can vote once per day at https://www.hobeybaker.com/vote. The first round of voting ends March 10th.
“This is going to be one of the top teams in the country for a long time,” Daccord said.”To already have two guys nominated in one year, I think that’s pretty incredible.”
