The top 10 candidates for The Hobey Baker Award have been announced (attached is a link to an article I prepared discussing those candidates in further detail). The other major honor in college hockey is The Mike Richter Award, given annually to the nation’s best goaltender. Michigan State University’s Trey Augustine (DET 2023 2nd round, 41st overall) has been nominated for both awards, thus he may be adding some serious hardware to his trophy case. As the Spartans are still in the chase for a national championship, Augustine remains an unsigned Red Wings prospect. However, it is anticipated he will sign an entry-level deal with the Wings upon the conclusion of the Spartans’ season. San Jose prospect Joshua Ravensbergen (2025 1st round, 30th overall) already announced his commitment to play for MSU in 2026-27.
In addition to Augustine, the other two Richter Award finalists are Augustana University’s Josh Kotai (signed as free agent with the NYI on 3/24) and The University of Massachusetts’ Michael Hrabal (ARI/UTA 2023 2nd round, 38th overall). Both Kotai and Hrabel have signed entry-level contracts with the Islanders and Mammoth, respectively. Each deal commences with the 2026-27 season. Kotai’s deal is for 2 years with an annual cap hit of $965,000, while Hrabal is signed for 3 years at an annual cap hit of $1,075,00.
All three goaltenders were dominant this season, with save percentages of .929 for Augustine, .938 for Kotai & .937 for Hrabal. Also, these three players offer a distinctive international flavor to this award, Augustine being an American, Kotai a Canadian & Hrabal a Czech.
The winner of this award will be announced April 10 during the NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas.