A Hobeyin' we will go...
WHO I *THINK* WILL WIN
David Oliver [Michigan]
Oliver has dominated the media hype almost as much as Charlie
Ward did with the Heisman. Last year, Kariya was all the rage
but some were saying Montgomery, others touted Plante, and so
on. In 1992, I don't think that Pellerin received the most
pre-Hobey hype. Felsner was a hot name, as were Madeley and
Laperriere in some circles. But this year, all I hear is
Oliver, Oliver, Oliver. If you believe in regional bias you
have to take into account that I'm in Ann Arbor, but I don't
remember Felsner receiving as much national Hobey attention as
Oliver has. All of the above names were touted, but I think
Oliver has received a greater PROPORTION of the 1994 hype than
Kariya did in 1993, Pellerin in 1992, ...
And, hopefully more importantly, Oliver is deserving.
BTW, thank [or curse] the media for the attention bestowed on
Oliver. Sure, Coach Berenson and his teammates have spoke
highly of him, but his star is shining thanks to the media,
both local and national. To my knowledge, Michigan only sends
an information package [prospectus] on Hobey Baker candidates
to the selection committee, not to an endless list of schools
and media members like many SIDs do.
SOME PERSONAL OPINIONS/COMMENTS
David Oliver [Michigan]
Might as well start here. I can't quote his grade point
average or his community services and achievements, but Ollie
is a class individual in the tradition of Hobey winners. On
the ice, he dominated the first half of this season. His
scoring pace has since slowed down, due in no small part to
the fact that he can no longer sneeze without two opponents
being in his face. One CCHA opponent went as far as shadowing
Oliver on the power play...figuring it was better to play
Michigan 3-on-4 with Ollie blanketed than 4-on-5 and giving
him a little room to operate.
David's defensive game and checking have improved and he is a
solid all-around player this season. Offensively, he is no
longer relied on purely as a goal scorer, as his assist total
shows. Not a bad year for someone who was said to be
thisclose to leaving Michigan for the Canadian Olympic Team
following the departure of Cam Stewart. In his career, he has
overcome a broken leg and [if I remember correctly] a broken
jaw. His current collegiate scoring stats are below.
YEAR GM G A PTS
1990-91 27 13 11 24
1991-92 44 31 27 58
1992-93 40 35 20 55
1993-94 40 27 40 67
TOTAL 149 106 98 204
Brian Wiseman [Michigan]
My choice for second, although he's as deserving as Oliver is.
Like Montgomery did with Kariya last year, captain Wiseman has
publicly touted Oliver and Shields for the award. At 5'6",
he's college hockey's equivalent of Theoren Fleury. And, like
Fleury, he's a major pest that irritates his opponents and
occasionally finds himself in the penalty box. Being the only
point man on Michigan's #1 power play unit, he has also had to
cover several 2-on-1 breaks this season. For his efforts [and
largely to Shields], Michigan has not allowed a short-handed
goal in 40 games this year. Wiseman has also been a fantastic
face-off man for the Wolverines for four years. [He seems to
have declined some in that capacity this season.]
Brian was a threat with the puck and a treat to watch since
the day he arrived in Ann Arbor. He will leave as Michigan's
all-time assist leader and second leading scorer [currently
tied with David Roberts]. If not for nagging back injuries
each of the past two seasons he would have caught Denny
Felsner [261 points] as well. His current collegiate scoring
stats are below.
YEAR GM G A PTS
1990-91 47 25 33 58
1991-92 44 27 44 71
1992-93 35 13 37 50
1993-94 39 19 49 68
TOTAL 165 84 163 247
Steve Martins [Harvard]
Where is he? He was my third pick.
Steve Shields [Michigan]
I thought he would be a viable contender if he were the only
goaltender among the finalists, but the presence of Ram and
Roloson has me feeling otherwise. Shields will always be a
legend in Ann Arbor and his name will appear in the NC$$
record books for years to come. He is currently 111-24-8 and
has the opportunity to add to that over the next two weekends.
Dwayne Roloson [UMass-Lowell]
My dark horse, non-Michigan choice. He's been sweeping the
Hockey East awards and may add the Hobey to that list next
Friday.
Jamie Ram [Michigan Tech]
Oh...most of you know my feelings when it comes to the great
Jamie Ram. :-) My friends and I refer to him simply as
"Everybody's All-American". When the CCHA All-Tournament team
was being announced on Sunday we were chanting for Ram to get
the nod. As it turns out, Lacher won, but I'm willing to bet
that Ram finished ahead of Shields in the voting. :-)
Dean Fedorchuk [Alaska-Fairbanks]
I'm very pleased to see him among the finalists. I'd also
like to see Tavis MacMillan receive some recognition, but
maybe that will come on the All-America team. As Tavis surely
knows by now, the goal scorer gets more ink that the set-up
man. :-)
As for Fedorchuk's Hobey chances, I think they are slim.
I also want to mention UAF's Don Lester. His defense is
nothing to write home about, but how many people around the
nation are aware that there was a 60-point defenseman this
season? Lester finished at 19-41--60 in 38 games.
[Other Finalists]
I'm not familiar with them to comment, other than Chris
Marinucci really proved himself this season. Look at his
numbers WITHOUT Derek Plante. The guy is for real. BTW, has
the WCHA PotY been announced? Did it go to Marinucci?
John H
U Mich
|
