Walter Brown Award semi-finalists announced, including 14 from Hockey East

The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Monday the 21 Division I semi-finalists for the 60th Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college player in New England.

The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team ever to win the World Championship Tournament. Brown coached the Rangers to the title in Prague that year as the team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.

Fourteen teams are represented in the slate of candidates that includes 14 players from Hockey East, six from the ECAC and one from Atlantic Hockey. The slate comprises 14 forwards, four defensemen and three goalies.

“This year’s roster of semi-finalists for the Walter Brown Award is somewhat larger than in past years,” said Gridiron Club hockey awards committee chairman Tim Costello in a statement. “That’s no accident. It’s a direct reflection of closeness of the competition we’ve seen throughout the East to date. It is always a difficult task to evaluate all nominees and make a cut to a manageable number. That was the case again this year, even though there are six more players still in the running than there were at this time in 2011.”

The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Tournament play. The award will be presented to the winner at the New England College Hockey Writers’ Dinner in April.