Providence freshman goaltender Jon Gillies was named the 2013 Hockey Commissioners’ Association national Division I rookie of the year on Friday.
Gilles was also named to the American Hockey Coaches Association All-America East Region second team.
[scg_html_ff2013]Gillies is the first national rookie of the year from Providence and the program’s 17th All-American.
Gillies went 17-12-6 on the year and posted a team-record five shutouts. He finished the year with a 2.08 goals against average — second-best in school history — and a .931 save percentage.
“Being named the rookie of the year and an All-American are both amazing honors and I would like to thank everyone who was part of the decision process,” Gillies said in a statement. “I know I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family, coach [Nate] Leaman and his staff and their belief in me, and most of all my teammates who had my back no matter what and without fail this season.”
“In a particularly strong year where three or four rookies really had outstanding seasons, Jon really earned all the accolades he received,” Leaman said. “He is an extremely talented goaltender and what I was most impressed with was that he consistently played at a very high level every game, which is extremely difficult to do as a freshman. I think his time before Providence prepared him well for that and he gave us a chance to win every game that he played this year.”
Voting for the HCA rookie of the year award is conducted by the assistant coaches of each Division I men’s ice hockey program, with each league’s rookie of the year serving as a nominee. Andrew Gladiuk (Bentley), Riley Barber (Miami), Jason Kasdorf (Rensselaer) and Stephon Williams (Minnesota State) were the 2013 runners-up.
