Let’s Play Hockey and the Herb Brooks Foundation announced Friday the 20 goalies named to the watch list for the 2017 Mike Richter Award, which annually honors the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA Division I men’s hockey.
The winner of the fourth annual award will be announced at the 2017 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in Chicago.
In alphabetical order, the goalies on the watch list for the 2017 Mike Richter Award:
| Player's Name | Class | School |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Berrafato | Jr. | Holy Cross |
| Michael Bitzer | Jr. | Bemidji State |
| Gordon Defiel | Jr. | Lake Superior State |
| Parker Gahagen | Sr. | Army West Point |
| Mitch Gillam # | Jr. | Cornell |
| Kyle Hayton # | Jr. | St. Lawrence |
| Cole Huggins | Sr. | Minnesota State |
| Tanner Jaillet | Jr. | Denver |
| Cam Johnson * | Jr. | North Dakota |
| Merrick Madsen # | Jr. | Harvard |
| Chris Nell # | Jr. | Bowling Green |
| Cal Petersen # | Jr. | Notre Dame |
| Colton Phinney | Jr. | Princeton |
| Ryan Ruck # | So. | Northeastern |
| Eric Schierhorn # | So. | Minnesota |
| Alex Sakellaropoulos | Sr. | Union |
| Shane Starrett | So. | Air Force |
| Atte Tolvanen | So. | Northern Michigan |
| Drew Vogler | So. | Merrimack |
| Evan Weninger | So. | Nebraska-Omaha |
* 2016 Mike Richter Award finalist
# 2016 Mike Richter Award nominee
Goalies on the Mike Richter Award watch list are chosen by members of Let’s Play Hockey, utilizing both past performance and future potential. Freshmen are not included.
Candidates for the Mike Richter Award will be determined by nominations from all 60 NCAA Division I men’s hockey head coaches. The finalists and winner are selected by a committee of coaches, scouts and members of the media.
Criteria for the Mike Richter Award:
– Candidates must display outstanding skills on the ice
– Candidates should be in good academic standing at an NCAA college or university
– Consideration should be given to academic achievement and sportsmanship
– Candidates must comply with all NCAA rules; be full-time students at an NCAA college or university; and complete 50 percent
or more of the season
– Consideration should be given to the candidate’s activities in the community
Past winners of the winner are Thatcher Demko (Boston College, 2016), Zane McIntyre (North Dakota, 2015) and Connor Hellebuyck (Massachusetts-Lowell, 2014).
