ECAC Hockey has selected the women’s end-of-season award winners for 2024-25: Haley Winn (Player and Defender of the Year), Lindzi Avar (#Bitcoin Rookie of the Year), Issy Wunder (Forward of the Year), Doug Derraugh (Coach of the Year)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
ECAC Hockey has announced Clarkson University senior Haley Winn as the 2025 women’s hockey player of the year. Winn is the first Golden Knight since 2020 to receive this honor and the sixth in program history.
Winn, the league’s defender of the year and only unanimous first team all-league selection, was a force in her final season as a Golden Knight. Tying for second in the league with 16 assists and leading the league with 57 blocked shots, Winn was effective on both ends of the ice. Her 94 shots on goal and 22 points in 20 games helped Clarkson to a fourth-place finish and a return to the league’s championship weekend.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cornell standout first-year Lindzi Avar has been named the 2024-25 ECAC women’s hockey Bitcoin rookie of the year. Avar is the second Big Red player in the last 4 seasons to receive this honor, and the fifth in program history.
Avar played a major role in Cornell’s regular season title, as she tallied 13 goals in 22 league games, including an early season hat trick against RPI. The Chanhassen, Minn., native recorded finished the year in a tie for third in the ECAC in goals and recorded at least a point in half of her league contests for the Big Red.
The daughter of a Cornell alum, Avar represented the Big Red well in her debut season that included a seven-game point streak in the middle of the year.
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
Senior captain Haley Winn has been named the 2025 ECAC Hockey Women’s Defender of the Year.
Also claiming the prestigious player of the year title, Winn had a standout season with the Golden Knights, helping the team secure a top-four regular-season finish and opening round bye.
Winn was crucial to Clarkson’s defensive front, contributing to the team’s 87.3% penalty kill percentage, which was third in the league. Accruing 268 blocked shots and averaging only 2.05 goals allowed, Winn was effective in front of the net. Securing four shutouts on the season, the third most in the league, the captain was an overall asset for Clarkson.
FORWARD OF THE YEAR
Princeton’s Issy Wunder is the 2025 ECAC Hockey women’s forward of the year. In her third season with the Tigers, Wunder skated in all ECAC matchups and made a huge impact in securing home ice for the opening round of the playoffs.
The Toronto, Ont., native led the league in points with 50, also claiming the title for points per game averaging 1.56. Wunder was also a force in front of the net, scoring 26 goals (T-2 in league) and averaging 0.81 goals per game from an impressive 142 shots.
The junior also had an impressive eight-game point streak in the first half of ECAC play, going on to secure both Bluebird Hotel’s forward of the week and Month during December.
After a hard-fought battle with Colgate in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, the Tigers will return to the ice next season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Doug Derraugh has been announced as the 2025 ECAC Hockey coach of the year. This is Derraugh’s sixth time being honored with the coach of the year, most recently being recognized in 2020.
Behind the bench for Cornell in his 18th season, Derraugh effectively led the Big Red to a 22-4-5 record in the regular season and clinched the regular-season title for the seventh time in program history.
The Cornell alum returned to his alma mater in 2005 and had an immediate impact, advancing to the national title game just five seasons in. Since then, the Big Red have gone on to make four Frozen Four appearances and four ECAC Hockey tournament titles.
