Hockey East announced Wednesday that Boston College sophomore forward Ryan Leonard has been awarded the honor of 2024-25 Hockey East player of the year.
Alongside Leonard, Boston University freshman defenseman Cole Hutson was named rookie of the year, UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh was voted coach of the year by his peers, and UMass Lowell’s Owen Cole has been honored as the 2024-25 academic champion.
All the awards except the academic champion were selected by the league’s 11 head coaches.
Leonard becomes the 15th Eagle to be named Hockey East player of the year and the first Boston College skater since Johnny Gaudreau was so honored two years in row from 2012-14. He paced Hockey East in a number of categories in league play, including goals (25), points (37), points per game (1.54), shots (116), game-winning goals (8), and plus-minus (+25). He is just the second skater to reach the 25-goal mark in league play since 2000-01 when Brian Gionta hit the milestone and Cutter Gauthier did so last season. He leads the nation in overall goals with 29 and is one strike away from becoming the first college hockey player with back-to-back 30-goal season since BC’s Cam Atkinson in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
The Amherst, Mass., native is first in the country with nine game-winning goals and sits eighth nationally with 47 points. His 181 shots on net are second in the nation and his plus-29 rating is third. He was twice named Hockey East player of the month (November, January) and national player of the month in November and collected four Hockey East player of the week accolades.
Hutson is the third consecutive Terrier to be named rookie of the year following Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hutson and is the 13th overall player from Boston University to claim top freshman honors, the most all-time. Hutson scored more points (29) than any other first-year skater in Hockey East play while his 21 assists were tops in the league. Among his classmates in 24 league contests, Hutson was third in shots on net (68), tied for second in power-play goals (3) and game-winning goals (2), and was third in blocks (23). No rookie in the country has more points than Hutson’s 39 overall points and 27 assists while his 96 shots on net sit 12th in the NCAA among all freshmen skaters. His four game-winning goals are also second-most of any rookie in the country.
Cavanaugh, the only UConn head coach in its Hockey East era, is the first Husky bench boss to win the Bob Kullen Award. He guided his squad to a fourth-place finish in Hockey East standings, tying the highest-ever finish for UConn after being picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll. The Huskies posted a 12-8-4 record in league play while scoring the third-most goals (76) of any Hockey East program through the 24-game season and the best power-play percentage in the league (28.4%). The Huskies also led the nation in shorthanded goals, scoring nine times while at a manpower disadvantage.
The academic champion award was created in 2024 honoring outstanding accomplishments from one men’s and one women’s player, both on the ice and in the classroom.
In 2024, Hockey East and Night Shift Brewing partnered to highlight both the academic and athletic success of student-athletes across the league. As a result, Cole will receive scholarship funds that include a portion of the proceeds of Hockey East Ale, the first-ever collaboration between the conference and a brewery for its own branded beverage.
“Hockey East is proud to honor Owen Cole as the 2024-25 Hockey East academic champion after a distinguished four years at UMass Lowell on the ice and in the classroom,” said Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf in a statement. “We are happy to provide Owen with means to continue his education when he is ready thanks to our partners at Night Shift Brewing and look forward to honoring him at our championship.”
Cole, who served as captain of the River Hawks this season, has set a career high with 20 points on eight goals and 12 assists through 35 games.
Off the ice, Cole has maintained a 3.76 GPA while majoring in Exercise & Fitness Management, a course load that requires both lab and clinical hours in addition to UMass Lowell’s standard academic coursework. Throughout the 2024-25 season, Cole would lead his River Hawks in practice before commuting to Wilmington, Mass., for clinical rotations. He is scheduled to graduate this spring Magna Cum Laude.
Cole is also a visible presence on the UMass Lowell campus and throughout the community. The senior forward is active with the River Hawk’s Team Impact teammate, Owen, and founded a 5K charity race to raise awareness for the program and the work Team Impact does. He also participates in the UMass Lowell Pen Pal Program which pairs student-athletes with local elementary school children throughout the year.
