ST. LOUIS — “He’s a very driven kid.”
Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale summed up junior forward Isaac Howard that way. Howard’s drive to succeed paid off, as he was announced as the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Friday.
Howard was a key contributor to a Spartans team that captured both the Big Ten regular season and playoff titles (both for the second consecutive season), scoring 52 points (26-26) in 37 games. He won the Big Ten scoring title and was named player of the year in the conference, as well as a first-team All-American.
“Every chance this season and in my career, I’m just trying to get better,” said Howard. “Working hard, putting my nose down. I think that’s what Michigan State is all about and that’s why I love it here so much.”
So much so that Howard recently announced that he is returning to East Lansing for his senior season. A 2022 first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Howard said that coming up short in the NCAA tournament, a first-round loss to Cornell, left him with unfinished business.
“I want to win a national championship,” Howard said after winning the award. “I didn’t play this season to win a Hobey. At the end of the day, I want to win a national championship.”
History: Hobey Baker Award finalists, winners
“I’ve never seen him have a bad day at the rink,” said Nightingale. “He loves winning, and I think that’s a byproduct of all the work he’s done to get to a point like this to earn such a prestigious award.”
Howard gave credit to Nightingale for helping him reach this point in his career.
“I think his biggest role (in developing me) could even be outside of hockey, just how he’s made me a better guy,” said Howard. “He’s such a world-class guy and an unbelievable coach. He’s preaching stuff off the ice, just ways to kind of live life and to never take any shortcuts.”
Howard also praised his teammates and family for helping in his development. His father Tony said that while winning the Hobey was a possibility, it wasn’t something he or his son dwelled on this season.
“It’s not something we talked a lot about,” he said. “We’ve just been enjoying the ride. What an honor. There was plenty of good competition. You can make an argument for multiple people to win this. When they called (Isaac’s) name, it was a fantastic feeling.”
Howard also gave credit to the other finalists for the award, Denver’s Zeev Buium and Boston College’s Ryan Leonard.
“You just never know,” he said. “It could have gone another way. The other guys are incredible players and had unreal seasons.
“When my name was called, it was super exciting and such an incredible honor.”
Howard becomes the third Michigan State player to win the award, joining Kip Miller (1990) and Ryan Miller (2001).
The Hudson, Wis., native played at Minnesota Duluth his freshman season before finding a home at MSU, which will benefit from his return as well as goaltender Trey Augustine.
“When you find a school that you really like, you’re not necessarily in a rush (to turn pro),” said Howard. “I think being patient and having your feet on the ground where you want them is something that’s important to me.”
Another year also brings the opportunity to win this award again.
“I’m not getting ahead of myself,” said Howard. “But that would be something.”
