It’s been a busy week for Sam Morton. On Saturday, his team, Minnesota State Mankato, was eliminated from the CCHA conference playoffs. On Monday, he signed with the Calgary Flames and headed to town. On Tuesday, he made his professional debut with the Calgary Wranglers.
And on Wednesday, he was named one of the top 10 finalists for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to the top collegiate player in the United States.
The 24-year-old Morton is a left shot centre that just finished his fifth and final collegiate season – his career was split between Union College and Minnesota State Mankato. He played just 10 games in 2022-23 due to a knee injury, but he bounced back this season to have his best offensive output of his college career, with 24 goals and 34 points over 37 games. (32 of his 34 points were either goals or primary assists, which is a very high number.)
For his efforts, Morton was named the CCHA conference’s top forward and overall player for the season. Morton joined the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers for Tuesday’s game against Bakersfield, and got the primary assist on Mitch McLain’s game-winning goal.
The other nine contenders for the Hobey Baker are:
- University of North Dakota sophomore Jackson Blake (Carolina’s fourth-round pick in 2021)
- Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini (the presumptive top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft_
- University of Denver junior Jack Devine (Florida’s seventh-round pick in 2022)
- Boston College sophomore Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia’s first-round pick in 2022, later traded to Anaheim)
- Qunnipiac University junior Collin Graf (undrafted)
- Boston University sophomore Lane Hutson (Montreal’s second-round pick in 2022)
- University of Wisconsin senior Kyle McClellan (undrafted)
- College of the Holy Cross junior Liam McLinskey (undrafted)
- Boston College freshman Will Smith (San Jose’s first-rounder in 2023)
A combination of input from the award’s selection committee and a fan vote – mostly the selection committee’s input – will determine the three finalists for the award from the top 10 finalists, and then the winner.
Past Hobey Baker winners who played for the Flames include Brendan Morrison, Chris Drury, Jordan Leopold and Johnny Gaudreau. This year’s winner will be announced during the national awards banquet during the Frozen Four weekend in early April.
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