Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's individual awards


The Western Collegiate Hockey Association gives awards at the conclusion of each season. The current awards include Player of the Year, Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year, as well as the league leaders in points scoring and goaltending. In addition, several WCHA players have won the Hobey Baker Award for the nation's best college hockey player.
Past winners have included numerous National Hockey League players, players in European professional leagues, NHL All-Stars, Olympic gold medalists, Stanley Cup champions, and Hockey Hall of Famers. Minnesota and North Dakota are the most successful teams, with 55 award winners and statistical leaders each. All current and former members of the conference are represented, with the exception of Bowling Green.
No player has been selected for the same award more than twice. Murray McLachlan of Minnesota was named Rookie of the Year and twice named Player of the Year, the only player to be selected for three awards. Minnesota's John Mayasich and Michigan Tech's Tony Esposito are the only players to lead the conference statistically in three seasons. John MacInnes of Michigan Tech was named Coach of the Year five times.
The Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year is chosen by a vote of faculty athletic representatives, while the Defensive Player of the Year is chosen by the league's head coaches. All other award winners are selected by votes from coaches, players, sports information directors, and local media.
All extant awards were discontinued in 2021 when the men's division of the WCHA was dissolved.

Hobey Baker Award

The Hobey Baker Award has been awarded annually since 1981 to the most outstanding player in NCAA ice hockey. In that time, 16 players have won the award while playing for WCHA schools.

Player of the Year

The Player of the Year award has been awarded since the 1960–61 season. Before 1992, it was known as the Most Valuable Player award.

Offensive Player of the Year

The Offensive Player of the Year was first awarded in 2019.

Rookie of the Year

Winners

SeasonPlayerPositionSchool
1969–70Murray KeoganForwardMinnesota–Duluth
1970–71Mike UsitaloForwardMichigan Tech
1971–72Alan HangslebenDefensemanNorth Dakota
1972–73Mike ZukeForwardMichigan Tech
1973–74Brian WalshForward/DefenseNotre Dame
1974–75Jim WarnerForwardColorado College
1975–76Dave DelichForwardColorado College
1976–77Mark JohnsonForwardWisconsin
1977–78Greg WhyteForwardColorado College
1978–79Kevin MaxwellForwardNorth Dakota
1979–80Aaron BrotenForwardMinnesota
1980–81Ron ScottGoaltenderMichigan State
1981–82James PatrickDefensemanNorth Dakota
1982–83Craig RedmondDefensemanDenver
1983–84Rick KostiGoaltenderMinnesota–Duluth
1984–85Brett HullForwardMinnesota–Duluth
1985–86Mike RichterGoaltenderWisconsin
1986–87Dave ShieldsForwardDenver
1987–88Rick BerensForwardDenver
1988–89Curtis JosephGoaltenderWisconsin
1989–90Scott BeattieForwardNorthern Michigan
1990–91Tony SzaboForwardNorthern Michigan
1991–92Darby HendricksonForwardMinnesota
1992–93Jim CareyGoaltenderWisconsin
1993–94Landon WilsonForwardNorth Dakota
1994–95Mike CrowleyDefensemanMinnesota
1995–96Brian SwansonForwardColorado College
1996–97Brant NicklinGoaltenderMinnesota–Duluth
1997–98Karl GoehringGoaltenderNorth Dakota
1998–99Gregg NaumenkoGoaltenderAlaska–Anchorage
1999–2000Dany HeatleyForwardWisconsin
2000–01Peter SejnaForwardColorado College
2001–02Brandon BochenskiForwardNorth Dakota
2002–03Thomas VanekForwardMinnesota
2003–04Brady MurrayForwardNorth Dakota
2004–05Paul StastnyForwardDenver
2005–06Phil KesselForwardMinnesota
2006–07Andreas NödlForwardSt. Cloud State
2007–08Richard BachmanGoaltenderColorado College
2008–09Jordan SchroederForwardMinnesota
2009–10Danny KristoForwardNorth Dakota
2010–11Jason ZuckerForwardDenver
2011–12Joey LaLeggiaDefensemanDenver
2012–13Stephon WilliamsGoaltenderMinnesota State
2013–14Alex GlobkeForwardLake Superior State
2014–15Michael BitzerGoaltenderBemidji State
2015–16Corey MackinForwardFerris State
2016–17Marc MichaelisForwardMinnesota State
2017–18Jake JaremkoCenterMinnesota State
2018–19Cooper ZechDefensemanFerris State
2019–20Lucas SowderForwardMinnesota State
2020–21Akito HiroseDefensemanMinnesota State

Statistical leaders

Scoring leaders

The scoring champion was determined based on all games from 1951–52 until 1961–62. Since, only statistics from conference games are included.

Goaltending leaders

The goaltending champion was based on all games from 1951–52 until 1955–56 and based on only league games since.