Seven former members of the Penticton Vees are in the running to be named college hockey’s best player in 2023.
Out of the more than 80 players nominated for this year’s Hobey Baker Award, seven of them spent time playing under Fred Harbinson’s Vees during their junior hockey careers.
Ben Brar, Grant Cruikshank, Andre Ghantous, Nick Leivermann, Yaniv Perets, Massimo Rizzo, and David Silye have cracked the NCAA’s initial list for the prestigious award, released on Jan. 21.
Brar split time with the Vees and Prince George Spruce Kings in the B.C. Hockey League before suiting up for Merrimack College in Massachusetts. The forward appeared in six playoff games with Penticton in 2016.
Cruikshank spent his entire two-season BCHL career with the Vees, posting 74 points in 82 regular season games. The centre even served as Penticton’s captain during the 2017-2018 campaign.
Ghantous, Leivermann, Rizzo and Silye are ranked in the top two for scoring this season on their respective college squads.
Perets, meanwhile, finds himself on the Hobey Baker list for the second year in a row. The goaltender played parts of two seasons with the Vees from 2019 to 2020.
The Hobey Baker Award has been presented to the NCAA’s best hockey player every year since 1981, with fellow Penticton alumni and B.C.’s own Paul Kariya taking home the honours in 1993.
More recent winners of the award include Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar and Jack Eichel, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and centre with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Fan voting for the 2023 Hobey Baker Award is open now, with the winner expected to be announced on April 7.
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