Assessing the best Hobey Baker and Mike Richter candidates at holiday break

The holiday break is already here for the vast majority of college hockey teams. Now is the time to see where players stand when it comes to the two major awards: The Hobey Baker award presented to the “top” player in the nation, and the Mike Richter award presented to the most outstanding goaltender.

The start to the season has been interesting when it comes to the Hobey in particular because, frankly, I don’t see too many skaters who have truly differentiated themselves from the pack. Often, you see one or two guys break away pretty clearly and make a compelling case for themselves, but this year, there’s no one who’s approaching 2.0 points per game or anything like that.

Instead, I put together a list of eight skaters and two goalies I think are making a strong case for themselves at the very least. It’s funny, but at this time of year, the best candidates almost always breaks down to six forwards, two defenders, and two goalies — plus or minus one for each category. This year is no different.