Assessing the Hobey Baker candidates at the holiday break

The holiday break is nearly over, and as the second half begins, it's time to take a look at who will be up for the three major player awards in college hockey: The Hobey Baker Award (given to the most outstanding player in the nation), the Tim Taylor Award (given to the most outstanding rookie), and the Mike Richter Award (given to the most outstanding goaltender).

The interesting thing is that the Hobey race this season feels wide open; last season it was four or five players who were serious contenders for the award, but not so much this time around. While a lot of players have stood out in the first half — and frankly, I could give you a pretty strong top 15 or even top 20 — there's no one, or three, or even five that have seriously separated themselves from the rest of that group. Put