BC's Leonard Named Hobey Baker Finalist

The accolades keep rolling in for Boston College men's hockey for its completed 2024-25 season.

Ryan Leonard, who recently signed with the Washington Capitals and made his NHL debut on Tuesday after two seasons at BC, is a Hobey Baker Award hat trick finalist long with Denver sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium and Michigan State junior forward Isaac Howard. The winner will be announced on April 11 at the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis.

Leonard, a sophomore forward, led all NCAA Division I men's hockey players with 30 goals this season, and finished his college career with 61 goals and 109 points. He also won this season's Walter Brown Award as the top American-born men's player in Division I hockey, the 25th BC player ever to do so. 

Also from the Heights, forward Gabe Perreault signed with the New York Rangers and made his NHL debut on Wednesday, while goaltender Jacob Fowler just signed with the Montreal Canadiens. Both were sophomores and 2023 NHL draft choices. Perreault tallied 35 goals and 108 points in two years with BC, while Fowler fashioned a 57-13-3 career record with a 1.90 goals-against average and seven shutouts while with the Eagles. Along with Leonard, they led BC to last year's national title game, and a Hockey East regular-season title this year. 

Hobart, Wisconsin-River Falls Win NCAA Titles

One NCAA Division I ice hockey championship has already been decided, with another to be settled in a week's time. Both NCAA Division III champions, however, have already been crowned.

Hobart won its third consecutive national men's title by besting host Utica, 2-1, in overtime on March 30. Kahlil Fontana notched the game-winning goal late in the extra session, while Damon Beaver made 39 saves in all for the Statesmen. That same day, on the women's side, Bailey Olson scored one goal and set up two others as host Wisconsin-River Falls outlasted Amherst, 3-1, as the Falcons claimed their second straight NCAA championship.

There are no NCAA Division II hockey national tournaments, with the men's championship suspended after 1999title game.

NCAA Undergraduates Jumping to NHL

A number of NCAA hockey underclassmen, with their team's 2024-25 seasons having recently coming to an end, have signed professional contracts with NHL organizations. Some of the more notable recent signings, as listed by player's last name:

Player, Class, Position (School)           NHL Team

Damien Carfagna, Jr., D, (Ohio State) #    Edmonton

Trevor Connelly, Fr., F (Providence)       Vegas

Karsen Dorwart, Jr., F (Michigan State) #  Philadelphia

Connor Kurth, Jr., F (Minnesota)           Tampa Bay

Joey Larson, Jr., F (Michigan State) #     NY Islanders

Ryan Leonard, So., F (Boston College) *    Washington

Dans Locmelis, So., F (Massachusetts)      Boston

Gabe Perreault, So., F (Boston College)    NY Rangers

Chase Pietila, So., D (Michigan Tech) #    Pittsburgh

Isak Posch, So., G (St. Cloud State) #     Colorado

Jimmy Snuggerud, Jr., F (Minnesota) *      St. Louis

Trey Taylor, Jr., F (Clarkson) #           Dallas

Callum Tung, Fr., G (Connecticut) #        NY Rangers

Matthew Wood, Jr. F (Minnesota)            Nashville

More signings can be found here. 

# Signed as free agent

* 2025 Hobey Baker Award top 10 finalist