No. 5 Denver boasts a hat trick of Hobey Baker Award nominees, so let’s take a closer look at the viability of all three.

The trio – center Cole Guttman, right wing Bobby Brink and left wing Carter Savoie – comprises the Pioneers’ top line, which has accounted for 85 points in 22 games. They are three of 77 candidates.

All three should be helped by the Pioneers’ strong start (16-5-1 heading into this weekend’s series at Miami) and high ranking, as well as by virtue of DU playing in the nation’s strongest conference (the NCHC has five top-10 teams).

Your candidates:

Cole Guttman

Cole Guttman

The senior has been one of the Pioneers’ most well-rounded players for four years. He’s excellent defensively, one of the nation’s best at face-offs (61.3 percent), and he’s scoring at better than a point-per-game clip for the first time in his college career. Only one of his nine goals has come on the power play. He’s tied for fourth on DU (and 31st in D-I) with 24 points, and his career-high 15 assists are tied for third, with Savoie and fellow senior Brett Stapley. Guttman has a shooting percentage of 11.8 and has taken 76 shots on goal. He’s taken eight minor penalties, which isn’t bad given how many times he takes defensive zone draws.

Guttman was a sixth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The team’s captain, he’s been on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team each of his first three seasons. He was DU’s Offensive Player of the Year and MVP last season as well. He should obliterate his career high of 28 points, which came two seasons ago in a campaign in which he also had six game-winning goals.

The outlook: The Hobey often is a largely stat-driven exercise, and that works against a well-rounded player with very good but not eye-popping stats. One wonders if because Guttman has been so consistently solid for so long if he might get overlooked. He’s a worthy candidate, and one capable of going on a points heater while continuing his all-around excellence.

Bobby Brink

Bobby Brink

The junior is tied for second in the nation in points with 33, a figure that includes an NCAA-best 25 assists. His 1.5 points per game leads the nation, and he’s been remarkably consistent, scoring in all but five games. Brink’s offensive acumen is so good it appears almost effortless at times. You look at a box score and he has three points or four points. But there is more to Brink than offense. He’s worked hard on his skating, which has improved, and he’s played on the penalty kill the past two seasons. An assistant captain, it’s important to note his teams win – whether that’s high school, junior or with Team USA.

Brink was a second-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2019 and has demolished his career highs in points and assists, and he’s only three goals away from his career-high 11. He hovered around even his first two seasons, but is plus-20 this year. He’s connecting on 11 percent of his shots, a bit behind his career high of 14.3 percent his freshman year, suggesting he has room to heat up even more. He’s also been on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete the past two years.

The outlook: That Brink has been able to put up the type of numbers that he has on a consistent basis AND improve defensively is impressive. If he maintains his pace while navigating the rest of the NCHC schedule he could have 50 points before the postseason begins and could end up in the 60-point range or higher when it’s all said and done. Combine that with what I expect to be a lengthy postseason run for DU, and I’d consider Brink a top-10 candidate for sure and quite possibly a top-three finalist.

Carter Savoie

Carter Savoie

To say the sophomore is a threat to score any time he touches the puck in the offensive zone is being polite. He has an NHL release and velocity, and he’s an ace at changing the angle of his shot to fool goalies and defenders alike. He has 13 goals and 28 points in 20 games, tying him for 15th in points nationally but fourth in points per game. Savoie has said several times this season that an emphasis point for him in the offseason was working on his skating and fitness, and it’s clear he’s done that. What’s impressed me watching him live this season is how hard he works to create chances for his linemates. He’s improved his puck retrieval and possession skills, and Brink and Guttman have been the beneficiaries.

A fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2020, Savoie popped seven of his goals on the power play, where he seems automatic when setting up in his off-wing circle. Four of his tallies have been game-winners. He has started each of his college seasons on fire and cooled off a bit. Given who he plays with, his 17.3 percent shooting accuracy and DU’s overall depth it’s a good bet he continues to score at this pace, which projects to 40-plus points and 20-plus goals. He was an NCHC All-Rookie Team pick last season.

The outlook: Savoie is capable of scoring in bunches, and he has an eye-catching skill set. He’s also working hard to round out his game. If he plays well down the stretch, particularly in matchups against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, it’s hard not to see him being strongly considered for the top-10.

The last word

The Pioneers have three excellent candidates, and any of them are capable of making the top 10, but a lot will depend upon how they play the rest of the way. It’s possible all three will have at least 35 points, Savoie could top 20 goals and Brink could surpass 50 points. The most recent Pioneer to surpass 50 points was Henrik Borgstrom (52) in 2017-18, and he reached the Hobey top-10 that season. Prior to that, one has to go back to 2011-12 and Drew Shore to see 50-plus points. Borgstrom (23) also was the most recent to surpass 20 goals.

Notable

Fan voting runs until March 6. Phase 2 of fan voting resumes when 10 finalists are announced and runs from March 17-27. Fan voting accounts for one percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting the 2022 recipient, which will be announced April 8.

The Pioneers have had two previous winners – defensemen Matt Carle (2006) and Will Butcher (2017). Carle is an older brother of DU coach David Carle.

©First Line Editorial 2022