The Hockey Humanitarian Award is presented annually to a male or female college ice hockey player who has made significant contributions to their community. Established in 1996, the award recognizes community service, leadership, character, and academic achievement in addition to athletic participation.
Selection process
The award accepts nominations for male and female players from varsity college hockey programs in NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III. Nominations are generally submitted by coaches and sports information directors. The award committee reviews the nominees, selects a group of finalists, and interviews the finalists before choosing the recipient.
The recipient is traditionally announced during the men's Frozen Four, in conjunction with the presentation of other national college hockey awards.
History
The award was founded by John R. Greenhalgh and Jeffrey Millman. According to the award organization, the idea originated in October 1995, when Greenhalgh and Millman observed Boston University player J. P. McKersie volunteering as a youth hockey coach after recovering from a life-threatening accident that had left him in a coma.
McKersie became the first recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award in February 1996. A board of directors was subsequently formed with representatives from athletics, business, education, and the media. The award expanded into a national college hockey honor four years after its establishment.
Winners
The award has been presented annually since 1996; joint recipients were selected in 2017.
Year Player School 1996 J. P. McKersie Boston University 1997 Blake Sloan Michigan 1998 Erik Raygor Wisconsin 1999 Kristine Pierce RIT 2000 James Leger Maine 2001 Jason Cupp Nebraska–Omaha 2002 Rocky Ray Reeves Buffalo State 2003 Sam Paolini Cornell 2004 Chanda Gunn Northeastern 2005 Sarah Carlson Boston College 2006 Eric Leroux Princeton 2007 Kristin Savard Yale 2008 William Bruce Williams 2009 Missy Elumba Northeastern 2010 Ethan Cox Colgate 2011 Brooks Dyroff Boston College 2012 Aleca Hughes Yale 2013 Tucker Mullin St. Anselm 2014 Jeffrey Reppucci Holy Cross 2015 Brittany Ammerman Wisconsin 2016 Chris Dylewski Air Force 2017 Danny Divis St. Michael's Justin McKenzie 2018 Sidney Peters Minnesota 2019 Jake Bunz Wisconsin 2020 Amanda Conger Saint Anselm 2021 Delaney Wolf Saint Mary's2022Josh KosackUnion 2023 Gabbie Hughes Minnesota Duluth 2024 Dylan Lugris Penn State 2025 Sarah Thompson St. Lawrence2026Meg SimonMiddleburySource
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