Taro Hirose Named a Hobey Baker Award Finalist
3/20/2019 1:45:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
EAST LANSING – Taro Hirose has been named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, the Award's committee announced on Wednesday (March 20). The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is presented annually to the top NCAA men's ice hockey player.
The 10 finalists were selected by voting from all 60 Division I college hockey head coaches plus online fan balloting. Next, the 29-member Selection Committee and an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey website hobeybaker.com, March 21-31, will determine this year's Hobey Baker winner. Criteria for the award include: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.
The Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists will be announced on Thursday, April 4. The Award winner will be announced Friday, April 12, in Buffalo, New York, host of this year's NCAA Frozen Four.
"It's a tremendous honor to be included on this list of Hobey Baker Award finalists," Hirose said. "There are so many great players, so to be named a finalist for such a prestigious award is very exciting, and also humbling. You can't be considered for an award like this without great teammates and coaches."
Hirose is the 17th player in program history to be named a Hobey Baker Award finalist and the first since Torey Krug in 2012.
The Big Ten Player of the Year and unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection, Hirose ended his season as the national leader in both points (50) and assists (35). He signed an entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings on March 12, ending his collegiate career with 116 points (33g, 83a) in 106 games.
Hirose, a native of Calgary, Alberta, led the nation for much of the second half of the season in as many as 10 different statistical categories, some of which included: points, assists, points per game, assists per game and multi-point games. He held the national lead in points and assist concurrently for 71 consecutive days from Jan. 4 – March 15.
He became the first Spartan to win the Big Ten scoring title by producing 34 points, including 10 goals and 24 assists, in 24 league games.
Hirose produced 15 multi-point games, 11 of which came against teams in the PairWise top 25 as the Spartans went 7-3-1 in those contests.
He garnered four Big Ten weekly awards and was named the NCAA First Star of the Week on Oct. 30 after his two three-point games helped the Spartans' sweep No. 8 Cornell on the road.
On the year, Hirose produced a total of nine three-point games, in which MSU went 7-1-1. As a critical component to the team's success, Hirose produced a point on the winning goal in 75% of the team's wins.
Hirose's 50 points were the most by a Spartan since 2002-03 (John-Michael Liles, 50) while his 35 assists were also the most since '02-03 (Brad Fast, 35).
Hirose's production in his three years wearing Green and White placed him among some elite Spartans. His 0.78 assist per game average was the best of any Spartan that reached the 100 career point mark since the year 2000. Since 2000, Hirose's 1.09 career point per game average was second best only to Jim Slater (1.10).
Off the ice, Hirose carries a 3.68 GPA as a finance major. During his time on campus, he was actively involved in MSU's Student-Athlete Support Services initiatives, including Teams for Toys, Accessible Trick-or-Treating and the SASS Food Drive.
2019 Hobey Baker Award Finalists (alphabetical order)
Joe Duszak, Mercyhurst
Adam Fox, Harvard
Taro Hirose, Michigan State
Quinn Hughes, Michigan
Mason Jobst, Ohio State
Cale Makar, Massachusetts
Patrick Newell, St. Cloud State
Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac
Jimmy Schuldt, St. Cloud State
Nico Sturm, Clarkson
About the Hobey Baker Memorial Award
Since 1981, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award has been presented annually to the outstanding college hockey player in the United States by the Decathlon Club of Bloomington, Minnesota. The Hobey Baker Award was named for hockey legend and World War I veteran Hobey Baker. Universally recognized as the best amateur player in the United States, Baker was the ultimate gentleman sportsman, always playing the game with courage, honor, and humility.
The 10 finalists were selected by voting from all 60 Division I college hockey head coaches plus online fan balloting. Next, the 29-member Selection Committee and an additional round of fan balloting through the Hobey website hobeybaker.com, March 21-31, will determine this year's Hobey Baker winner. Criteria for the award include: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.
The Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists will be announced on Thursday, April 4. The Award winner will be announced Friday, April 12, in Buffalo, New York, host of this year's NCAA Frozen Four.
"It's a tremendous honor to be included on this list of Hobey Baker Award finalists," Hirose said. "There are so many great players, so to be named a finalist for such a prestigious award is very exciting, and also humbling. You can't be considered for an award like this without great teammates and coaches."
Hirose is the 17th player in program history to be named a Hobey Baker Award finalist and the first since Torey Krug in 2012.
The Big Ten Player of the Year and unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection, Hirose ended his season as the national leader in both points (50) and assists (35). He signed an entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings on March 12, ending his collegiate career with 116 points (33g, 83a) in 106 games.
Hirose, a native of Calgary, Alberta, led the nation for much of the second half of the season in as many as 10 different statistical categories, some of which included: points, assists, points per game, assists per game and multi-point games. He held the national lead in points and assist concurrently for 71 consecutive days from Jan. 4 – March 15.
He became the first Spartan to win the Big Ten scoring title by producing 34 points, including 10 goals and 24 assists, in 24 league games.
Hirose produced 15 multi-point games, 11 of which came against teams in the PairWise top 25 as the Spartans went 7-3-1 in those contests.
He garnered four Big Ten weekly awards and was named the NCAA First Star of the Week on Oct. 30 after his two three-point games helped the Spartans' sweep No. 8 Cornell on the road.
On the year, Hirose produced a total of nine three-point games, in which MSU went 7-1-1. As a critical component to the team's success, Hirose produced a point on the winning goal in 75% of the team's wins.
Hirose's 50 points were the most by a Spartan since 2002-03 (John-Michael Liles, 50) while his 35 assists were also the most since '02-03 (Brad Fast, 35).
Hirose's production in his three years wearing Green and White placed him among some elite Spartans. His 0.78 assist per game average was the best of any Spartan that reached the 100 career point mark since the year 2000. Since 2000, Hirose's 1.09 career point per game average was second best only to Jim Slater (1.10).
Off the ice, Hirose carries a 3.68 GPA as a finance major. During his time on campus, he was actively involved in MSU's Student-Athlete Support Services initiatives, including Teams for Toys, Accessible Trick-or-Treating and the SASS Food Drive.
2019 Hobey Baker Award Finalists (alphabetical order)
Joe Duszak, Mercyhurst
Adam Fox, Harvard
Taro Hirose, Michigan State
Quinn Hughes, Michigan
Mason Jobst, Ohio State
Cale Makar, Massachusetts
Patrick Newell, St. Cloud State
Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac
Jimmy Schuldt, St. Cloud State
Nico Sturm, Clarkson
About the Hobey Baker Memorial Award
Since 1981, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award has been presented annually to the outstanding college hockey player in the United States by the Decathlon Club of Bloomington, Minnesota. The Hobey Baker Award was named for hockey legend and World War I veteran Hobey Baker. Universally recognized as the best amateur player in the United States, Baker was the ultimate gentleman sportsman, always playing the game with courage, honor, and humility.
We've got a Hobey Baker Award finalist! pic.twitter.com/h1dkEdrLgQ
— MSU_Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 20, 2019
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