Celebrini, Buium nominated for Hobey Baker as top NCAA player
Macklin Celebrini and Zeev Buium, each eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, have been nominated for the 2024 Hobey Baker Award.
Celebrini, the consensus top pick for the 2024 draft, is tied for fifth overall in NCAA scoring with 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) in 19 games with Boston University, and is fourth overall in points-per-game at 1.68. He is the youngest player in NCAA Division I men’s hockey this season, and the only player who will play the entire season as a 17-year-old.
Buium is seventh overall in scoring in the Nation and leads all defensemen with 32 points (six goals, 26 assists) in 22 games as a freshman with the University of Denver. He won gold with Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship earlier this month.
Artyom Levshunov, also considered a top-10 pick for the 2024 draft, is among the nominees. The 18-year-old defenseman has 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists) in 25 games at Michigan State University. Levshunov is a freshman from Belarus who played in the United States Hockey League last season.
In all, 84 players were nominated Friday with the opening of fan balloting, which runs through March 10. Phase two of fan voting opens after the top 10 Hobey Baker finalists are announced on March 20. Three finalists, the Hobey Hat Trick, are revealed on April 4, and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced on Friday, April 12, 2024 during the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four.
The Hobey Baker is awarded to the most outstanding men’s NCAA player each season. Past recent winners include Adam Fantilli (2023), Cole Caufield (2021), Cale Makar (2019), Jack Eichel (2015), and Johnny Gaudreau (2014).
In addition to on-ice accomplishments award criteria includes candidates exhibiting the exceptional character traits shown by the award’s namesake, Hobey Baker, as well as scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.