College Player of the Year - Will Butcher

University of Denver defenseman Will Butcher finished his collegiate career as the sixth defenseman to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the nation’s top player.

A team captain during his senior season, Butcher helped lead the Pioneers to the school’s eighth national title. He contributed 37 points (7G, 30A) in 43 games, which ranked second among all NCAA defensemen. Butcher was named NCHC Player of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year after finishing first in the conference with 25 points (3G, 22A) in 24 games.

The ACHA/CCM First-Team All-American also earned all-tournament team honors at the NCAA’s Midwest Regional after netting a goal and earning a plus-three rating in wins over Michigan Tech and Penn State.

Butcher has represented Team USA in IIHF world championship play four times, including with the gold medal-winning 2012 U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Brno, Czech Republic. He also won silver at the same event a year later, and was a member of the 2014 and 2015 U.S. National Junior Teams.

The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native is the son of Joe and Julie Butcher and has one sister, Jessie, and one brother, Mike.

The College Player of the Year Award, presented by Bauer, annually recognizes an individual’s outstanding performance during the U.S. college hockey season.