Two North Reading Residents are Nominees for College Hockey's Top Award

Photo caption: Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Fitzgerald. Photo credit: Hobey Baker Award website.

North Reading might not be big, but it sure knows how to develop hockey players.

Two North Reading residents up for the award for top college hockey player in the nation.

Harvard University’s Jimmy Vesey and Boston College’s Ryan Fitzgerald have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. They are two of six Massachusetts residents who are up for the award.

Vesey is a junior at Harvard and was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award last year too. He was named ECAC Player of the Month for November and began the 2014-2015 campaign with points in all 13 games.

Fitzgerald is a sophomore at Boston College. He has built on a successful freshman campaign with a career-best three-game goal-scoring streak during the current season.

You have a chance to help these college hockey players get to the next level in the competition. You can vote by going to this page and clicking on VOTE next to the name of the player.

Nominees are chosen with these four areas in mind:

1. Strength of character, on and off the ice
2. Contribution to the integrity of the team and outstanding skills in all phases of the game
3. Scholastic achievement and sportsmanship
4. Compliance with all NCAA rules, including being a full-time student in an accredited college or university and completing 50 percent or more of the season

Here is how the voting is done:

“The selection process for the award is in three parts. First, the head coaches of NCAA Division I schools nominate the top three players in their league and the top three players in the nation. College hockey fans can also vote online at this time—and fan voting can be an important factor in the balloting outcome. Price Waterhouse Coopers tabulates the votes and the top 10 candidates are announced.

“Voting then commences for the ’Hobey Hat Trick,’ which is a narrowing of the field from ten players to three, from which the winner is selected. The primary voting in this part of the process is by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Selection Committee, a geographically balanced group of 27 individuals representing print and electronic sports media, college hockey coaches and officials, and NHL scouts. Fans may also vote online for their favorite candidate during this phase of the process.

“After the three finalists for the award are announced (’Hobey Hat Trick’), the countdown begins toward the announcement of the award winner in a nationally televised ceremony,” according to the Hobey Baker Award website.

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