The Hobey Baker Award is usually associated with the best Division-I men’s hockey player in the nation, but members of the St. Thomas women’s hockey team are familiar with the distinguished award because of their character as high school athletes.
Five players for the Tommies were recipients of the Hobey Baker Character Award, presented annually to high school hockey players who exemplify Hobey Baker’s ideal that “character builds excellence.” The award was established in 2003 and is given to one player from each participating high school, celebrating each athlete’s accomplishments on and off the ice.
“It was a great honor to be associated with the name,” forward Paige Baldwin said about receiving the award. “The award is about having coachability, the integrity aspect of it, community spirit, emphasizing character on the ice – not solely just skills.”
Baldwin, forwards Breanna Mahoney and Heidi Winiecki, defenseman Nuala Flood, and goalie Phaylen Meyer all won the award, while forward Rachel Friberg was a nominee. Baldwin and Flood are the only upperclassmen on the St. Thomas roster who received the award; the other three players are freshmen.
Coach Tom Palkowski said his entire roster is filled with well-rounded women who drive the Tommie program.
“Number one, I think St. Thomas kind of draws those kind of kids. Number two, we do a little homework when we recruit,” Palkowski said. “Most of our kids on the team were captains of their team, have done very well in the classroom and on the ice, excelled in other sports. I just think that’s just a good mix.”
Although they recently dropped out of the national rankings, the Tommies have climbed as high as No. 5 this season and are coming off a Frozen Four appearance last year. This season, the Tommies have the fewest penalty minutes in the MIAC with 44.
“I like to think part of it is their hockey sense on the ice, but you know, sometimes that stat can be a little misleading,” Palkowski said.
Flood and Baldwin said they can apply a lot of things from their high school experiences in a collegiate setting, like being team leaders and exemplary members of the St. Thomas community. Flood said she hopes younger teammates can learn from her both on and off the ice and continue the tradition for years to come.
“Hobey Baker stood for leadership and sportsmanship and not necessarily being the best player out there but being the best person out there,” Flood said. “I think all of those qualities transfer to St. Thomas.”
Palkowski said team chemistry, sportsmanship and team success go hand in hand, and he emphasized that his coaching staff tries to instill all of the values associated with the Hobey Baker Character Award in their program.
“You need to trust your players, your coaches and just respect the game of hockey,” Palkowski said. “I think we try to teach that, and we’ve done a good job multiple years.”
St. Thomas currently has 12 underclassmen on the 24-player roster. Palkowski said the upperclassmen have shown strong leadership ability and brought the team together this season.
“When you’re losing nine and coming back with only three seniors, sometimes that can be kind of tough because the bigger class sometimes can try to override your seniors,” Palkowski said. “As a coach, it’s been great so far this year sitting back and watching this year’s team try to create their identity.”
Jordan Kruger can be reached at krug6172@stthomas.edu.