Walter Brown Hockey Awards Committee

I'll be presenting the Walter Brown Award to Boston College's Ryan Leonard at the New England Hockey Writers' Dinner on April 22 at Prince Restaurant, Saugus. I'll also have the honor of presenting the Gridiron Club's other accolade, the Joe Concannon Award, to Curry College's Shane Soderwall.

The dinner is a great tradition. The New England college hockey community assembles to honor the best performers in both men's and women's hockey, both from Division I and Divisions II/III, for the season just ended. The announcement release accompanies this post.

The Walter Brown Hockey Awards Committee, under the aegis of the Gridiron Club, has been a proud participant in the New England Hockey Writers' Dinner for for many years.

-- Tom Burke

Today the committee announced that Ryan Leonard of Boston College is winner of the 73rd annual Walter Brown Award as the best American-born Division I college hockey player in New England.

Today the committee announced that Shane Soderwall of Curry College is the winner of the 24th annual Joe Concannon Award as best American-born Division II/III college hockey player in New England. Congratulations to Shane and the Colonels, and best of luck in this year's Frozen Four.

The committee today announced the semi-finalists for the 24th annual Joe Concannon Award. This goes to the best American-born Divisions II/III hockey player in New England.

Largest field of semifinalists ever, as the number of high-quality hockey programs continues to grow in this region. We have 40 candidates representing 32 schools from five conferences, plus one independent school.

The names of the semifinalists appear on the appended jpgs of the media release.

The committee is proud to announce the 26 semi-finalists for the 73rd annual Walter Brown Award, bestowed annually on the best American-born Division One college hockey player in New England.

Nine of the 26 nominees will be playing in the first round of the Beanpot tonight at TD Garden: four from BC, three from BU, and two from Northeastern.

Also, four former winners of the Walter Brown Award will be behind the benches in coaching capacities tonight: head coaches Greg Brown of BC, the 1990 winner; and Jay Pandolfo of BU, the winner in 1996; assistant coaches Matt Gilroy of Harvard, the 2009 winner when playing for BU; and Mike Ayers of BC, the 2003 winner when playing for UNH.

We're also happy to note the first-ever nominee from Stonehill College, sophomore Anthony Galante.

The full text of the announcement releases appears in the accompanying jpgs.

The Walter Brown Award and the Joe Concannon Award will be presented at the New England Hockey Writers' Dinner on April 23 at the Prince Restaurant in Saugus, It's a great event, so mark your calendar!

The media announcement with all the other award winners' names follows.

Boston College Forward Cutter Gauthier Is Recipient of 72nd Walter Brown Award as New England’s Best American-Born Division One Hockey Player

Nation’s Leading Goal Scorer is First Eagle Recipient since Johnny Gaudreau in 2014;
BC Coach Greg Brown was Walter Brown Winner in 1990

BOSTON – March 27, 2024 – Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Tim Whelan Jr. announced today that Boston College sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, AZ) is recipient of the 72nd Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born Division One college hockey player in New England.

Going into the NCAA tournament quarterfinal round, 6-3, 190-pound Gauthier leads the nation both in goals scored with 35 and game-winning goals with ten.. He has also amassed 24 assists; his 59 points place him second in the country in overall scoring. Gauthier was a First-Team Hockey East All-Star and is one of ten candidates for the 2024 Hobey Baker Award. He was also a key contributor in the United States team’s gold medal triumph at the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. He was drafted with the fifth overall pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2022 NHL draft, and his rights were subsequently traded to the Anaheim Ducks.

The 31-5-1 Eagles won both the Hockey East regular season and playoff championships. Top-ranked in the nation, they face 19-14-6 Michigan Tech in the first game of the Providence Regional on March 29.

BC coach Greg Brown stated, “The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has made an excellent selection in Cutter Gauthier for the Walter Brown Award. Cutter has been dominant on the ice in all areas of the game. He leads the country in goals scored, plays on both the power play and penalty kill, and does this night in and night out while playing against the opponents’ top line. Cutter has been an excellent role model for his teammates, driving the intensity level in practice and elevating each of the players around him.

“Cutter is as diligent with his school work as he is on the ice. He supports a number of community services initiatives including The New England Jumbos, BC Hockey Toy Drive, and the BC "Stuff the Truck" Food Drive. Along with his teammates he also supports Team Impact and his Team Impact teammate, Josh Bello.

“In short, Cutter is an outstanding representative of himself, his family, and Boston College. Walter Brown would be proud.”

The two other finalists from the field of 26 semifinalists were Boston University sophomore Lane Hutson (North Barrington, IL) and Boston College freshman Will Smith (Lexington, MA). Hutson, the 2023 Walter Brown Award winner, ranks 15th in the nation and second among defensemen with 13-33-46. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens as the 66th overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NHL draft. Smith leads the country in overall scoring with 23-44-67. He was MVP of the Hockey East Championship Tournament, scoring four goals in BC’s 6-2 final win over Boston University. Smith was selected fourth overall in the 2023 NHL draft by the San Jose Sharks, Smith and Hutson are also among the ten candidates for the Hobey Baker Award

The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team ever to win the World Championship Tournament. Brown coached the Rangers to the title in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where the team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the championship game. The Walter Brown Award will be presented at the New England Hockey Writers’ annual event on Tuesday, April 23, at Prince Restaurant in Saugus, MA.

Gridiron Club announces 26 semi-finalists for the 72nd annual Walter Brown Award.

Blog of the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Keepers of the Flame!

https://gridclubboston.com/2023/03/30/boston-university-defenseman-lane-hutson-is-recipient-of-71st-walter-brown-award-as-new-englands-best-american-born-division-one-hockey-player/

Boston University Defenseman Lane Hutson Is Recipient of 71st Walter Brown Award as New England’s Best American-Born Division One Hockey Player Only the Second Freshman Ever, 36 Years after Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch in 1987; BU Coach Jay Pandolfo was Walter Brown Winner in 1996 BOSTON – March 30, 2023– Gridiron Club of Greater Bost…

Overtime heroics by Bobby Trivigno, the Walter Brown Award winner, who sets up the overtime goal. UMass knocks off Minnesota-Duluth and is going to the NCAA championship game. Congratulations, Minutemen.

With the addition to our album of a photo of Dave Grannis of Harvard, winner of the Walter Brown Award in 1962, we now have photos of every winning player in the 69 years of the Brown Award and the 20 years of the Concannon Award.

My thanks to Jeff Weinstein of the Harvard athletic media relations office for finding this pic and sending it to me.