Several NCHC player awards are coming and here's who could win them

SCSU vs Western Michigan_0756.jpg — St. Cloud State forward Jami Krannila (13) passes the puck past Western Michigan forward Luke Grainger (9) in the third period Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

By Mick Hatten

March 09, 2023 at 9:43 PM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — While the winners won’t be announced until March 16, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference unveiled the finalists for 11 of its individual awards for the 2022-23 season on Thursday. The winners will be revealed at the annual NCHC Awards Celebration, on the eve of the 2023 NCHC Frozen Faceoff at the St. Paul Event Center.

For eight of the awards, finalists were determined based on voting by the conference’s eight head coaches and one media member from each school with the top three vote-getters (plus ties) for each award being named finalists. The Senior Scholar-Athlete Award finalists were voted upon by the conference’s Faculty Athletics Representatives. Athletic directors at each NCHC institution had a vote on Herb Brooks Coach of the Year, as well, along with the coaches and media.

Jason Polin, a senior forward from Western Michigan, is up for four of the awards: Player of the Year, Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, Forward of the Year and the Sportsmanship Award.

Jami Krannila, a senior forward from St. Cloud State, is up for two awards: Player of the Year and Defensive Forward of the Year.

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Magnus Chrona, a senior goalie from Denver, is up for two awards: Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year.

The Three Stars Award finalists are based on the highest point totals of ‘Stars of the Game’ points earned during conference games only (5 for first star, 3 for second star, 1 for third star). The Sportsmanship Award is voted on by conference staff from submitted nominations by member schools.

2022-23 NCHC INDIVIDUAL AWARD FINALISTS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Magnus Chrona, Sr., G, Denver
Jami Krannila, Sr., F, St. Cloud State
Jason Polin, Sr., F, Western Michigan

HERB BROOKS COACH OF THE YEAR
David Carle, Denver
Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan
Mike Gabinet, Omaha

SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
Ethan Frisch, D, North Dakota
Jason Polin, F, Western Michigan
Kirby Proctor, D, Omaha

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Jackson Blake, F, North Dakota
Kaidan Mbereko, G, Colorado College
Ryan McAllister, F, Western Michigan

GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR
Magnus Chrona, Sr., Denver
Simon Latkoczy, Fr., Omaha
Kaidan Mbereko, Fr., Colorado College

FORWARD OF THE YEAR
Jami Krannila, Sr., St. Cloud State
Jason Polin, Sr., Western Michigan
Massimo Rizzo, So., Denver

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR
Mike Benning, Jr., Denver
Zak Galambos, Sr., Western Michigan
Chris Jandric, Gr., North Dakota
Jack Peart, So., St. Cloud State

DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR
Aidan Fulp, Jr., Western Michigan
Justin Lee, Sr., Denver
Victor Mancini, So., Omaha

DEFENSIVE FORWARD OF THE YEAR
Jami Krannila, Sr., St. Cloud State
Carter Mazur, So., Denver
Micah Miller, 5th-Sr., St. Cloud State
Nolan Sullivan, Sr., Omaha

THREE STARS AWARD FINALISTS
Magnus Chrona, Sr., G, Denver
Carter Mazur, So., F, Denver
Kaidan Mbereko, Fr., G, Colorado College

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD FINALISTS
Jack Clement, Sr., D, Miami
Spencer Meier, 5th-Sr., D, St. Cloud State
Jason Polin, Sr., F, Western Michigan

By Mick Hatten

Mick Hatten is a reporter and editor for Forum News Service and helps manage TheRinkLive.com, a website dedicated to hockey. He began working for Forum Communications in November 2018 and has covered St. Cloud State University hockey since 2010. A graduate of St. Cloud State, he has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and has been a youth hockey coach since 2014. mhatten@forumcomm.com

For more coverage of St. Cloud and the surrounding communities, check out St. Cloud Live.

Several NCHC player awards are coming and here's who could win them

WMU's Jason Polin up for 4 NCHC individual awards; SCSU's Jami Krannila, Denver's Magnus Chrona up for 2 each. The winners of the awards will be named on March 16 in St. Paul

2022-23 NCHC INDIVIDUAL AWARD FINALISTS