Past NCHC All-Rookie Teams
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Freshmen shined throughout the 2020-21 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) campaign and this year’s NCHC All-Rookie Team is full of players who made an immediate impact on their own team. The 2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team has five different schools represented, including two from North Dakota, while half the team were unanimous selections.
St. Cloud State’s Veeti Miettinen and Denver’s Carter Savoie were both unanimous picks at forward, while Miami goaltender Ludvig Persson was the unanimous option in net. North Dakota’s Riese Gaber fills out the third forward spot on the squad, while the All-Rookie blue line consists of UND’s Jake Sanderson and Minnesota Duluth’s Wyatt Kaiser.
Miettinen, Savoie and Persson all received the maximum 45 points and 15 first-team votes possible, while Gaber totaled 37 points with 11 first-team votes. Sanderson led freshman defensemen in voting, receiving 38 points and 12 first-team votes, while Kaiser garnered nine first-team votes and 32 points.
Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) led all NCHC rookies in scoring with 23 points and 13 assists in 24 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick finished second behind Savoie among rookies with 10 goals and 65 shots on goal. Miettinen was a four-time NCHC weekly award winner and the January Rookie of the Month. Savoie (St. Albert, Alberta) paced NCHC freshmen with 12 goals in 22 games, with half coming on the power play, while three were game-winners, which led rookies. The Edmonton Oilers prospect compiled 19 points on the season, second to Miettinen among NCHC freshmen, while leading rookies with 77 shots on goal. Savoie was the NCHC December Rookie of the Month. Gaber (Gilbert Plains, Manitoba) rounds out the forward trio, as he finished third among NCHC rookies with both 16 points and eight goals in 24 games to help UND win the Penrose Cup.
On the blue line, Sanderson (Whitefish, Mont.) tied for the NCHC rookie defensemen scoring lead with 11 points, but did so in only 17 games, missing time while helping the U.S. win a World Junior Championship. The Ottawa Senators draft pick scored two goals, added nine assists and blocked 17 shots, while his +13 plus/minus led all conference freshmen. Kaiser (Ham Lake, Minn.) dished out nine assists in 24 games for the Bulldogs, while posting a +2 plus/minus. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect was second among freshmen with 30 blocked shots this season.
Persson (Hindas, Sweden) was a star between the pipes for Miami, starting 17 of the RedHawks’ 24 games, while leading all NCHC goalies with a .930 save percentage. He compiled a 2.40 goals-against average, which led NCHC rookie netminders, and logged a pair of shutouts. Persson posted a 5-10-2 record in net, with the five wins tying for the NCHC rookie goalie lead and the only wins Miami had all season. He was a three-time NCHC Goalie of the Week and the December Goaltender of the Month.
Voting was conducted by the eight head coaches at each institution and eight media members, one covering each member school. Coaches and media voted for six forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders, awarding first-team votes for six players (three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender) and second-team votes for the other six selections. Three points were awarded for a first-team vote while one point was awarded for a second-team vote, with the most points at each position earning the honors. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players, making 15 first-place votes the maximum a player can receive.
The NCHC will announce its 2020-21 All-Conference Teams later on Monday and its individual award winners throughout the rest of the week Tuesday through Thursday.
2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team
F – Veeti Miettinen, St. Cloud State – 45 points (15 first-team votes) unanimous
F – Carter Savoie, Denver – 45 (15) unanimous
F – Riese Gaber, North Dakota – 37 (11)
D – Jake Sanderson, North Dakota – 38 (12)
D – Wyatt Kaiser, Minnesota Duluth – 32 (9)
G – Ludvig Persson, Miami – 45 (15) unanimous
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