SAINT PAUL, Minn. – For the first time since 2020, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is home to two Hobey Baker Award finalists. North Dakota sophomore forward Jackson Blake and Denver junior forward Jack Devine were both named among 10 players nationally up for the 2024 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which is presented to the most outstanding player in men’s college hockey.
 
The NCHC is one of only two conferences with multiple Hobey Baker Award finalists this year, along with Hockey East, which has four. Blake and Devine are both First-Team All-NCHC selections this season, and both are finalists for NCHC Player of the Year and Forward of the Year, which will be announced Thursday night at the annual NCHC Awards Celebration.
 
Blake (Eden Prairie, Minn.) is the lone unanimous First-Team All-NCHC forward selection. The Carolina Hurricanes draft pick ranks second nationally and first in the NCHC with 57 points in 38 games this season. He has 21 goals to tie for 13th nationally, while his 36 assists are fourth in the NCAA. The sophomore recorded at least three points in a game eight times during the season.

Blake set an NCHC record with 37 points in conference play (24 games), including an NCHC-best 26 assists, topping the previous mark by two points. His 57 total points are only three shy of the NCHC record for overall points in a season (Brock Boeser with 60 in 2015-16), while he already has 99 career points in his two-year college career (77 games). Blake, the NCHC Rookie of the Year last season, was a two-time NCHC Forward of the Week and the NCHC February Player of the Month this season.  

Devine (Glencoe, Ill.) ranks second in the NCHC and fourth nationally with 54 points in 38 games this season. The Florida Panthers draft pick has scored 27 goals to pace the NCHC, while ranking third in the country, including eight multi-goal games. His 27 assists tie for 17th nationally.  

In conference play, Devine finished third in scoring and second among forwards with 28 points in 24 games. His 12 goals tied for fourth in NCHC play, while he dished out 16 assists. Devine also leads the NCHC with a +29 plus/minus overall this season. He was named NCHC Forward of the Week to start the season and joined the Century Club with 100-career points on the final weekend of the regular season. Devine now has 104 career points (44g/60a) in 112 games as a Pioneer.

The 10 finalists were selected by voting from all 64 Division I college hockey head coaches and online fan balloting. This year’s Hobey Baker winner will be chosen from the 10 finalists by the 30-member Selection Committee, as well as an additional round of fan balloting running from March 20–March 31 on hobeybaker.com. Criteria for the award are: displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship, and scholastic achievements. 
 
The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on April 4, 2024, and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced on Friday, April 12, 2024 during Men’s Frozen Four weekend in St. Paul, Minn. The announcement will be televised live on the NHL Network and streamed on the Hobey Baker website at 6:00 p.m. ET. 
 
Blake and Devine give the NCHC 17 Hobey Baker Award finalists all-time, as the NCHC has had at least one finalist every year since play began in 2014. The NCHC is home to two previous Hobey Baker Award winners in former Denver defenseman Will Butcher, who won in 2017, and former Minnesota Duluth defenseman Scott Perunovich, who captured the honor in 2020.