COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After handing out Goaltender of the Year honors yesterday, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced both of its individual defenseman awards on Friday. Denver junior Eric Pohlkamp was selected the winner of the 2025-26 NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year award, while Minnesota Duluth sophomore Adam Kleber was voted the winner of the 2025-26 NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year award.
 
Kleber is the first Bulldog to earn NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year since the award began in 2016-17. He’s also the first sophomore to garner the honor.
 
Conversely, a Denver blueliner has now won Offensive Defenseman of the Year four straight seasons with Pohlkamp picking up the award in 2025-26, while he’s the fifth different Pioneer to earn the honor. Current Vancouver Canuck Zeev Buium won it back-to-back the last two years, while Mike Benning won it in 2022-23. Former DU standout Joey LaLeggia won the first two Offensive Defenseman of the Year honors from the NCHC in 2014 and 2015, while Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher captured it in 2016-17. In the 13-year history of the NCHC, a Denver player has now won Offensive Defenseman of the Year seven times.
 
Pohlkamp is also a finalist for 2025-26 NCHC Player of the Year, which will be announced next Thursday. The San Jose Sharks draft pick led all NCHC defensemen with both 22 points and nine goals in 24 conference games. His +15 plus/minus tied for fourth in conference play among all skaters.
 
Pohlkamp appeared in all 35 regular-season games, breaking the NCHC single-season record for goals by a defenseman with 16, while he now has 17 after another tally in the NCHC Quarterfinals. The native of Baxter, Minnesota also became one of only five NCHC defensemen ever to record a hat trick, while scoring three game-winning goals this year. His 34 regular-season points paced all NCAA blue liners and were ninth-best among all NCHC players, averaging 0.97 points per game.
 
Pohlkamp earned First-Team All-NCHC accolades this season after earning Third-Team honors last year. He was also a three-time NCHC Defenseman of the Week this season, and the NCHC and National Defenseman of the Month for November.
 
Kleber was a leader on the Bulldogs’ blue line this season, helping UMD finish first in the NCHC with a penalty kill success rate of 88.6 percent. The Buffalo Sabres draft pick is also part of a Minnesota Duluth defensive corps that tied for fourth in the conference with 2.75 goals allowed per game. 
 
Kleber tied for second on his team with 39 blocked shots while playing in all 36 games this year and averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time. This season, the native of Chaska, Minnesota has three goals and 10 points while posting a +10 plus/minus in the regular season, which tied for second on the team. 
 
Minnesota Duluth sophomore Ty Hanson was the runner-up for NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year in 2025-26, while North Dakota junior Jake Livanavage was runner-up for Defensive Defenseman of the Year this season. Both earned All-NCHC honors on Tuesday. NCHC Offensive and Defensive Defenseman of the Year and all playing awards are voted on by each of the NCHC’s nine head coaches and one media member covering each of the NCHC’s nine programs (18 voters total).
 
On Monday, the NCHC’s two forward awards will be announced with Forward of the Year and Defensive Forward of the Year winners. The next day, the NCHC Rookie of the Year and the Senior Scholar-Athlete Award winner will be released on Tuesday. Individual NCHC award winners will continue to be revealed through Thursday, March 19.
 
2025-26 NCHC Individual Award Winners announced so far:

• Media Excellence Award - Matt Wellens, Duluth News Tribune
• Three Stars Award – Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan
• Sportsmanship Award – Blake Mesenburg, Miami
• Goaltender of the Year - Jan Špunar, North Dakota
• Offensive Defenseman of the Year – Eric Pohlkamp, Denver
• Defensive Defenseman of the Year – Adam Kleber, Minnesota Duluth