C.J. Smith - UMass Lowell
Junior Forward; Des Moines, Iowa
C.J. Smith led the River Hawks to their third Hockey
East Tournament championship in March, leading
the league in scoring with nine points on five goals
and four assists, a plus-seven rating and 21 shots on
goal in seven games. Smith was named the MVP of
the Hockey East Tournament after he collected eight
points (4g, 4a) in five games. He led his team to the
NCAA Northeast Regional final and made his NHL
debut April 2-3 with the Buffalo Sabres, collecting
one assist in two games played.
Runner-up: Anders Bjork, ND (Jr., F; Mequon, Wis.)
Clayton Keller - Boston University
Forward; Swansea, Illinois
Clayton Keller ended his season on a 10-game point
streak to help the Terriers reach the NCAA West
Regional Final. He led all rookies with five assists
and seven points in the month of March. He was also
named the winner of the Tim Taylor Award as the
National Rookie of the Year on April 7. Keller made
his NHL debut with the Arizona Coyotes on March 27
and collected two assists on March 29 and April 4.
Tyler Wall went 5-2-0 in the month of March, collecting
the most wins of any league goaltender in the
final month of the season. He allowed two goals or
less in four of his seven starts and stopped 38 shots
in the Hockey East title game to backbone the River
Hawks to the conference tournament title and was
named to the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team. He
posted a 19-save shutout in the NCAA Northeast
Regional final against Cornell in a 5-0 win. His 1.87
GAA led all league goaltenders in March.