AMESBURY, Mass. - The Hockey East Association announced today the inaugural winners of the Hockey East Academic Champion Award, honoring outstanding accomplishments from one men’s and one women’s player both on the ice and in the classroom. The 2024 recipients are Northeastern’s Megan Carter and Boston University’s Cade Webber.
“Hockey East is proud to honor Megan and Cade as the inaugural Hockey East Academic Champions and acknowledge their exceptional accomplishments both in the classroom and on the ice,” said Hockey East Commissioner Steve Metcalf. “Hockey East looks forward to highlighting the many incredible stories of its student-athletes for years to come with this new award.”
Carter, the 12th overall selection in the 2024 PWHL Entry Draft, established a new standard for academic and athletic success during her five-year career at Northeastern. Serving as a two-time captain of the Huskies, Carter led her squad to four Bertagna Trophies as Hockey East Tournament Champions and three Frozen Fours. She was twice named the Hockey East Defender of the Year, Hockey East First-Team All Star, New England Division I All-Star, and was selected to the Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team during her freshman campaign. Carter will being her professional hockey career next season with PWHL Toronto before pursuing medical school.
Throughout her career, Carter compiled a 4.0 GPA as a biology major in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern and gained experience as a medical assistant and clinical research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In addition to her on-ice accolades, Carter was awarded the Elite 90 Award for three consecutive seasons. The Elite 90 award is presented by the NCAA to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the championship site for each sport. She was also honored with places on the Hockey East All-Academic Team as a Top Scholar-Athlete and Distinguished Scholar, as well as an AHCA All-American Scholar. She served as the president of Northeastern’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee and as the graduate commencement ceremony student speaker. She received the Northeastern Athletics Rowlands Award in 2024, given annually to the top female senior scholar-athlete.
Webber, selected in the fourth round (99th overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, enjoyed a record-setting season in 2023-24 for Boston University while serving as an assistant captain. The 6-foot-7 defenseman set the NCAA single-season record with 137 blocked shots and helped the Terriers to the 2024 Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota. He collected a career-best six assists and was named the Best Defensive Defenseman in Hockey East for his efforts. As a junior, he blocked 95 shots, which was second in the NCAA in 2022-23, and helped his Terriers earn a Hockey East Regular Season title and the Lamoriello Trophy as Hockey East Tournament Champions. Webber signed a two-year entry level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in April.
Webber is a four-time honoree on the Hockey East All-Academic Team and a two-time AHCA All-American Scholar. He completed his undergraduate degree in Boston University’s Questrom School of Business in just three years while carrying a 3.47 GPA. He was honored with the E. Ray Speare Award as the top male scholar-athlete at BU in 2023-24.
