SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - American International College junior center Josh Barnes has been named a nominee for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to the top player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.
Fans can support Barnes' candidacy by voting for him on the Hobey Baker website. Click here to visit the voting page.
The Award is named after Princeton University legend Hobey Baker, widely considered the first star college ice hockey player. Baker led the Tigers to national championships in 1912 and 1914, in addition to a football title in 1911. He was killed serving in the US Army Air Service in France in December 1918 when a plane he was test piloting crashed. In 1945, Baker was a member of the inaugural class of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the only American inducted in that first group.
Apart from participation in Division I men's ice hockey, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award is judged on three areas: "contribution to the integrity of the team and outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character, on and off the ice, [and] scholastic achievement and sportsmanship."
Barnes has more than met all of the criteria for this award. On the ice, he is AIC's top scorer in 2024-25, with 11 goals and 16 points in 24 games; across three seasons, he has totalled 19 goals and 11 assists for 30 points. He is a team leader who plays all phases of the game, including both the power play and penalty kill units. Among his most noteworthy on-ice achievements this season were a two-goal game at Ohio State University where he also notched the shootout-winning strike, and a hat trick in a come-from-behind win at Robert Morris University.
In the classroom, Barnes is also a leader. He has earned the Atlantic Hockey America Student-Athlete of the Year Award in both of his completed collegiate seasons. That award is given to student-athletes who achieve a grade-point average of 4.0 or better in an academic year; Barnes is one of very few at AIC to earn the award multiple times.
With his Hobey Baker nomination, Barnes joins an illustrious list of Yellow Jackets who have been up for the award, including former team captains Austin Orszulak and Brennan Kapcheck.
The fan vote phase extends through
