Michigan State hockey's Isaac Howard was named the 45th winner of the Hobey Baker Award on Friday night in St. Louis. He becomes the third Spartan to win the award, but the first outside of the Miller family. Cousins Kip and Ryan Miller won the award playing for MSU in 1990 and 2001, respectively.
The native of Hudson, Wisc., will now have a chance to become the first player to win two Hobey Baker Awards, after shocking everyone with reports that he would return to Michigan State for his senior year.
Howard, a 2022 first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, was expected by many to sign with the club shortly following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. But perhaps it was the way the season ended prematurely that led to Howard's decision to return to East Lansing.
"I want to win a national championship," Howard said Friday shortly after winning the award. "I didn't play to win a Hobey, I want to win a national championship."
The Spartans were eliminated from the NCAA tournament in their opening-round contest by Cornell, which scored the game-winner with 10 seconds remaining.
Howard began his college career at Minnesota-Duluth where he played his freshman year, before transferring to Michigan State. During his sophomore season, he scored only eight goals but led the team with 28 assists and 36 points. This season, his 26 goals and 26 assists were good enough to lead the country in points per game.
Other finalists for the 2025 Hobey Baker Award were Boston College's Ryan Leonard and Denver's Zeev Buium. Leonard has already appeared in five games and scored a goal with the Washington Capitals after signing his Entry Level Contract a day after the Eagles were eliminated in the regional final. Buium is expected to sign with the Minnesota Wild soon, following Denver's double overtime loss to Western Michigan last Thursday night in the Frozen Four.