The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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nor had a point streak of 23 games through March 14. "I was talking to [assistant coach] Brian Wiseman and I said, 'Listen, this kid is presenting unrealistic ex‑ pectations. Every time he touches the puck I expect him to do something awesome and score a goal,'" Hunt‑ zicker said. "It doesn't mean that he is more valuable than the others, it's just that when he's on the ice, you get out of your seat and pay attention. He's the most exciting player in col‑ lege hockey." Connor's 30 goals are the most by a Wolverine since 2007‑08 when Kevin Porter had 33. They are the most by a Michigan freshman since Denny Felsner had 30 in 1989‑90. Meanwhile, his 61 points represent the second‑most ever tal‑ lied by a U‑M rookie and the highest total, regardless of class, since Por‑ ter's 63‑point campaign in 2007‑08. "Kyle is burying the puck and he's also dishing it out for [31] ap‑ ples," former Michigan goalie Noah Ruden said. "Motte has all the goals and Compher has all the assists, but Connor is doing both, and as a fresh‑ man I think it makes it that much more impressive, even with veteran linemates. "Plus, I can't argue with almost 1.8 points per game." Connor 's 1.79 points per game through 34 contests ranked him No. 1 nationally and were slightly better than the pace averaged by last year 's Hobey Baker Award winner, Jack Eichel (1.77). Eichel, like Connor, was a fresh‑ man, one of just two rookies to take home college hockey's most presti‑ gious honor (Maine's Paul Kariya was the first in 1993). At the very least, Connor should make the final three — over the past 10 years of Hobey voting, five of the eight forwards that have won the award finished among the top two scorers in the NCAA that season. In other words, the nation's top scorer has a good chance to win the Hobey Baker. The lone exceptions are St. Cloud State's Drew LeBlanc in 2013 (No. 10 with 1.19 points per game), Wiscon‑ sin's Blake Geoffrian in 2010 (No. 13 with 1.25) and North Dakota's Ryan Duncan in 2007 (No. 8 with 1.33). "There's really no set guidelines for the Hobey," Ruden started. "Is it the MVP of the best team? The most talented player? The top offensive player? It kind of changes year to year. "But I think consistently it's about who looks and feels like the Hobey Baker winner, and it'd be hard to ar‑ gue with Kyle Connor. He's that guy this year." THE CASE FOR J.T. COMPHER Compher ranked second nationally in points per game (1.53) despite not ranking in the top 25 in goal scoring. His 13 markers seem rather pedes‑ trian in a year in which 17 players have already scored 20 goals or more. However, the 5‑11, 193‑pound center leads the country in assists with 39 through 34 games. "It shouldn't just come down to goals and points," Trainor said. Compher wears the "C" on his jer‑ sey and represents the heartbeat of