A Yorkton Terriers alumnus has been nominated for a prestigious honour in U.S. men’s college hockey – The Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
Ryan Ouellette, who played for the Terriers from 2018-2020, has been selected as one of the 100 nominees for the award which recognizes outstanding hockey players for their scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
“I don’t even know how I would react if I won the award, just being nominated makes me happy,” Ouellette told CTV News.
Now playing at Northern Michigan University, Ouellette’s former billet family and coaches in Yorkton are among those hoping he will get enough votes to become a finalist.
“We’re so happy for you, your hard work and success as an athlete is being recognized,” Ouellette’s billet family, Corvyn and Stacy Neufled, said in a Yorkton Terriers video.
“Thanks for letting us be part of your journey as a hockey player and a young man. We have lots of great memories of you as a Yorkton Terrier and as a member of our family. We’ll be cheering for you.”
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Ouellette’s assistant goalie coach with the Terriers, said being recognized through the award is a huge deal for players early in their career.
“This award is a massive accolade. For hockey players, and anyone in the real world too, it’s all about your resume,” stated Zach Rakochy.
“This is a huge resume patter for him just to be nominated. It’s the individual award for NCAA Division I hockey and just being nominated for this is a massive feather in his hat.”
Rakochy added that because of Ouellette, current and future Terriers will see the potential of their own careers.
“I’m extremely proud of that young man. He worked really hard to get to where he is, and honestly it’s a little bit of a no surprise because his work ethic took him to where he is right now,” he said.
“Just having Ryan be up for the Hobey Baker, it just shows that anyone, if you throw on this jersey, play in front of this great community and play in front of these great crowds, play in the SJHL, you never know where that can take you.”
Its people like Rakochy and Neufled that Ouellette said contributed to his development and hockey career.
“The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) is really good. I would say a lot of people underrate it,” Ouellette expressed.
“They don’t understand what it’s like to play in the league, but once you play it in the league you understand it’s really good hockey and it will help you develop for the next step in your career.”
People have until early April to place their votes online for this year’s Hobey Baker award before 10 finalists are selected.
