College hockey’s past and future share spotlight at annual golf banquet

College hockey’s past and future shared the spotlight at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, as the 45th annual Hobey Baker Memorial Awards Banquet honored legendary coach Dick Umile and 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner Isaac Howard.

The Hobey Baker Foundation honors on-ice excellence as well as the belief that character builds excellence. Both Howard and Umile embodied those qualities during their fantastic collegiate hockey careers. 

The Legends of College Hockey Award was presented first, with the honoring of the illustrious career of Dick Umile.

Umile coached the University of New Hampshire from 1990 until 2018, amassing 598 wins, four Frozen Four appearances and 20 seasons winning 20 games or more. Umile won six Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Awards as the Hockey East coach of the year, and was named the Spencer Penrose Coach of the Year award in 1999.

Before Dick Umile was presented with his award, one of his former players and assistant head coaches, Michael Souza, spoke on his behalf. Souza played for Umile at the University of New Hampshire from 1996 to 2000. The former player then joined Umile’s staff before his retirement in 2018.

While Souza recognizes the on-ice results as a crucial part of Umile’s legacy, he reflected on the impact Umile made on his players’ lives as his greatest accomplishment. 

“I’ve always said that’s the true testament that he was beloved by all the guys who played for him,” said Souza. “No matter their experience, no matter if they were an All-American, All-League, it didn’t matter. They understood as they grew that their coach treated them like family.” 

When Umile took the stage, he reviewed his career, but spent most of his time discussing the importance of his family and players in his life. 

Ultimately, Umile thanked his former coaches and the game of hockey for who he’s become as a person and a figure in the college hockey world.

“I can’t be happier right now. Hockey has been so important to me and has helped me develop as a person. God knows where I’d be if it weren’t for hockey and the coaches I had.” Umile said

With the awarding of the Legends of College Hockey Award, Umile joins a group of some of the most consequential figures in the history of NCAA hockey, like Jerry York, Don Lucia, and countless other icons.

From a coach whose career shaped generations to a player just beginning to write his own story, the banquet celebrated the full arc of a hockey life. The next presentation of the event was the awarding of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award to Isaac, or Ike, Howard. 

Howard, a Hudson, Wisconsin native, won the 2025 Hobey Baker for an excellent season that included leading the nation in points-per-game, winning the BIG 10 Player of the Year, and BIG 10 Tournament MVP.

Ike’s 2025 campaign wrapped up an impressive junior and college career where he won the 2024 World Juniors championship and the 2025 IIHF World Championship with Team USA. 

Howard’s greatest achievement may be how he lifted every team he played for

The talented forward started his collegiate career at Minnesota Duluth, but transferred to Michigan State for his sophomore season. When Howard moved to Michigan State for the 2023-24 season, they had not won 20 games in a season since 2007-08. 

Howard joined MSU the same season as his former coach in the U.S. National Development program, Adam Nightingale. In Howard’s two seasons back with Nightingale, the Spartans won two BIG 10 Championships and made NCAA Tournament appearances. 

MSU coach Adam Nightingale was on hand at the event to make remarks before Howard was presented with the Hobey Baker Award.

Nightingale spoke about Howard’s commitment to improving his game in every area of the ice. The coach recounted a story of how Howard wanted to play on the penalty kill before his junior season. 

Throughout the year, Howard rounded into a strong penalty killer and helped kill off a crucial penalty in overtime of the BIG 10 Championship game. After that essential penalty-killing effort, Howard scored the double-overtime goal to give the Spartans their second-straight conference championship.

Nightingale spoke highly of Howard’s presence on the ice, but even more so about his quality of character. Nightingale says Howard is a role model for everyone, including his children.

“I have two boys and they look up to you (Howard), I hope they turn out to be good hockey players, but I don’t really care about that,” Nightingale said. “My dream is that they turn out to be the man you are.”

For his part, Howard was mainly focused on praising his experience at MSU when he received the award. Howard thanked his teammates, coaches and the program for his success. 

“It’s very special to win this award, but it’s a team effort. There are so many people involved at Michigan State that have helped me be the best I can on the ice,” Howard said. “It’s so cool to do this for the school and represent that hockey team and our culture. I couldn’t be happier.”

Winning the Hobey Baker Award capped an impressive college career for Howard, but his hockey journey is far from over. The Tampa Bay Lightning drafted the American forward 31st overall in 2022, but traded his rights to the Edmonton Oilers this year.

Howard signed with the Oilers and will turn pro next season. If his college career is any indication, he’s set to achieve great things while representing himself as a high-character human being.

The evening closed with a fitting reminder of what the Hobey Baker Memorial Award represents. Not just talent, but the character and commitment behind it. In honoring Dick Umile’s decades of leadership and Isaac Howard’s standout college career, the banquet celebrated both the enduring influence of a coach and the promise of a young star.