Former Chilliwack Chiefs netminder Mitch Gillam is on the radar for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the most outstanding player in NCAA college hockey.
Gillam, currently the No. 1 netminder with the Cornell Big Red, is one of 13 BCHL grads on the long list that fans can vote on.
Through fan voting, that list is winnowed down to a short list.
Eventually three finalists will be selected and the winner will be announced during the Frozen Four tournament, taking place Apr. 9-11 in Boston.
The list Gillam’s on includes 59 players.
Other BCHL grads include Max French (West Kelowna), Matt Garbowsky (Powell River), Bryce Gervais (Salmon Arm/Penticton), Matt Ginn (Victoria), Andrew Gladiuk (Nanaimo), Joey Laleggia (Penticton), Alexander MacMillan (Merritt), Tyler Morley (Surrey), Mario Puskarich (Langley), Mike Reilly (Penticton), Casey Bailey (Alberni Valley) and Jamie Phillips (Powell River).
Fans can vote for their favourite players once per day at hobeybaker.com
Last year’s winner was Johnny Gaudreau, now an National Hockey Leaguer and Calder Trophy hopeful for the Calgary Flames.
Past BCHLers to win the award include Ryan Duncan (2007), Jason Krog (1999), Brendan Morrison (1997) and Paul Kariya (1993).
See bchl.ca