:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59064835/A62R2199.0.jpg)
Saturday morning, USA Hockey announced that Boston College Women’s Hockey freshman Daryl Watts of Toronto, Ontario was awarded the 2018 Patty Kazmaier Award, given annually to the top Division I women’s college hockey player.
An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Other selection criteria include outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement.
In doing so, Daryl Watts made history: In the 21 year history of the award, on a list of players that includes Olympic heros and Hockey Hall of Famers, no player had ever won the award as either a freshman or a sophomore. Watts shattered that barrier with a lights-out freshman campaign that was so impressive, the voters had no choice but to name her college hockey’s best player.
We went through the reasons why Watts deserves the award a few weeks ago, but her numbers speak for themselves. She was the nation’s leading goal and point scorer, and also put up an astonishing 2.16 points per game. Her numbers were on par with some of the best Patty Kazmaier winning seasons in history — and she put up hers in an Olympic year, which typically sees lower scoring relative to normal seasons.
Daryl Watts was named one of the ten finalists for the award — along with fellow Eagles Caitrin Lonergan and Toni Ann Miano — back on February 22nd. The final vote took place on February 26th, with the top three announced on March 1st. Watts joined Clarkson University junior Loren Gabel and Boston University senior Victoria Bach in the top three, but the other two couldn’t touch Watts statistically.
Watts joins Alex Carpenter as the two Eagles who have won the Patty Kazmaier Award. Carpenter won the award in 2015 as a junior.
Congratulations to Daryl on making history, and here’s to an even better sophomore season — and hopefully a national championship run!