Inside College Hockey | Lessard Wins Hobey Baker Award

April 9, 2004
NCAA Frozen Four
Junior Mint
Lessard wins Hobey Baker Award

By Jess Myers

BOSTON – For the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs and their fans, nothing means more than a win versus their arch-rivals, the Minnesota Golden Gophers. With that in mind, the dream season that 2003-04 has been continued on Friday when Bulldogs senior forward Junior Lessard was handed the Hobey Baker Award. Not only did the Bulldogs go 5-1 head-to-head with the Gophers this season, the two schools are now tied for the most in the nation with four Hobeys apiece.

With a capacity crowd cheering him on inside Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall, Lessard, whose 32 goals and 63 points led the country offensively, took his place alongside defenseman Tom Kurvers (1984), forward Bill Watson (1985) and forward Chris Marinucci (1994) in the quartet of Bulldogs to hoist the game’s highest individual honor.

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Lessard’s parents and other family members had traveled from their home near Quebec City to see the NCAA Frozen Four and the Hobey announcement. Lessard said the only downer for him was the fact that his teammates were not in attendance. The Bulldogs, save for Lessard, head coach Scott Sandelin and strength coach Justin May, had flown back to Minnesota earlier that morning, after falling to Denver 5-3 in the Frozen Four semis.

“I wish the guys could’ve been here, because I share this with them,” said Lessard. “But they were watching on TV, and coach Sandelin and my family were here, and some of my best friends that I’ve played hockey with since I was 10 years old are here, so this is fun.”

Junior Lessard threw out the first pitch at a Minnesota Twins game in the weeks after winning the Hobey.

Sandelin said that if they’d gotten advance word that Lessard would be bringing the Hobey home with him, there might have been a change in travel plans.

“I wish we would’ve known, because I would have had them stay, but he’ll get back home and we’ll have a nice get together,” said the coach, who later called the announcement one of the proudest moments of his life. “As disappointed as we are about the Denver game, the guys are all really excited for Junior to get this.”

Lessard won the award with an outstanding senior year, but also impressed some Hobey voters with the progression of his skills and his contributions to the team during his four seasons in Duluth. As the Bulldogs progressed from the WCHA basement to the Frozen Four, Lessard’s game grew too. He scored just four goals and recorded 17 points as a freshman. Those numbers jumped to 17 and 30 in his sophomore year, and 21-37 as a junior.

“It’s certinaly been great to get to coach him and watch him grow as a player for the past four years,” said Sandelin, who is quick to note that Lessard was
Mike Sertich’s final recruit for the Bulldogs, and had signed a letter of intent before Sandelin took the reins of UMD hockey. “This has been a culmination of hard work and a desire for him to get better. Not only is he a great player, he’s a great person.”

Two Hobey runners-up -- North Dakota forward Zach Parise and Brown goalie Yann Danis -- were in attendance at the announcement. Parise, who played
against Lessard five times during the WCHA regular season, said that the redhead from Quebec was deserving of the trophy.

“He deserves all of the accolades he’s gotten,” said Parise, who has recently signed a contract with the New Jersey Devils. “He was the best player of the year in our league and he showed that every time we played them, so I’m happy for him. I guarantee I’ll be playing against this guy in the NHL soon.”

Lessard’s NHL future is about the only question about his game that remains unanswered. He was undrafted in college, but is expected to sign a pro contract soon. Lesard’s agent (former Gopher Ben Hankinson) was in attendance for the announcement and said that they are currently considering options and offers.