In my article breaking down the cases for the Mike Richter award finalists, I talked about feeling like the voting process was totally alien to me. I, and other observers around college hockey, get that feeling even more so when I think about the Hobey Baker finalists.

That feeling was there, a little bit, with the Hobey top 10. Much of it was bizarre; three CCHA representatives, including one who wasn’t even the best player on his own team? Two Michigan guys, neither of whom is Owen Power? Just one defenseman, who’s a freshman whose value mostly derived from scoring a ton of goals by shooting 20 percent? No one from Atlantic Hockey? Is Ben Meyers even the best player on his own team? Just a total break from orthodoxy on this kind of thing.

Then the Hobey Hat Trick and various college hockey websites’ year-end awards came out.{