April 11, 2003

BUFFALO, N.Y.-- ­ Colorado College junior left winger Peter Sejna, who was the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Player of the Year, led the nation in scoring, and was a First Team West All-American, was today named the recipient of the 2003 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, presented annually to college hockey's top player. The ceremony was held at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo, headquarters hotel for the 2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four being contested this weekend at nearby HSBC Arena.

A native of Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia, Sejna becomes the first European-born player to win the award. He led the nation in scoring this season with 36 goals, 56 assists and 82 points in 42 games, an average of 1.95 points per game, and produced at least one scoring point in all but one of his team's games. He set a CC record with a 31-game point-scoring streak, had 27 multiple-point games, scored eight game-winning goals (2nd in nation), and had 15 power-play tallies.

He is the ninth player from the WCHA to win college hockey's top individual honor, joining previous winners Neal Broten, F, Minnesota in 1981, Tom Kurvers, D, Minnesota-Duluth in 1984, Bill Watson, F, Minnesota-Duluth in 1985, Tony Hrkac, F, North Dakota in 1987, Robb Stauber, G, Minnesota in 1988, Chris Marinucci, F, Minnesota-Duluth in 1994, Brian Bonin, F, Minnesota in 1996, and Jordan Leopold, D, Minnesota in 2002.

As a student-athlete at Colorado College, Sejna carries better than a 3.6 grade-point average in math and economics and was scheduled to take his final exam in Art History this Sunday. Just this past week, he signed a lucrative free agent contract with the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues, and went on to score a goal in his first professional game against the Colorado Avalanche last Sunday in Denver, Colo.

Sejna helped lead his Colorado College Tigers to one of the best seasons in school history in 2002-03, finishing with a 30-7-5 overall record, winning their fourth WCHA regular season crown and MacNaughton Cup in the past 10 years, and owning the No. 1 ranking in the nation's polls for six consecutive weeks between Feb. 4 and March 25. The Tigers also earned the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Midwest Regional in Ann Arbor, where they defeated Wayne State, 4-2, before falling to Michigan, 5-3.

Over just three seasons as a collegiate hockey player at CC, Sejna produced 91 goals, 99 assists and 190 points to rank among the top 10 scorers in school history. His 82 points in 2002-03 were the second best single season effort in school history, behind the school record 84 points produced by Dave Delich in 1978-79.

And, according to CC Head Coach Scott Owens, Sejna will be leaving next week to play for the Slovakian National Hockey Team in the upcoming IIHF World Championships. Quite a run for a truly deserving honoree.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award annually honors the top player in Division 1 college hockey. An initial round of balloting by all 60 Division 1 coaches determine the 10 finalists. Those 10 names are then advanced to the Selection Committee, a geographically-balanced group of 25 members composed of media, NHL scouts, college hockey coaches and supervisors of officials. Additionally, a fan vote conducted on-line allows college hockey fans a 1% votge in each round of balloting. On April 2, the Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists was announced including Sejna, Ferris State University senior forward Chris Kunitz, and Cornell University sophomore goaltencer Dave LeNeveu.

Sejna will be honored at the annual Hobey Baker Award Banquet on Friday, April 25 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., along with Legend of Hockey recipient Charles "Lefty" Smith, who coached Notre Dame for many years in the WCHA.

© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use | About Us | Advertise | Feedback | XML RSS Feeds