Frozen Four contenders, Hobey Baker frontrunners, conference standings, and where to watch every game. Fewer picks, more context.
| Program | Conference | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Boston College | Hockey East | Loaded roster returning most of last year's Beanpot side. |
| Michigan | Big Ten | Depth at every position and a goaltender who steals games. |
| Denver | NCHC | Perennial contender, back-to-back semifinal appearances. |
| North Dakota | NCHC | Deepest defensive corps in the country. |
| Boston University | Hockey East | The Terriers have the top forward line in Hockey East. |
| Minnesota | Big Ten | Every October favourite, spring surprise. |
Futures prices are not shown here. None of our tracked books have opened a Frozen Four 2027 futures market yet. When they do, this table gets a price column and the source file will be public/data/futures/ncaa-frozen-four.json.
The Hobey Baker is voted on by NCAA coaches, media, and fans. It has a pattern: leading scorers at national-brand programs win it more often than not. Boston College and Michigan lead the field this year for that reason.
| Player | Program | Position | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Leonard | Boston College | F | The heart of a BC team that returns almost intact. |
| Cutter Gauthier | Boston College | F | Second-year leap watch. The award loves BC sophomores. |
| Adam Fantilli-Michigan comp | Michigan | F | Michigan's top scorer projects on a similar arc. |
| Jimmy Snuggerud | Minnesota | F | Points-per-game production and a national platform. |
D1 men's hockey plays across six conferences: Hockey East (11 teams), Big Ten (7), NCHC (8), ECAC (12), Atlantic Hockey (11), and CCHA (8). Each conference runs a regular season plus a conference tournament, and 16 teams from those 58 make the NCAA tournament. Six regional semifinals, then two regional finals, then the Frozen Four.
See the NCAA watch guide for a full conference-by-conference breakdown of NESN, Big Ten Network, ESPN+, and the conference-owned streams.
College hockey is where you see next year's NHL. The 2024 draft had 21 D1 players go in the first two rounds. If you follow the NHL and want to know who is coming, the Frozen Four is where you look. If you follow the NCAA, this is where the odds get sharp late in March.
Betting is 18+ (19+ in ON, BC, SK, NL, NB, NS, PE, YT, NT, NU). If gambling stops being fun, step away. Free confidential help lines:
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