Vesey Welcomed Into Harvard's Club of Hobey Baker Winners

Just one year ago, a 32-goal campaign landed Jimmy Vesey a spot on the stage at Matthews Arena, where the Hobey Baker Award was set to be handed to college hockey’s Most Valuable Player.

But Vesey hardly needed to prepare a speech. No one gave Harvard’s star forward a shot at winning the award, not even Vesey himself. Boston University’s freshman phenom, Jack Eichel, became just the second rookie to hear his name called by the Hobey committee, and no one batted an eye.

One year later and over 1,000 miles further south, the Hobey ceremony at the Tampa Theater possessed a familiar ambience. Michigan freshman Kyle Connor was not the sure bet that Eichel was, but with the rookie netting 71 points in 38 games, practically everyone considered the Wolverines’ top playmaker to be the overwhelming favorite.

But this time, Vesey was not counting himself out.

“I thought I definitely had a chance,” Vesey told The Crimson in April. “I don’t know, I just thought that since I was a finalist for a second year in a row, I don’t know if they would’ve brought me all the way down there to lose.”

They didn’t.

In a surprise decision that sent shockwaves across college hockey, Vesey was named the recipient of the 2016 Hobey Baker Award, joining Mark Fusco ’83, Scott Fusco ’86, and Lane MacDonald ’88-’89 in Harvard’s club of Hobey winners.

All four winners were honored for their contributions to the program Monday evening at a reception put on by the Friends of Harvard Hockey at the Downtown Harvard Club of Boston. But the man of the hour was certainly Vesey.

“I was so hopeful Jimmy was going to win it because I thought he was so deserving,” MacDonald said in April. “He is the best player in college hockey. But you don’t win that award unless you’re a high quality individual off the ice, and that’s both as a person and as a leader. And Jimmy obviously gets high marks in every one of those categories.”

By now, Vesey’s narrative is well known. The Charlestown native was drafted to the National Hockey League in 2012 by the Nashville Predators, who offered Vesey a spot in their lineup after his junior season came to a close. But Vesey ultimately opted to return to school for his senior season.

Named a captain for his final year, Vesey netted 24 goals and 22 assists in 33 games, leading the Crimson to its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. And for the second time in as many years, Vesey was named a first-team All-American, ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year, and the recipient of the Walter Brown Award as the top American-born player in New England.

Introducing Vesey at the podium on Monday in front of roughly 50 Harvard hockey alumni and members of the Vesey family, Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 emphasized his star forward’s character, likening it to that of MacDonald, his teammate on the Crimson’s national-championship-winning team in 1989.

“The accomplishments were great, but kind of like Lane, he kept it out of the locker room,” Donato said. “He was a great teammate and really loved putting on that Harvard jersey every night, which I think is a certain common thread for people in this room.”

Vesey is set to graduate on May 26, which also happens to be his birthday. Then on June 2, he and his family will travel to Minneapolis for the official Hobey Baker Memorial Award ceremony, where he will receive a personalized version of the trophy.

But after that, Vesey will get back to preparing for the NHL career that awaits him. After indicating in March that he would not be signing with the Predators, Vesey is expected to become an unrestricted free agent in August. Nashville maintains “the exclusive rights of negotiation” for Vesey’s services through Aug. 15, but after that, Vesey will be able to negotiate with the other 29 teams in the league.

“Something that’s good about the August 15 thing is at that point, the NHL Draft’s over, and July 1 is also a big day for free agents in the NHL,” Vesey said. “So when August rolls around, each team pretty much is going to have their roster set. So I think I’ll start considering it, which team, closer to the date.”

Vesey told The Boston Herald on Monday that he thinks the Boston Bruins will definitely be on his list when that time comes. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney ’88, a former Harvard defenseman, was seen chatting with Vesey for a few minutes near the end of the event.

Nonetheless, the Bruins will likely have plenty of competition for Vesey’s services come August. But in the end, only Vesey can choose his final landing spot.

“He’s created a lot of options for himself,” MacDonald said. “He can pick his team, and he can pick the situation that’s best for him. And he’s earned that right by the decisions he’s made.”

“I respect him a ton because so many people will want to just sign contracts, get checks, play the game, get to the NHL,” he added in reference to Vesey’s decision not to sign immediately with Nashville. “But it really is a marathon rather than a sprint in terms of life in so many respects.”

—Staff writer Michael Ledecky contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.