Why not Ben Hanowski?

After hearing the Mr. Hockey Award announcement on Sunday, I was not surprised with the news that Eden Prairie's Nick Leddy had won. He was fantastic in the state tournament and he was a major reason why the Eagles won their first ever hockey state championship in 2009. He is going to be fun to watch in college when he steps on the ice for the University of Minnesota.

However, over the last couple of days, my conscience has been constantly interrupting and asking .... why didn't Ben Hanowski receive the award?

I've read and heard about how awards are not typically given to Class A players because, they say, the competition level is not as high as it is at the top of Class AA. Well, that is evidently true because, if you look at the Mr. Hockey recipient list from 1985 until 2009, I only counted seven out of the 25 players that received the award that would be considered from Class A schools today. In the last 10 years, only one, Gino Guyer from Greenway, was selected as Mr. Hockey. Before Guyer, the last Class A winner was Johnny Pohl. It was Johnny Pohl's high school career scoring record that Ben Hanowski broke this year. Hanowski also broke the career goal scoring record held by another Mr. Hockey, Dave Spehar. These are two records that may never be broken again. Hanowski led Little Falls to a 28-0-0 regular season and a third place finish in the Class A state tournament. Yet, Hanowski will not be on the list shared by Pohl and Spehar. Pohl and Spehar both led their teams to state championships. Hanowski did not. Was that the final determination in choosing the 2009 Mr. Hockey?

I think it is a shame that Ben Hanowski will not be on that list. Yes, it is true that Hanowski should be remembered as a high school hockey legend for the records that he broke in 2009. But, will he be remembered the same as a Johnny Pohl or a Dave Spehar? Pohl, Spehar, and Leddy all have three things in common. All three were Mr. Hockey award winners, they were/are about to become Minnesota Gophers, and they led their teams to a state championship. Do I think it is a 'Gopher Love' conspiracy? No. Not really. Maybe? If Hanowski would have been a Gopher recruit, do you think he would have received more or less Twin Cities Metro area media coverage? Does giving the award to Nick Leddy over Ben Hanowski, a St. Cloud State University recruit, improve the marketability of the University of Minnesota?

Chew on this. In 25 years of the Mr. Hockey Award, 22 out of the 25 recipients were either from the Twin Cities Metro area or played or will be playing for the University of Minnesota. Only Brian Lee (Moorhead & U of North Dakota) in 2005 and Kris Miller (Greenway & U of Minnesota-Duluth) in 1987 were neither. George Pelawa (1986) of Bemidji was to play for the University of North Dakota but was tragically killed in a car accident over Labor Day weekend in 1986.

I do not believe the selection of Nick Leddy was unjustified or undeserved. It was justified. He was deserving. But, at the same time, I think it is unjust that Ben Hanowski is not on the same list with the two players whose records he broke in 2009.