By April 2006, Matt Carle\u2019s rink resume already overflowed with accomplishment.<\/p>\n
The Anchorage native had won two national championships at the University of Denver. He was a two-time All-American and had led the nation\u2019s defensemen in scoring. He had been voted the Western Collegiate Hockey Association\u2019s Player of the Year. And weeks earlier, Carle had turned pro with the San Jose Sharks \u2014 forgoing his senior season \u2014 and scored a goal in his NHL debut. He was the first defenseman from Alaska to play in the world\u2019s best league.<\/p>\n
Yet on that Friday night in April 2006, there still\u00a0was a piece of hockey hardware for Carle to add.\u00a0He won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as\u00a0college hockey\u2019s best player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something I\u2019ll remember for the rest of\u00a0my life,\u201d Carle said that night in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Admired as an effortless skater with a high\u00a0hockey IQ, preternatural poise and ample\u00a0skills, Carle also exhibited complementary\u00a0attributes Hobey Baker voters prized \u2013\u00a0character, sportsmanship, leadership and strong\u00a0academics.<\/p>\n
Carle\u2019s success continued in the NHL, where\u00a0in his first 10 years he twice played in the\u00a0Stanley Cup Final \u2014 once with the Philadelphia\u00a0Flyers and once with the Tampa Bay Lightning.<\/p>\n
Carle remains the only Alaskan to hoist the\u00a0Hobey, revered as the Heisman Trophy of\u00a0college hockey.<\/p>\n
\u2013Doyle Woody<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By April 2006, Matt Carle\u2019s rink resume already overflowed with accomplishment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"hof-type":[150],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n