The Globe and Mail Feature: Hobey Finalist Petan Keeps Eye on Bigger Prize: the NHL
Alex Petan, the lone Canadian among the 10 finalists for this year's Hobey Baker Award, has a lot in common with previous award winners.
While there have been exceptions, such as last year's winner, budding NHL star Jack Eichel, recipients of the award – annually given to the top NCAA men's hockey player – are often skilled but undersized players by NHL standards. Three of the last four winners stand 5-foot-9 or less, and the only one of the three to find employment in the NHL so far is Johnny Gaudreau, the 2014 winner whose size undoubtedly played a role in the fact he was not selected until the fourth round of the NHL entry draft.
Nonetheless, Gaudreau overcame the size bias of NHL coaches and general managers – which persists despite the league's attempts to move to a more offensive game in the past decade – and is now an established star with the Calgary Flames.
Petan, 23, a senior forward and captain of the Michigan Tech Huskies, knows his size (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) is a major reason why he has never been drafted and remains a free agent at the end of his four-year college hockey career.
"Through my whole career I've heard 'You're too small, you're not going to make this team, that team,'" said Petan, a right winger who comes from the Vancouver suburb of Delta. "I definitely kept it within myself and used it as motivation. Throughout my career, I've had a lot of practice with getting that criticism and proving everyone wrong [by earning] the privilege of getting a scholarship here at Michigan Tech, and hopefully playing professional."