Colin Larkin of UMass Boston Wins Sid Watson Award As 2017-18 AHCA Division III Men's Player of the Year

Colin Larkin, a senior forward from UMass Boston and Waterford, MI, has been chosen by the nation's ice hockey coaches as the 2018 winner of the Sid Watson Award, symbolic of the best NCAA Division III men's ice hockey player. Larkin went 24-22-46 in 27 games this year, finishing his career with a line of 64-84-148 in 111 career games. His point totals went up each season as did his honors. He is now a two-time NEHC Player of the Year, two-time first team CCM All American, and was just named winner of the Joe Concannon Award by the Gridiron Club of Boston as the best American-born Division III player in New England.

Over the past four seasons, UMass Boston enjoyed an aggregate record of 74-30-7 (.698). Despite high expectations, and the additional responsibility of being team captain, Colin's senior season was the best of his four in a UMass Boston jersey.

"Everyone has seen what Colin has accomplished on the ice, including being the first UMass Boston player ever to sign an NHL contract (with the Edmonton Oilers)," said UMass Boston heade coach Peter Belisle. "Yet Colin's character is what truly sets him apart. A young man of integrity, compassion, courage, and leadership who uses his talents to enrich, empower, and encourage others to emulate his example.

"When Colin entered as a freshman, the heckling from the other teams about 'not being as good as is brother' (NHL'er Dylan) began immediately and only intensified as his career went on. In the face of all the extra attention, Colin never took a retaliation penalty and handled himself with the utmost class, letting his play do the talking for him. Even unbiased NHL scouts took notice of Colin's ability to play through an awful lot."

An active member in the community, Colin volunteered his time with the Special Olympics, Read for the Record, and last summer gave back to over 250 members of his home community of Waterford, Michigan, through the Larkin Summer Hockey School. Colin is set to graduate on-time with a degree in Marketing from the College of Management. An accomplishment achieved while balancing the demands of being a student, a collegiate hockey player, and working as a checkout clerk at a local store on multiple nights per week.

The runner-up for this year's Sid Watson Award was Tanner Karty, a junior forward from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Oklahoma City, OK.

Sponsored by the American Hockey Coaches Association, the Sid Watson Award honors the memory of former Bowdoin College head coach and athletic director Sid Watson. A three-time AHCA Coach of the Year, Watson served Bowdoin for more than 30 years, winning 326 games in 24 seasons as head coach.

Winners of the Sid Watson Award AHCA Men's Ice Hockey Division III Player of the Year
1993	Frank Cirone	Wisconsin-Stevens Point	Forward
1994	Ray Alcindor	Middlebury	Forward
1995	Charlie Gaffney	Bowdoin	Forward
1996	Ian Smith	Middlebury	Defense
1997	Steve Toll	RIT	Forward
1998	Mark Spence	Middlebury	Forward
1999	Rob Smillie	St. Norbert	Forward
2000	Steve Aronson	St. Thomas	Forward
2001	Keith Aucoin	Norwich	Forward
2002	Jerry Galway	RIT	Defense
2003	Maris Ziedins	St. Norbert	Forward
2004	Kevin Cooper	Middlebury	Forward
2005	Kurtis McLean	Norwich	Forward
2006	Adam Hanna	St. John's	Goalie
2007	Andrew Gallant	Manhattanville	Goalie
2008	Kyle Jones	St. Norbert	Goalie
2009	Jeff Landers	Amherst	Defense
2010	David Martinson	Gustavus Adolphus	Forward
2011	Chris Berenguer	Hamline	Defense
2012	Jonathan LaRose	Amherst	Goalie
2013	Paul Rodrigues	SUNY Oswego	Forward
2014	David Jacobson	St. Norbert	Goalie
2015	Drew Fielding	St. Thomas	Goalie
2016	Jamie Murray	Babson	Goalie
2017	Evan Buitenhuis	Hamilton	Goalie
2018	Colin Larkin	UMass Boston	Forward