Cole Reschny's Gold Medal Sparking NHL World Cup of Hockey Fever!
Mar. 17—GRAND FORKS — Cole Reschny made national headlines in Canada last May when he became the first elite prospect to publicly announce he was leaving Canadian major juniors for college hockey. The Calgary first-round draft pick from Macklin, Sask.
, lived up to his top billing. Reschny, who is tied as UND's leading scorer heading into the NCAA tournament, was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. He joins an impressive list of winners.
Once Sacha Boisvert makes his expected NHL debut this month, then 11 of the 12 previous winners will have played in the NHL. That includes UND's winners: Brock Boeser, Shane Pinto, Jackson Blake and Boisvert. Reschny has five goals, 29 assists and 34 points in 33 games.
In the last 25 years, only 11 UND rookies have tallied that many points and it's an impressive list — Blake, Tyson Jost, Boeser, Danny Kristo, T. J. Oshie, Jonathan Toews, Ryan Duncan, Travis Zajac, Rastislav Spirko, Brady Murray and Zach Parise.
Only two UND rookies have tallied as many assists as Reschny since The Ralph opened in 2001 — Boeser and Parise. In NCHC play, Reschny finished with 23 points in 22 games, leading all freshmen. "There's a lot to like," UND coach Dane Jackson said.