University of Minnesota Duluth senior right winger Karson Kuhlman is one of 20 NCAA Division I hockey players who have been chosen as candidates for the 2017-18 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to an NCAA I athlete in 10 sports (men's hockey, baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's lacrosse, softball, football, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball) based on achievement in the "Four C's" -- classroom, character, community and competition.
From the list of 20 candidates (four of whom compete in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference), a national committee will select 10 finalists later this winter. The 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media, and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2018 NCAA Frozen Four, which is set for April 5 and 7 in St. Paul, Minn.
Kuhlman, a native of Esko, Minn., is serving as the UMD team captain this season after handling an assistant team captaincy role as a junior. Since joining the Bulldog program in 2014-15, he has not missed a game and his and his active ironman streak of 130 consecutive appearances is the longest in NCAA I hockey. Kuhlman tops all 2017-18 Bulldogs in career goals (27), assists (36), points (63) and plus-minus rating (+38). A three-time NCHC All-Academic Team qualifier, he maintains a 3.46 cumulative grade-point average and will graduate this May with a B.S. degree in organizational management. Away from the rink and the classroom, Kuhlman has been involved in a host of volunteer endeavors over the past four years, such as reading at local elementary schools, with the Minnesota National Guard's 148th Fighter Wing (as a childcare helper), the Duluth Inline Marathon and the Little Wild hockey program.
Three-time All-American center Jack Connolly earned the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in 2011-12 while another Bulldog alumnus, senior winger Andrew Carroll, was a finalist three years earlier.
2017-18 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidates (Hockey)
