Senior Alex Iafallo, who this past winter became the University of Minnesota Duluth's first National Collegiate Hockey Conference scoring champion and its 26th All-American, is the recipient of the Keith "Huffer" Christiansen Award (formerly the Mike Seiler Award) as the Bulldogs' Most Valuable Player for 2016-17.

A 2016-17 American Hockey Coaches Association first team All-American, Iafallo tied for 12th nationally in scoring with a UMD-leading 51 points on 21 goals and 30 assists, becoming, in the process, the first Bulldog to crack the 50-point plateau in five seasons. He also potted the fifth-most game winners (six, the last coming in the waning seconds of UMD's 2-1 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal triumph over Harvard University) of any NCAA I skater and finished a career-high +22 on the year.  In addition to being named to the NCAA Frozen Four, the NCAA West Regional and North Star College Cup All-Tournament Teams, Iafallo was chosen the the Most Valuable Player at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff after leading the Bulldogs to their first title at that event. Iafallo, who closed out his collegiate career riding a 15-game scoring streak and was a 2016-17 All-NCHC first team pick, signed a two-year entry-level contract last month with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings.

In addition, goaltender Hunter Miska was bestowed with the Jerry Chumola Rookie of the Year Award on the heels of a debut season in which he equaled a program single-season record for shutouts (five) while posting a 2.20 goals against average and a .920 saves percentage (both the fourth best single-season marks in team history).  A Top 5 Finalist for the 2016-17 Mike Richter Award (most outstanding collegiate goalie in the nation) and an All-NCHC second team pick, Miska also ranked third among all NCAA puckstoppers in winning percentage (.797 off a 27-5-5 mark) and victories (27, the second-highest single-season total in team history). Senior defenseman and assistant captain Brenden Kotyk received both the Goldie Wolfe Award (Most Inspirational Player) and the Pat Francisco Award (Outstanding Community Service) while the Mike Sertich Award (Most Improved Player) went to freshman defenseman Nick Wolff, who collected two goals and 10 assists while going a +14 in his first collegiate go-around.