University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey junior forward Grace Sadura has been named one of 12 nominees for the 2026 Hockey Humanitarian Award, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation announced Tuesday. The award is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen — a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.
Sadura, an alternate team captain who is bilingual in both English and Mandarin Chinese, Sadura is a double major in psychology and Chinese area studies, and currently owns a 3.763 GPA. Sadura -- a two-time AHCA Division I Academic All-American, a WCHA Scholar Athlete and and WCHA All-Academic Team member, and a five-time Dean's List honoree -- will graduate by August of 2026. In her final season of eligibility, Sadura plans to begin her Masters -- she is currently applying to the the MAPS program, a Psychological Science M.A. in the clinical counseling arena.
On the ice, Sadura is the epitome of a blue collar worker. Over the span of her two and half seasons as a Bulldog, the Chanhassen Minn. native has missed just one of UMD's 102 games – which has included two NCAA Tournament runs – for a total of 101 collegiate games played. Over her three seasons, Sadura has scored 16 goals – including career-high seven so far this season and 13 assists for 29 points both single-season career bests.
While Sadura can be described in many different ways -- caring, supportive, compassionate, advocate, energetic and a leader -- she is above all selfless, using her spare time to volunteer and coordinate volunteer opportunities for her teammates and UMD DEI council members. A firebrand at times on the ice with iconic celebrations, Sadura takes that fuel and pours it into a few organizations that need both her and her time, as well as that of her fellow teammates.
Named an alternate captain as a junior, Sadura is UMD women's hockey's volunteer coordinator, meaning all requests for the team come in to her, and she either fulfills the requests herself or delegates them appropriately to teammates. As UMD Athletic's DEI Co-President, Sadura has led the development and execution of initiatives promoting inclusivity and engagement, and has helped guide the group to actively participate in the community and create opportunities for other student-athletes over the entire UMD athletic department.
Sadura is in multiple leadership roles at UMD, including, as mentioned above, one of the UMD women's hockey alternate captains. She's the Bulldogs volunteer coordinator, tasked with organizing and leading community service initiatives for the team, coordinating events that connect student-athletes with the local community and building partnerships with local organizations to expand outreach opportunities.
In her spare time, when she isn't volunteering with the team, she is the DEI Council's Co-President, and is a Green Bandana Project Board member.
The biggest volunteer commitment by Sadura and the Bulldogs is the 7 Stars Horse Ranch -- the team's biggest volunteer effort to date. The 7 Stars Ranch provides growth, healing, and community through hands-on horsemanship and ranch experiences. It serves youth, veterans, first responders, and their families, and the ranch helps participants build confidence, skills, and meaningful connections.
John Moder, who is the Director of Education fro the 7 Stars Ranch, said this about Sadura –
"Grace never avoided the hard or unglamorous work required to keep our facility professional and mission ready. She repeatedly stepped into the most physically demanding and thankless tasks including cleaning stalls, lifting heavy stall mats, clearing rocks from pastures, scrubbing water buckets, and moving a mini fridge, a job she approached with genuine enthusiasm. She did not wait for direction, did not seek recognition, and never asked others to do work she was unwilling to do herself. Grace leads with her hands, sets the tone through effort, and elevates those around her simply by how she shows up."
Another big community effort Sadura has led is the UMD DEI Council's Clothing Drive, an annual event that has brought in hundred of pieces of clothes that the council then donates to schools in need in the community. The drive has been hugely successful, with bins outside UMD venues before certain games and on campus, and the group does all the publicity and outreach, social media, sorting and delivering of the items around Duluth.
Finalists for the 2026 Hockey Humanitarian Award will be announced in February. This year's recipient will be announced on Friday, April 10th during the NCAA Men's Frozen Four weekend in Las Vegas.
UMD's first and only Hockey Humanitarian Award winner on either the men's or women's side was Gabbie Hughes, who was awarded the honor in 2023 after helping create the mental health awareness group Sophie's Squad. The Bulldogs also had a nominee last season -- Clara Van Wieren.
