University of Massachusets Athletics
Justin Braun Earns Reebok All-American Second Team Honors
April 10, 2010 | Hockey
April 10, 2010
DETROIT - After a standout season and four-year career for the University of Massachusetts hockey team, senior defenseman Justin Braun was named to the Reebok All-America Second-Team as announced by the American Hockey Coaches Association on Friday, April 9 at the NCAA Division I Frozen Four in Detroit, Mich. Braun was one of six Hockey East players to be named to one of the two East All-America Teams.
Braun becomes the seventh Minuteman in school history to be named All-American: James Marcou (2009), Jon Quick (2007), Thomas Pock (2004), P.J. Flaherty (1972), Pat Keenan (1972, 1973), and Brian Sullivan (1972). He is the fourth skater in the modern era of Division I hockey at UMass to be named among the nation's best.
For the season, Braun, a native of Vadnais Heights, Minn., played in all 36 games scoring eight goals while adding 23 assists. He finished the year with a plus-3 rating while taking just 15 penalties for 30 PIMs. He was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Year and the New England Hockey Writers Best Defenseman. He was also named to the Hockey East All-Star First Team, the New England Hockey Writers All-Star Team, and the UMass team Co-MVP alongside James Marcou.
Braun finished his career playing in 150 games which tied Cory Quirk '09 for the school record. In all, Braun scored 23 goals, added 65 assists, and was a plus-12. His 88 points are tied for 18th all-time, while his 65 assists are 7th overall.
In Hockey East, Braun ranked second in defenseman scoring, 20th overall in points for the season, ninth in assists, sixth in power play points (3-16-19). Nationally, he ranked sixth in defenseman scoring.
In 2008-09, Braun was named a Hockey East Second-Team All-Star and the UMass MVP. As a freshman in 2006-07, he earned league and team Rookie of the Year honors. Additionally, in each of his three seasons, Braun has been a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award.
Following the season, he signed a profession contract with the NHL's San Jose Sharks who drafted him in 2007.
Twenty different Division I hockey-playing schools were represented on the Reebok All American teams for the 2009-10 season. The nation's top 24 college hockey players were announced at the NCAA Men's Division I Frozen Four in Detroit, MI. Leading the waywas the University of Denver, with three West First Team selections, and the University of New Hampshire, with one East First Team choice and two so honored on the Second Team. Noteworthy among the selections:
• Only one player had been so honored before. Junior defenseman Erik Gustafsson of Northern Michigan University repeated on the West Second Team.
• There are 14 players from the United States, eight from Canada, and two from Sweden.
• The honorees are fairly youthful. Only nine of the 24 selections are seniors. Of the rest, nine are juniors and six are sophomores.
• The honorees hail from ten different states and four Canadian provinces, as well as Sweden (two players for the second year in a row.)
• Seventeen players participated in the NCAA Tournament. Three of them advanced to the "Frozen Four," all from the West.
• The honorees include all ten finalists for the 2010 Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
The AHCA/Reebok All-American Ice Hockey Teams are sponsored by Reebok, an international leader in hockey equipment, and chosen by members of the American Hockey Coaches Association.
| | First Team |
|
| East | West |
|
| Ben Scrivens, SR, Cornell (Spruce Grove, AB) |
Goalie |
Marc Cheverie, JR, Denver (Cole Harbour, NS) |
| Colby Cohen, JR, Boston University (Villanova, PA) |
Defense |
Brendan Smith, JR, Wisconsin (Mimico, ON) |
| Brendon Nash, SR, Cornell (Kamloops, BC) |
Defense |
Patrick Weircioch, SO, Denver (Maple Grove, BC) |
| Bobby Butler, SR, New Hampshire (Marlborough, MA) |
Forward |
Blake Geoffrion, SR, Wisconsin (Brentwood, TN) |
| Gustav Nyquist, SO, Maine (Malmo, Sweden) |
Forward |
Mark Olver, JR , Northern Michigan (Burnaby, BC) |
| Chase Polacek, JR, Rensselaer (Edina, MN) |
Forward |
Rhett Rakhshani, SR, Denver (Huntington Beach, CA) |
| | Second Team |
|
| East | West |
|
| Brian Foster, SR, New Hampshire (Pembroke, NH) |
Goalie |
Cody Reichard, SO, Miami (Celina, OH) |
| Justin Braun, SR, Massachusetts (Vadnais Heights, MN) |
Defense |
Erik Gustafsson, JR, Northern Michigan* (Kvissleby, Sweden) |
| Blake Kessel, SO, New Hampshire (Verona, WI) |
Defense |
Jeff Petry, JR, Michigan State (Farmington Hills, MI) |
| Sean Backman, SR, Yale (Cos Cob, CT) |
Forward |
Jack Connolly, SO, Minnesota-Duluth (Duluth, MN) |
| Nick Johnson, SR, Sacred Heart (Windsor, CT) |
Forward |
Zac Dalpe, SO, TOhio State (Paris, ON) |
| Broc Little, JR, Yale (Rindge, NH) |
Forward |
Matt Read, JR, Bemidji State (Ilderton, ON) |
| * Second Team in 2008-2009 | ||
