Damon Beaver of Hobart College Wins Sid Watson Award As 2025-26 AHCA Division III Men’s Player of the Year
Damon Beaver (Whitby, ON), a senior goaltender for the undefeated Hobart College hockey team, is the recipient
of the 2026 Sid Watson Award. The award, voted on by the nation’s Division III head coaches, is presented to the best
player at the men’s NCAA Division III level by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The announcement was made
on the eve of the NCAA Men's Division III Ice Hockey Championships hosted
by Utica University. Beaver is the first player from
Hobart to receive this award.
The SUNYAC Player and Goaltender of the Year, Beaver leads the NCAA in GAA (0.90) and save percentage (.956). His 26 career shutouts are the best ever in the NCAA. Undefeated at 19-0-0 this year, he was named the MVP of the SUNYAC Tournament as he backboned wins over Oswego (3-0) and Cortland (4-0) en route to the title. Then he stopped 22 of 23 shots in a tight 2-1 NCAA quarterfinal game against St. Norbert College to propel the Statesmen into the Frozen Four. His career record is a phenomenal 72-4-1.
Hobart will take on host UW-Stout in the second semifinal game on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET. (Aurora plays Hamilton at 3:00 p.m. ET)
The runner-up for this year’s Sid Watson Award was Ian Amsbaugh, a junior forward from Adrian College and Bottineau, ND. Sponsored by the American Hockey Coaches Association, the Sid Watson Award honors the memory of former Bowdoin College head coach and athletic director Sid Watson. A three-time AHCA Coach of the Year, Watson served Bowdoin for more than 30 years, winning 326 games in 24 seasons as head coach.
| Winners of the Sid Watson Award | |||
| 1993 | Frank Cirone | Wisconsin-Stevens Point | Forward |
| 1994 | Ray Alcindor | Middlebury | Forward |
| 1995 | Charlie Gaffney | Bowdoin | Forward |
| 1996 | Ian Smith | Middlebury | Defense |
| 1997 | Steve Toll | RIT | Forward |
| 1998 | Mark Spence | Middlebury | Forward |
| 1999 | Rob Smillie | St. Norbert | Forward |
| 2000 | Steve Aronson | St. Thomas | Forward |
| 2001 | Keith Aucoin | Norwich | Forward |
| 2002 | Jerry Galway | RIT | Defense |
| 2003 | Maris Ziedins | St. Norbert | Forward |
| 2004 | Kevin Cooper | Middlebury | Forward |
| 2005 | Kurtis McLean | Norwich | Forward |
| 2006 | Adam Hanna | St. John's | Goalie |
| 2007 | Andrew Gallant | Manhattanville | Goalie |
| 2008 | Kyle Jones | St. Norbert | Goalie |
| 2009 | Jeff Landers | Amherst | Defense |
| 2010 | David Martinson | Gustavus Adolphus | Forward |
| 2011 | Chris Berenguer | Hamline | Defense |
| 2012 | Jonathan LaRose | Amherst | Goalie |
| 2013 | Paul Rodrigues | SUNY Oswego | Forward |
| 2014 | David Jacobson | St. Norbert | Goalie |
| 2015 | Drew Fielding | St. Thomas | Goalie |
| 2016 | Jamie Murray | Babson | Goalie |
| 2017 | Evan Buitenhuis | Hamilton | Goalie |
| 2018 | Colin Larkin | UMass Boston | Forward |
| 2019 | Devin McDonald | Geneseo | Goalie |
| 2020 | Tom Aubrun | Norwich | Goalie |
| 2021 | Not Awarded | ||
| 2022 | Peter Bates | St. Norbert | Forward |
| 2023 | Matus Spodniak | Adrian | Forward |
| 2024 | Devon Bobak | Trinity | Goalie |
| 2025 | Shane Soderwall | Curry | Goalie |
| 2026 | Damon Beaver | Hobart | Goalie |
