Photo by: Izzy DiBari
Ethan Wyttenbach Tabbed 2026 National Rookie of the Year
4/10/2026 8:50:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Roslyn, N.Y., Native Also Named First Team East All-American, capping stellar season in style
LAS VEGAS — Putting a bow on a spectacular freshman campaign, Quinnipiac men's ice hockey forward Ethan Wyttenbach earned the 2026 Tim Taylor Award, given to the Division I Men's Ice Hockey National Rookie of the Year, the Hockey Commissioners' Association announced on Friday night at the Park MGM Hotel in Las Vegas.
Wyttenbach became the second Bobcat to win the award, joining Sam Anas who earned the accolade during the 2013-14 campaign, and the win now makes Quinnipiac one of three schools in the country who have had multiple student-athletes win the award.
The Roslyn, N.Y., native took the country by storm during the 2025-26 campaign, finishing with 59 points to his name, scoring 25 goals and adding 34 assists. That total puts him at the top of the national leaderboard for the season and ties the Quinnipiac single-season record set by Bryan Leitch and Collin Graf.
Adding to his resume, he finishes the campaign as one of five freshman since the 2000 season to lead the country in scoring, joining Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, Adam Fantilli and Will Smith.
He also finished the season recording a point in 34 of his 40 appearances, the most by anyone in the country.
A fifth-round pick of the Calgary Flames, Wyttenbach recorded two separate point streaks of nine games or more, including a 12-gamer that spanned the bulk of the second half of the regular season, going from Jan. 9 to Feb. 15. He finished with 24 points during this stretch, including a hat trick on rivalry night against Yale and a three-point night against Colgate on senior night.
Wyttenbach was a key piece of the Bobcats' sixth consecutive ECAC regular season title, the longest streak of any school in the country and helped the Bobcats skate to their seventh straight NCAA Tournament berth, the longest-active streak in the country.
His empty-net tally against Providence helped seal Quinnipiac's 5-2 victory in the Sioux Falls Regional Semifinal, earning a spot in their fifth Regional Final in the last seven seasons, the most in the country.
Wyttenbach highlights a 2026-27 roster that will return nine of its top 10 scorers, with the top three being in the first-year's class in him, Antonin Verrault and Markus Vidicek.
ABOUT THE TIM TAYLOR AWARD
The award, given annually to the most outstanding rookie in the season it is given, is named after Tim Taylor, who spent 28 seasons at Yale and became the school's winningest head coach as he collected 337 victories. His tenure spanned from 1976-2006, while taking two years on leave to coach the U.S. Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team as an assistant coach in 1984 and as the head coach in 1994. Taylor was captain of the Harvard University men's ice hockey team before he graduated in 1963. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, serving as an assistant coach on the Crimson staff under Ralph "Cooney" Weiland and Bill Cleary before beginning his time with the Bulldogs in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Hockey Commissioners Association sponsors this award which results from a ballot containing each NCAA Division I ice hockey conference's Rookie of the Year. The runner-up for this year's Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year Award was the University of Penn State's Gavin McKenna, a freshman forward from Whitehorse, YT
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For an inside look at the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program, be sure to follow it on social media @QU_MIH or go to gobobcats.com/mih.
Wyttenbach became the second Bobcat to win the award, joining Sam Anas who earned the accolade during the 2013-14 campaign, and the win now makes Quinnipiac one of three schools in the country who have had multiple student-athletes win the award.
The Roslyn, N.Y., native took the country by storm during the 2025-26 campaign, finishing with 59 points to his name, scoring 25 goals and adding 34 assists. That total puts him at the top of the national leaderboard for the season and ties the Quinnipiac single-season record set by Bryan Leitch and Collin Graf.
Adding to his resume, he finishes the campaign as one of five freshman since the 2000 season to lead the country in scoring, joining Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, Adam Fantilli and Will Smith.
Five freshmen have led college hockey in scoring since 2000:
— Foley (@NHLFoley) April 1, 2026
Jack Eichel - 71 P
Kyle Connor - 71 P
Adam Fantilli - 65 P
Will Smith - 71 P
Ethan Wyttenbach - 58 P
The #Flames prospect will be the first to play a second season in college. Also the first to not be a Top 20 pick.
He also finished the season recording a point in 34 of his 40 appearances, the most by anyone in the country.
A fifth-round pick of the Calgary Flames, Wyttenbach recorded two separate point streaks of nine games or more, including a 12-gamer that spanned the bulk of the second half of the regular season, going from Jan. 9 to Feb. 15. He finished with 24 points during this stretch, including a hat trick on rivalry night against Yale and a three-point night against Colgate on senior night.
Wyttenbach was a key piece of the Bobcats' sixth consecutive ECAC regular season title, the longest streak of any school in the country and helped the Bobcats skate to their seventh straight NCAA Tournament berth, the longest-active streak in the country.
His empty-net tally against Providence helped seal Quinnipiac's 5-2 victory in the Sioux Falls Regional Semifinal, earning a spot in their fifth Regional Final in the last seven seasons, the most in the country.
Wyttenbach highlights a 2026-27 roster that will return nine of its top 10 scorers, with the top three being in the first-year's class in him, Antonin Verrault and Markus Vidicek.
ABOUT THE TIM TAYLOR AWARD
The award, given annually to the most outstanding rookie in the season it is given, is named after Tim Taylor, who spent 28 seasons at Yale and became the school's winningest head coach as he collected 337 victories. His tenure spanned from 1976-2006, while taking two years on leave to coach the U.S. Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team as an assistant coach in 1984 and as the head coach in 1994. Taylor was captain of the Harvard University men's ice hockey team before he graduated in 1963. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, serving as an assistant coach on the Crimson staff under Ralph "Cooney" Weiland and Bill Cleary before beginning his time with the Bulldogs in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Hockey Commissioners Association sponsors this award which results from a ballot containing each NCAA Division I ice hockey conference's Rookie of the Year. The runner-up for this year's Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year Award was the University of Penn State's Gavin McKenna, a freshman forward from Whitehorse, YT
--
For an inside look at the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program, be sure to follow it on social media @QU_MIH or go to gobobcats.com/mih.
Players Mentioned
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