The Hobey Baker Award recognizes the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey each year. Visit www.hobeybaker.com to cast your vote.

Knight leads seventh-ranked North Dakota in points (29) and assists (19) and is tied for the team lead in goals (10). He also leads the team in plus/minus with a +11 rating and has won 60.2 percent of his faceoffs, which is on pace to break his own school record of 59.9 percent set as a sophomore in 2010-11.

Through his first 19 games, Knight is averaging a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA)-leading 1.53 points per game and ranks third nationally in that category. He is currently in the midst of a 15-game point streak that is UND's longest in a decade, and he has reached the scoresheet in all but two of his 19 games this season.

In 139 career games at UND, Knight has amassed 126 points on 46 goals and 80 assists and owns a career plus/minus rating of +59. His 126 career points tie him for fifth-most among active NCAA Division I men's hockey players and rank him 44th on UND's all-time scoring list.

A native of High River, Alberta, Knight is a two-year assistant captain who received UND's Archie Krum Memorial Athletic Scholarship in 2011-12 as the player who "demonstrates leadership qualities, high academic standards and athletic excellence." He has helped UND win the Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA playoff champions in each of his first three seasons and was a member of UND's MacNaughton Cup-winning team in 2010-11 as WCHA regular season champions. That team also advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four.

This first phase of fan balloting runs through March 10, 2013. Phase two of fan balloting will begin on March 22 from the list of Top 10 Hobey Baker finalists. The fans' vote accounts for a full 1 percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year's award recipient.

Award criteria include candidates emulating the exceptional character traits exhibited by the award's namesake, Hobey Baker. An American super-hero, Baker was a World War I fighter pilot and was known as America's greatest amateur athlete in his day, excelling at hockey and football while starring for Princeton. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.

Key Hobey Baker announcement dates for 2013 include:
• Top Ten list of candidates: March 21
• Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists: April 3
• Hobey Baker Award announcement: April 12