With the winter holidays looming, college hockey has proven that it can be played during a pandemic. 

The NCHC's pod in Omaha was completed on Dec. 21, capping a run of games played at Baxter Arena that featured all eight teams in the conference for nearly an entire month. The Big Ten has bobbed and weaved its way through its non-pod schedule, doing its best to limit postponements and avoid outright cancellations. 

Now well into the season, underclassmen and upperclassmen alike have had time to make their mark on the 2020-2021 campaign. The 10 players featured in this article hail from the NCHC and the Big Ten, with Arizona State making an appearance while navigating a truly unique schedule that makes the Sun Devils an honorary member of the Big Ten. 

This list may not include every freshman that has impressed so far, especially from the conferences that we have chosen not to spend as much of our time and resources covering. That said, it's late December, so let's celebrate a little with (some) of the best freshman players we've seen this season.

Mike Benning 

With diminutive size at 5-foot-10, 174 pounds, Benning has proven to be a savvy presence on the blue line for Denver, notching a goal and adding six assists in 10 games. The St. Albert, Alta. native currently ranks tied for second among Division I defenders in assists and has provided a scoring boost in the absence of forward Bobby Brink after Bring departed the Omaha pod for Team USA’s World Junior Championships camp.

Benning’s uncle, Jim Benning, is the General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks. 

Thomas Bordeleau

The No. 35 overall pick by the San Jose Sharks has gotten off to a hot start this season as a member of a ballyhooed Michigan freshman class. Bordeleau has tallied three goals and 10 points for the 5-5 Wolverines, and his 10 points are tied for fourth among all NCAA skaters. Bordeleau’s output should not have been surprising, considering he led the USNTDP in scoring with 16 goals and 39 points in 56 games during the 2018-2019 season. 

Brendan Brisson 

A native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., Brisson improved in each season he played for Shattuck-St. Mary’s totaling 22, 67, and 101 points in successive seasons with the Sabres. Brisson posted impressive totals for the Chicago Steel last season, racking up 59 points in 45 games before moving on to Michigan for his freshman season.

Brisson departed early for the Team USA WJC camp, but scored two goals and added five assists in the eight games he’s played so far for the Wolverines. 

Brock Faber 

A second-round selection by the Los Angeles Kings in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, Faber has stepped into the Minnesota lineup after spending two seasons with the USNTDP and helped the Golden Gophers to a perfect 8-0 record.

Faber is tied for third in the Golden Gopher lineup with nine blocked shots and ranks second in plus-minus at plus-4. A native of Maple Grove, Minn., Faber will compete for Team USA at this year’s World Juniors. 

Riese Gaber

Gaber has provided North Dakota with a true spark early on this season, pressuring opposing defenses with a competitive drive and motor that doesn’t seem to slow down. Gaber has logged significant time with the Fighting Hawks’ top line during their time in Omaha, totaling seven goals and nine points as the Fighting Hawks started the season 7-2-1.

Hailing from Gilbert Plains, Man., Gaber was named the USHL’s Forward of the Year last season, scoring 34 goals and adding 21 assists for 55 points in 2019-2020. In two seasons with the Dubuque Fighting Saints, Gaber tallied 105 total points. 

Wyatt Kaiser 

Kaiser can be considered a rare “true” freshman in college hockey, where the majority of players spend at least one full season with the junior team before jumping to the NCAA. Kaiser played last season for Andover High School, leading the program to its first appearance in the boys’ state tournament and being named a Mr. Hockey finalist in the process.

Kaiser has fit right in at the next level, playing a key role on both the Bulldogs’ power-play and penalty-killing units where his high hockey IQ is on full display. Kaiser has recorded four assists and 13 blocked shots, which ranks in the top-10 among NCHC players. 

Matthew Kopperud

In the precarious situation of having to play all its games on the road, Arizona State has made the most of its agreement with the Big 10, in which the Sun Devils will play each B10 school four times over the course of the season. The Sun Devils have gone 4-4-1 so far, powered by Kopperud’s NCAA-leading 13 total points.

The Denver native racked up 51 points for the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL during the 2018-2019 season before moving on to the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints, where he netted 17 goals and added 24 assists in 49 games. Kopperud has totaled three points in a single game three times this season, once against Wisconsin and twice against Notre Dame. 

Kent Johnson 

Another Michigan Wolverine freshman who has made a splash this season, Johnson’s eight assists rank third in the country behind senior forwards Jordan Kawaguchi of North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth’s Nick Swaney. Johnson put up four of those assists in the season-opening 8-1 win over Arizona State.

The product of Port Moody, B.C. led the BCHL in scoring last season with 41 goals and 101 points and has notched at least one point in seven of 10 games this season for Michigan. 

Owen Power 

The 6-foot-5 (or 6-foot-6, depending on the source) defender from Mississauga, Ont. finds himself at the top of TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s first version of 2021 NHL Draft “power rankings” thanks to his blend of size and skating ability.

Power was named Preseason All-Big Ten Honorable Mention after arriving in Ann Arbor from the Chicago Steel. During the 2019-2020 season, Power led all USHL defensemen in scoring with 40 points and was named the USHL Defenseman of the Year. 

Carter Savoie 

Mike Benning’s teammate from the St. Albert Sabres and the Sherwood Park Crusaders, Savoie’s debut season of college hockey has been about as subtle as his cannon of a shot. The Denver Pioneer is tied for third in Division I with seven goals and 11 points and became the first Denver freshman since Jon Fisher in the 2004-2005 season to score in his first five college games.

Savoie was one of five finalists for the CJHL Forward of the Year Award after scoring 53 goals and totaling 99 points for Sherwood Park during the 2019-2020 season and is a fourth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers.