Vesey wins 63rd Annual Walter Brown Award

Harvard junior forward Jimmy Vesey was named the winner of the 63rd Annual Walter Brown Award by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston on Tuesday morning. The Nashville Predators prospect was selected from a field of 20 semifinalists including Boston University freshman sensation Jack Eichel. The award is presented annually to the best American-born player playing college hockey in New England.

Vesey's stellar season propelled the Crimson to the 2015 ECAC Hockey Tournament championship and the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2006. Vesey has 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 points in 36 games played after his four-goal weekend at the ECAC Hockey semifinals and final in Lake Placid.

A Belmont Hill alum, Vesey was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year and the ECAC Hockey Tournament MVP. A 2012 second round pick of the Predators, Vesey comes from a hockey family. His dad, Jim, Sr., is the all-time leading scorer at Merrimack. His brother Nolan is a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect who just finished his freshman season at the University of Maine.

Vesey has always been a solid prospect, but his play has progressed to the next level in his third go around in Cambridge. He's a big, strong kid with a pro shot, but his passing ability is underrated. Vesey has 97 career points entering this weekend's NCAA Midwest Regional. The Crimson are the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and will face Omaha in the first round.

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Jeff Cox covers college, junior, high school and prep hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on Twitter @JeffCoxSports.