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Does it seem a little silly coming up with all these awards for a conference that only has six teams? Probably. Will that stop us? Nope.
Here's our preseason awards for the Big Ten Conference:
1st Team All-Big Ten
F- Ryan Dzingel, Ohio State
F- Mark Zengerle, Wisconsin
F- Nic Kerdiles, Wisconsin
D-Jake McCabe, Wisconsin
D-Mac Bennett, Michigan
G-Adam Wilcox, Minnesota
Some interchangeable parts here. Dzingel and Kerdiles could just as easily be traded with their respective teammates Tanner Fritz and Michael Mersch on this list. The two D should be head and shoulders above everyone else in the conference.
2nd Team All-Big Ten
F- Tanner Fritz, Ohio State
F-Matt Berry, Michigan State
F-Michael Mersch, Wisconsin
D-John Draeger, Michigan State
D-Ben Marshall, Minnesota
G-Jake Hildebrand, Michigan State
Berry and Draeger are both going to miss a big chunk of the season due to injury, although shouldn't miss all that much conference play. The pool of candidates on defense really thins out after the top two.
All-Rookie Team
F-Taylor Cammarata, Minnesota
F- JT Compher, Michigan
F- Justin Kloos, Minnesota
D-Michael Brodzinski, Minnesota
D-Mike Williamson, Penn State
G-Eamon McAdam, Penn State
Lots of good selections to choose from at forward. Defense is a little trickier. I opted for the big Vancouver draft pick in Williamson over a couple guys from Michigan that might be pressed into a lot of playing time this year.
Player of the Year-Mark Zengerle, Wisconsin
Rookie of the Year-Taylor Cammarata, Minnesota
Breakout Player-Nate Condon, Minnesota
Player of the Year was a really difficult choice. I feel like it could be any one of Zengerle, Kerdiles or McCabe, or they could all end up canceling each other out. Cammarata is the safe choice for rookie of the year. Condon is a bit of a cheat for Breakout Player because he scored 31 points last year and just missed making this second team all-league list. He's got the potential to be one of the top players in the league, however.