It’s official. Iowa State hockey forward Doug Borud is the best collegiate club hockey player in the country.

Borud was named Thursday night at the Hobey Baker Awards Dinner at the Decathlon Club in Minneapolis as the 1997 winner of the Bob Johnson Award.

“He’s been outstanding through the year both on and off the ice,” said Coach Al Murdoch.

The award is named after Bob Johnson, who gained national recognition while coaching in the college ranks. He then moved up to the pros to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins, but died of a brain tumor a year later.

The Bob Johnson Award is given annually to the college hockey player who best demonstrates ability, achievement, leadership, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the sport.

Murdoch said Borud has the skills to play in the NHL, but also is a key ingredient in the team’s chemistry.

“Other people on the team look to him. He gives leadership by example,” Murdoch said.

Borud was a first-team all-state player while in high school at Two Harbors, Minn.

“He has been a volunteer coach with young kids clinics, participated in the local figure skating clubs review. He does lots of community service projects,” Murdoch said.

Borud, a 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound senior who has been a co-captain of ISU’s hockey team for three years, scored 27 goals and handed out 33 assists this season.

Murdoch said despite Borud’s superior talent, he’s committed to finishing his degree in exercise and sport science, getting married this summer, and “continuing with the regular-type kind of life.”

“He was an outstanding player for the Des Moines Buccaneers. We were fortunate to get him to come to Iowa State,” he said.

Hobey Baker, for whom the dinner is named, was a famous hockey player who was killed during World War II when his plane crashed and exploded.

“He was a tireless and dedicated player who did a lot for his community back in the ’40s,” Murdoch said.

The Div. I winner of the award, Brett Morrison of University of Michigan, was also honored at Thursday night’s ceremony.

Morrison was made famous for a play he made in last year’s NCAA championship that was nominated for the Outrageous Play ESPY, one of a group of awards given by ESPN to spectacular sports moments of the past year. “He picked the puck up with his stick and literally threw it in the net like a lacrosse player,” Murdoch said. The awards dinner, attended by almost 300 people, also recognized the 1972 Olympic team for winning the silver medal at the Munich Games.

This the second time an ISU player has won the Bob Johnson Award.

Forward Bill Ward, an assistant coach and graduate student, was the 1994 winner.

Ward holds the record for points in a season, with 107. He scored 49 goals and dished out 58 assists in his record-setting year. The ISU hockey team finished second in the American Collegiate Hockey Association tournament this year, losing in the final game to Ohio University, whom the Cyclones had beaten earlier in the year.

“We fell just short of winning the national championship both last and this year, getting second both years,” Murdoch said.

“We hope to knock them off next year,” he said.

The Cyclones’ record this year was 33-5, with 3 ties. The team finished the season ranked No. 1 by College Hockey America, and Murdoch was recognized as the ACHA Coach of the Year.