ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell men's hockey junior forward
Jonathan Castagna has been named one of three finalists for the 2026 ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward award, it was announced Tuesday morning (March 17).
Joining Castagna as finalists are Dartmouth's Cam MacDonald and Princeton's David Jacobs.
A First Team All-ECAC Hockey selection, Castagna has been a cornerstone in all three zones for the Big Red, combining elite faceoff ability, heavy defensive usage and strong offensive production.
Castagna entered postseason play leading the nation in faceoff win percentage among players with at least 100 wins, capturing 64.7 percent of his draws. His mark led all ECAC Hockey skaters and was nearly four percentage points higher than Notre Dame's Panayioti Fimis (60.8 percent), while also outpacing Quinnipiac's Victor Czerneckianair by 4.5 percentage points. His 368 faceoff wins ranked first among ECAC Hockey centers and 10th nationally.
His dominance in the faceoff circle is the highest faceoff win percentage by a Cornell player in regular-season play with at least 100 faceoff wins since 2012-13, surpassing Gabriel Seger '24 (62.3 percent in 2023-24). His 368 wins are also the most by a Big Red skater since Seger recorded 407 in 2022-23.
A trusted presence in key defensive situations, Castagna averaged 18:26 of ice time per game in the regular season. The Etobicoke, Ontario, native blocked 32 shots — the third-most among ECAC Hockey forwards — and served as one of six forwards in the conference with 30 or more blocked shots.
Castagna also made an impact while Cornell was shorthanded, scoring three short-handed goals, tied for the second-most in Division I hockey and the most by a Big Red player since Mike Iggulden '05 (three) in 2004-05.
His defensive contributions have helped anchor the nation's top-scoring defense (1.91), while his plus-25 rating over 29 regular-season games ranked third overall in ECAC Hockey and led all forwards.
Paired with his defensive skills, Castagna led Cornell offensively with 32 points (14-18—32) in regular-season play.
The ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward award winner will be announced Thursday evening in Lake Placid, N.Y., ahead of the semifinal round of the 2026 ECAC Hockey Championship. The eighth-ranked and third-seeded Big Red (22-9-1) will face fourth-seeded Princeton (17-12-3) at 7 p.m. Friday at the 1980 Rink — Herb Brooks Arena. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
2026 ECAC HOCKEY BEST DEFENSIVE FORWARD FINALISTS
Jonathan Castagna, Cornell
Cam MacDonald, Dartmouth
David Jacobs, Princeton
