ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell men's hockey is well-represented in the race for the 2026 ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year award, with freshman goaltender
Alexis Cournoyer and freshman defenseman
Xavier Veilleux claiming two of the three finalist spots alongside Quinnipiac forward Ethan Wyttenbach, as announced by the conference office Wednesday morning (March 18).
The two Big Red freshmen were both unanimously named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team last week. Since the All-Rookie Team was instituted in 1988, Cournoyer and Veilleux are the sixth pair of Big Red teammates to earn All-Rookie accolades — and the third time in the last 18 years the feat has been accomplished, joining Riley Nash and Mike Devin in 2008 and
Jonathan Castagna and
Ben Robertson in 2024.
Cournoyer earned First Team All-ECAC Hockey honors and was named ECAC Hockey's Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year last Thursday, becoming the seventh Big Red netminder to win the award since it was first presented in 1996. He also became just the fourth true-freshman netminder to earn All-ECAC Hockey First Team honors and the first since Galajda in 2018.
Across his 23 regular-season appearances, the Trois-Rivières, Québec native posted a 2.01 goals-against average, ranking sixth nationally and second among qualified ECAC Hockey goaltenders, and a .917 save percentage, also ranking second within the conference. His 16 victories were tied for the third-most by a freshman goaltender nationally.
Veilleux earned All-ECAC Hockey Second Team honors last Wednesday, becoming just the third Cornell freshman to appear on one of the conference's three main all-league teams. The Ancienne-Lorette, Québec native finished the regular season with 24 points (6-18—24), tied for 14th nationally among defensemen, while his five power-play goals were tied for the most among freshman defensemen nationally.
The winner of this year's ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year award will be announced Thursday evening in Lake Placid, 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. Game action will be streamed live on ESPN+.
2026 ECAC HOCKEY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac
Alexis Cournoyer, Cornell
Xavier Veilleux, Cornell
