LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Cornell men's hockey junior forward Jonathan Castagna has been named ECAC Hockey's Best Defensive Forward, it was announced at the conference's annual awards ceremony at the Olympic Center on Thursday evening (March 19).

Castagna became the eighth different Cornell player to receive the award since it was first presented in 1993 and the first since Jake Weidner in 2017.

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.

Castagna and 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+.