In an announcement that really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, the Kings’ No. 1 goalie prospect — Hampton Slukynsky of Western Michigan University — was named a finalist for the NCHC Goaltender of the Year Award on Wednesday.
He was a finalist last year and backstopped WMU to a national championship. This season, the 20-year-old netminder has been equally impressive. He currently leads the NCAA in wins with 24 and holds a .913 save percentage. For good measure, Slukynsky is fourth in the nation in shutouts (4), and sits top 10 in the nation for both a .721 winning percentage and 826 saves.
In total, he holds a 24-9-1 record heading into this weekend’s NCHC tournament, where WMU will open up as the No. 3 seed and host Colorado College on Friday in the quarterfinals.
‘Hammer,’ as he’s referred to by nearly everybody — a nickname explained here — has already earned quite a lengthy resume. He took his high school team to the Minnesota state championships in back-to-back years, won the Clark Cup in his only USHL season, was named as the USHL’s Goaltender of the Year, and last season was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team after backstopping Western Michigan to their first national championship in school history.
Also worth noting, his brother Grant was also just nominated for the NCAA’s Sportsmanship Award. Teammates at WMU, Grant is a junior and attended Kings Development Camp last summer. As we’ve reported previously, the Kings have shown further interest in potentially signing him once he turns pro. Get to know more about the 23-year-old forward here.
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