CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — ECAC Hockey has named Colgate’s Danielle Serdachny winner of the inaugural Wayne Dean Sportsmanship Award.
The award, announced in November 2022, is named in honor of the late Wayne Dean, the former Yale University Deputy Director of Athletics who played a significant role in the growth and success of ECAC Hockey and NCAA collegiate ice hockey. Beginning this year, the award will annually honor an ECAC Hockey student-athlete (men’s or women’s) who demonstrates the highest level of integrity and sportsmanship; displays the utmost respect for student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and officials, as well as the game/sport; and encourages all individuals to demonstrate good sportsmanship and ethical conduct inside and outside of the competition setting.
Serdachny, the award’s first winner, has long been praised for her excellence and leadership on and off the ice, earning a reputation for honesty, intensity, and respect for the game. A two-year captain at Colgate, Serdachny has been involved in the Hamilton community since she stepped foot on campus as a freshman in 2019-20 and has made it her mission to give back not only to the community that has watched her grow into the accomplished player she is today, but to the game of hockey as well.
On the ice, Serdachny has impressed her competition, her teammates, her coaches, and her fans for years. In 2019, she won a gold medal with Canada’s U-18 team and recently earned her first selection to the Canadian women’s senior national team this fall when she represented her country in the 2022-23 Rivalry Series in December. In her four years as a Raider, she has set and broken records, currently holding the single-season assists record (set in 2021-22, with 38, and again set in 2022-23 with 43), the single-season points record (set in 2022-23, currently at 65), and the career points record (set in 2022-23, currently at 172). She is a two-time ECAC Hockey Forward and Player of the Year (2020-21 and 2022-23), and most recently led the Raiders to back-to-back ECAC Hockey Tournament Championships (2021 and 2022).
Also a co-founder and mentor for Rising Raiders, Colgate’s mentorship program for young female hockey players in New York, Serdachny has been committed to giving back to and supporting Hamilton in the same way the community has supported her and her teammates. She has helped organize inclusive learn-to-skate events, participated in Skate with the Raiders events, and volunteered with community initiatives to help clean up Hamilton.
“She leads our team in a very respectful and caring manner, supporting [her] teammates to help them be the best they can be,” said Colgate head coach Greg Fargo. "She has been seen assisting children, individuals with disabilities, and aspiring young players with their skating or their game on numerous occasions, demonstrating [her] understanding that she has a responsibility to grow the game and give back."
Serdachny has long been committed to playing the game with honesty, integrity, and respect, combining her unrivaled skill and passion for hockey with a devotion to making the sport better for those around her and for future generations. She has been a leader on the team for long before the “C” was stitched onto her jersey and has been devoted to upholding, maintaining, and honoring a standard of excellence.
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