University of Denver defenceman Joey LaLeggia was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookie of the year on March 8.
The former Burnaby Winter Club blueliner was also made a Western Collegiate association first team and rookie team allstar.
The Burnaby skater is currently second in defencemen scoring in NCAA Division I with 11 goals and 37 points in just 36 games.
LaLeggia leads all rookie scorers in conference play with eight goals and 20 assists. He was also named the national rookie of the month in January.
LaLeggia leads all rookie defencemen in the NCAA in goals, assists and points, while owning a solid plus-16 plus/minus rating.
LaLeggia is the 10th Denver player to earn rookie of the year honours, which included past and present NHLers Keith Magnuson in 1967, Craig Redmond in 1983 and Paul Stastny in 2005.
Denver defeated Wisconsin 3-2 in overtime on Sunday to advance to the quarter-finals.
LaLeggia will meet fellow Burnaby skater Milos Gordic in the second-round playoff matchup.
Gordic tallied his seventh assist of the season on the game-tying goal for Michigan Tech in a 4-3 victory over Colorado College last Sunday.
Denver played Michigan Tech in the quarter-finals of the league playoffs on Thursday (after NOW deadlines).
