The strides made for the Wisconsin native earned him several season accolades, including four in the conference and three nationally. Howard is coming back for more in his senior season after forgoing a professional contract and choosing to return to East Lansing. 

Big Ten Accolades

Howard began his junior season with Pre-Season Big Ten Honors and ended with it becoming a reality on the First Team All-Big Ten list. 

But there was no stopping Howard after his career high 52 point season. Not only did he finish the season as the Big Ten’s leading scorer with 16 goals and 17 assists in conference, but those numbers earned him the title of Big Ten Scoring Champion. 

His 52 total points was a signification of becoming the team’s first 50 point scorer since Taro Hirose in the 2018-2019 season. Alongside the point leading honors, Howard was named the Big Ten Player of the year, just the third player to do so as a Spartan.

The five-foot-eleven forward also earned the title of Most Outstanding Player in the Big Ten Tournament, notching the game winning goal in both games that the Spartans played. The first was in a 1-0 shutout against Notre Dame and the second was in a double overtime thriller against the Buckeyes of Ohio State. 

First Team All American

Just before the announcement of the Hobey Baker, names appeared on a screen in the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. It listed those who were selected as All-Americans, players who represented the best-of-the-best in college hockey during the season.

Not only was Howard named a First Team All-American, joining a lengthy list of Spartans that have captured the honor, but future junior netminder Trey Augustine was honored on the First Team list as well as now-senior defenseman Matt Basgall who was named to the Second Team. The three became the first trio to cultivate what it means to be an All-American in the green and white sweater since 1999. 

The forward, defenseman and goalie joined just three other Big Ten standouts as All Americans in the East.

Hobey Baker Memorial Award

Kip Miller accomplished the feat in 1990, the first Spartan to win the Hobey Baker. After him came his little brother Ryan Miller, who became a world class goalie and a legend in the eyes of the MSU community and the NHL.

24 years later, Howard walked onto the stage after hugging his family and friends and gave his speech about being honored to receive the memorial award, having his name etched into the Spartan hockey spotlight for decades to come. 

Howard was pitted against Ryan Leonard of the Boston College Eagles and Zeev Buium from the University of Denver. Both had remarkable seasons in their own ways; Buium with his outstanding defensive play and Leonard with his strong ability to get to the net and create scoring opportunities. Since the award ceremony, both have made NHL debuts with the teams they were drafted to.

Jim Johannson College Player of the Year

And to put the cherry on top, Howard collected his final accolade of the season after earning a gold medal with USA Hockey at the IIHF tournament on May 26 with a final score of 1-0, team USA’s first gold medal at the tournament since 1933.  

Being named USA Hockey’s Jim Johannson College Player of the Year – the best NCAA DI American-born ice hockey player – he is the fourth Spartan to amass the honor. The Jim Johannson award was renamed in 2019 in honor of him. Winning a national championship with the University of Wisconsin, Johannson went on to work as an executive with USA Hockey for two decades. 

Riding high after a Big Ten regular season and tournament title, an appearance in the NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament and a gold medal with the United States, Howard’s return to campus is now lingering. He is set to begin in October as he, Nightingale and the rest of the squad battle to get to their first Frozen four appearance since 2007.