A former Hermantown boys hockey captain turned University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) men’s hockey senior defenseman, Darian Gotz is used to leading on the ice. Now he’s also being honored for his efforts off the ice.

On Thursday the 23-year-old was named the 2023-2024 recipient of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (NCHC) Sportsmanship Award.

He was selected for his dedication to community service, including work with the Minnesota Wild Special Hockey program in Duluth.

Gotz becomes the fourth Bulldog to win the award, following Cal Decowski (2015-2016), Karson Kuhlman (2017-2018), and Kobe Roth (2019-2020).