2025 | Minnesota | BOYS

Park Rapids Area Panthers | Panthers | BOYS

My name is Bill Moore. I am the high school hockey coach for the Park Rapids Panthers. Because of our coop with Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School, I was given the privilege to coach a young man named Connor Murdoff. I would like to nominate Connor for the Hobey Baker Character Award. He was one of our captains this past season. Connor is one of the nicest, hardworking young men that I have worked with in my 38-year career in education. As far as hockey is concerned, over the past two seasons (which is all I had him, because he played bantams as a sophomore), he has been our best leader. He played hard every night. He had very different experiences during his two years. The first year, we were very good, so it was easy to be positive and have a great attitude. We graduated fourteen seniors after the first year, so this year was a major rebuilding year with 15 sophomores. Connor’s attitude was great. He was extremely patient with the young players. He would be so positive with players after they made mistakes. The young kids started off the season afraid to make mistakes. He knew exactly when to give them a pat-on-the-back and when to hold them accountable. Despite the team being less successful than his first year, he led by example every night. He did everything in his power to help us compete and was a complete sportsman while doing it. To give you an idea of his team-first attitude, I require the bus to be cleaned up as nicely as it was before we left for the game. Many times, we arrived home after midnight. Most seniors would delegate that job to one of the fifteen sophomores, not Connor. He was the last one off the bus every trip to make sure that the bus was perfect before he grabbed his equipment and went to the locker room. He was always a team-first person. I am going to miss that leadership dramatically next year.
The other area in which Connor excelled was in our volunteering program. I require the players to have a minimum of ten hours of volunteer time in order to receive a varsity letter. Any time we had a team volunteer event, he was there. He put in close to twenty-five volunteer hours this past season. Whether we were planting trees, working with the youth program, or putting furniture together, Connor was always there with his infectious smile.
In closing, I would whole-heartedly recommend Connor for the Hobey Baker Character Award. He is extremely intelligent, hardworking, and kind. One of the great benefits of working in education is the opportunity to get to know young men like Connor Murdoff. He is one of the good ones!!! Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions.