2025 | Colorado | GIRLS

Northern Lady Lynx | Lynx | GIRLS

When I think of what the Hobey Baker Award represents—character, sportsmanship, and love of the game—Jaana Pickering is the first player who comes to mind.

Jaana isn’t the loudest voice in the room, but she’s always listening. She absorbs everything—feedback, advice, challenges—and applies it in a way that shows her deep understanding of the game and respect for the people around her. You can see it in the way she plays. She’s coachable to the core, quietly making the right plays, putting herself in the right positions, and always looking out for her teammates. She leads not with volume, but with example.

This year with the Coyotes and the Northern Lady Lynx, Jaana has embodied what it means to be a teammate first and a player second. Whether she’s scoring goals or grinding out tough minutes, her focus is always on what’s best for the team. Her play is unselfish, smart, and fueled by heart. She’s the kind of player who would do anything for the name on the front of the jersey—no matter what jersey she’s wearing. And she’s worn quite a few with pride: from Team Colorado AAA and AA, to the RoughRiders, to the Locomotives. Everywhere she’s gone, she’s made her team better—not just on the ice, but in the locker room and beyond.

Off the ice, Jaana is just as impressive. She’s graduating with honors from Niwot High School and heading to the Milwaukee School of Engineering to study computer science and compete with the Raiders Women’s Ice Hockey Team. She brings the same curiosity, determination, and humility to her academics that she does to the rink. She’s going to do great things—and she’s going to do them the right way.

In every sense of the word, Jaana Pickering is a role model. There is no one I would recommend more highly for the Hobey Baker Award.