After a long winter filled with hard-fought battles and victories, Dartmouth men’s hockey capped off their 2025–2026 campaign with the first Eastern College Athletic Conference championship in school history, as well as its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1980. A huge X factor in the team’s success was second-year forward Hayden Stavroff ’28, who lit up the ice all season for the Big Green and proved to be among the best offensive powerhouses in all of college hockey.
Stavroff ended the season with 48 total points, tallying 19 assists along with a nation-leading 29 goals in 35 games played. This performance led to a plethora of awards after the season’s end: ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year; the Walter Brown Award, which is awarded to the best American-born college hockey player in New England; and being named a Top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the most outstanding player in all of NCAA Division I hockey.
Despite such a historic season, Stavroff remains down-to-earth. He credits the offseason grind — both on his own and alongside his teammates — for making this level of success possible, and hopes that with the same level of commitment and hard work, a future in professional hockey is in the cards.
What did you work on in the offseason that helped lead to your success this season?
HS: In the summer, you’re always working. You go back home and you work; you figure stuff out from the previous season, focusing on what you can do better. With that comes confidence, and I think that was probably one of the biggest things: coming back knowing what I’m capable of and then just executing it when it comes to Friday and Saturday.
What kind of bond do you share with your teammates that allows you to make the plays you do? How did this chemistry develop?
HS: That connectivity plays a huge role in hockey and in team sports as a whole. We have long practices and long hours at the rink, so we’re always together. We have a really close group, which I’m thankful for. When we’re that close with each other, it makes you want to sacrifice and block a shot for the guy next to you. It’s a very selfless group, and that’s definitely a big part of it. Hank Cleaves ’28 and I are also roommates off the ice, which makes the connection even stronger.
This isn’t your first time leading a league in scoring. You led the British Columbia Hockey League in 2024. How did it feel to return to this level of dominance?
HS: It felt good. It’s always nice to see results and see the hard work you put in pay off. Hockey is way different from juniors to college. The guys are bigger, stronger, faster and more structured, so it felt great to achieve something like this.
Your success had a big impact on a historic season for Dartmouth Hockey. What was it like in the home stretch of the ECAC playoffs?
HS: The message was just to play our game the way we play. If we play to our identity, then we can execute against any team in this league. Also, going into playoffs we were the No. 2 seed, so we knew that we earned this. We deserved to be there. That led us to just go in there with confidence.
Where do you hope your hockey career goes moving forward?
HS: I’m just trying to take it year by year. Everyone wants to play pro hockey — hopefully one day I’m lucky enough to be able to play professional hockey as well.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
