A former Dauphin King who left a mark on the organization that will never be forgotten is joining the leadership group of an NCAA Division 1 hockey team.
Grady Hobbs, who played four full seasons in Dauphin and parts of a fifth from 2016-2021, will be one of three captains on the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) men's hockey team.
Hobbs, originally from Deloraine, joined the Kings as a 16-year-old in 2016 and never looked back. He amassed 78 goals and 159 points in 230 regular season games and another two goals to go along with three assists in seven career playoff games with the Kings.
His best season came during the 2019-20 campaign when the right-handed sniper scored 43 goals, the most in the league, and he was named to the league's First All-Star Team. He was also named the league's most valuable player that season.
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Hobbs went on to join the RIT Tigers and helped them win an Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) regular season championship in the 2022-23 season. They followed that up last year by winning another regular season title and the conference championship after beating AIC 5-2 in the conference's championship game. Across 111 games with RIT, the former King has scored 26 goals while adding 21 assists. He set career highs across the board last year with 10 goals and 18 points. Hobbs is a three-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team member.
He will be joined by Dimitri Mikrogiannakis and Tanner Andrew. Dimitri is a fifth-year defenseman while Andrew also has ties to Manitoba as he's from Virden and played the first 127 games of his junior career with the Oil Capitals before ending his time in Manitoba by playing eight games with Winkler during the 2020-21 season. He ended that year in Chilliwack as a member of the BCHL's Chiefs. He is now set to enter his fourth year at RIT.
In a release, RIT Men's Hockey Coach Wayne Wilson had this to say.
"I look forward to seeing Grady, Dimitri and Tanner lead our team this year," said Wilson, who enters his 26th season on the Tiger bench. "We have had exceptional captains in the past and these three are great examples of leadership. Their commitment to our team on and off the ice is second to none and I know they will set the standard in leading us through another year as we seek to defend our Atlantic Hockey Championship and get back to the NCAA Tournament."
