Katharine Chute Named Ms. Hockey
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 The Blake School senior Katharine Chute was presented with the 2007 Ms. Hockey Award at the 12th annual banquet held in its name on Sunday February, 25th. The Ms. Hockey Award honors the top senior girls hockey player in Minnesota and presented by Let's Play Hockey Newspaper. The award is selected by a panel of Division I and III college coaches from Minnesota and Wisconsin and is based on the following criteria: academics, community/co-curricular activities, citizenship, coachability and, of course, on-ice performance.
Katharine Chute is a National Merit Scholarship finalist who carries a 3.92 GPA and is a three-time All State player. Chute, a Cum Laude Academic Award in her junior year is ranked second in state and fourth nationally in the Concours National De Francais Level 5A French exam. Katharine's community service activities include: member of Blake's Student Interaction Committee and has volunteered as a worker and coordinator of the Spring Lake Restoration project.
On the ice Katharine is extremely gifted. The senior forward and captain has skated regular shifts for five seasons on The Blake School's varsity squad and is the sole remaining player from the 2003 State Championship team. Katharine has scored 110 goals and 113 assists, for a total of 223 points, that's an average of 1.6 points for every game of her prep career. Chute is also one of the best penalty killers in the state having scored 13 shorthanded goals in her career at Blake.
The Bear's head coach Brano Stankovsky describes Katharine as, "a soft-spoken and the quiet leader of this Blake team. The example she sets in practice first, and then in games is inspirational to her teammates as well as the coaching staff. Someone of her character, will, and work ethic comes along rarely. She is congenial in victory and coaches from other teams hold her in the highest regards, as she is polite and respectful as an opponent, but yet a competitor of the highest quality in a game."
Katharine has already compiled an impressive list of "hockey hardware". To date Chute has been named to the Class A All Tournament team, Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, four All Tri-Metro Conference teams, Most Valuable Forward, Most Valuable Player, a recipient of the High School Hobey Baker Award, a three-time winner of the Bill Marton 110% Award, and has garnered All State lauds three times. Presumably, Katharine will be honored again with many of these awards for this season.
Katharine plans on both attending college as well as play hockey. Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth and Yale have vigorously recruited her. She is an outstanding candidate not only from a hockey perspective, but also as a student. Chute has narrowed her choices to Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth.
When asked why Katharine's citizenship makes her a candidate for the Ms. Hockey Award, Stankovsky replied, "Katharine embodies the spirit of Hobey Baker. She is a caring teammate and friend. All her teammates have value in her eyes. She is a wonderful older sister to five siblings, an outstanding student at Blake as well as an ambassador of the school. She holds education in high regard and values where she will attend college for her educations sake. She, as a person, is an excellent example of what a young woman can achieve in hockey, the classroom and as a leader."
Katharine Chute becomes the first player from an Independent School to be honored with this award. The list of Let's Play Hockey Ms. Hockey winners is a virtual who's who of Minnesota Girls' Hockey. The list includes 2006 honoree Allie Thunstrom of North St. Paul, Gigi Marvin of Warroad (2005), Erica McKenzie of Hastings (2004), Andrea Nichols of Hibbing/Chisholm (2003), Ashley Albrecht of South St. Paul (2002), Renee Curtin of Roseville (2001), Krissy Wendell of Park Center (2000), Ronda Curtin of Roseville (1999), Laura Slominski of Burnsville (1998), Annamarie Holmes of Apple Valley (1997) and Winny Brodt of Roseville (1996).
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