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Flames prospect Tyson Gross named NCHC’s Defensive Forward of the Year
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Pike
Mar 17, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 17, 2026, 01:22 EDT
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The newest member of the Calgary Flames organization has captured some collegiate hardware.
On Monday afternoon, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced a pair of awards, honouring their top forwards from the 2025-26 season. Calgary native and St. Cloud State University captain Tyson Gross, who signed with the Flames a few days ago, was named the conference’s Defensive Forward of the Year.
Gross was also runner-up to Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante for Forward of the Year and was also named a finalist for NCHC Player of the Year. He was previously named an NCHC First Team All-Star.
Via the conference’s announcement, here’s their superlatives on Gross’ season:
Gross compiled an incredible campaign for the Huskies this season, before signing an NHL contract with his hometown Calgary Flames as a free agent last Thursday. The SCSU captain led the team with 41 points and 23 assists in the regular season, while ranking second on the squad with 18 goals.
Gross tied for fourth in the NCHC in regular-season scoring (41 points) and ranked second in conference games with 28 points. The Calgary, Alberta native captured the NCHC goal-scoring title with 16 goals in conference play to lead all skaters. He is also tied for the NCHC lead with two short-handed goals overall, both of which came in conference play.
Gross has been dominant in the center circle all season, posting a faceoff win percentage of 59.3 percent in the regular season, which ranked fourth in the conference and eighth in the NCAA. He continues to lead the country with 464 faceoff wins. Gross blocked 12 shots on the year, while being a staple of the Huskies penalty kill unit.
Gross collected his second career nod as NCHC Forward of the Week in February, as well.
Gross is a 23-year-old right shot centre listed at 6’3″ and 195 pounds. He played minor hockey with Springbank, the Northwest Calgary Athletic Association (NWCAA) and Calgary AAA Flames before spending 13 games with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Drumheller Dragons… during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns.
Gross headed south in 2021-22 to play in the United States Hockey League, where he spent a season each with the Fargo Force and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. He joined St. Cloud State as a 21-year-old freshman in 2023-24. He had two solid seasons before breaking out, big-time, in 2025-26, which led to him signing with his hometown Flames.
Gross is expected to debut with the Flames in the next few weeks.
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