Penn State men’s hockey defenseman Trevor Hamilton won the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year award for the 2017-18 season on March 13. An accolade like this was probably unimaginable to him just four years earlier.

Hamilton started the 2014-15 season with Miami (OH) as a sophomore, but left the program after playing just once that season. His freshman season was relatively productive, as he played in 30 games and tallied five assists for the Redhawks, but burned off his second year of NCAA eligibility with his sole appearance in 2014-15.

The Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, native spent the rest of that season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL, scoring 27 points in 44 games. The 2015-16 season was even more tumultuous for Hamilton. He played for three different teams that season, but through it all, he earned an offer from Penn State and was set to join Guy Gadowsky’s program as a junior in 2016-17.

Since arriving in Happy Valley last year, Hamilton has become Penn State’s most important blueliner and the best defenseman in the Big Ten. He won the award after leading the conference in points with 29 in 37 games played. Only Brandon Biro and Andrew Sturtz have scored more points than Hamilton this season, who is tied for third on the team with Nate Sucese in scoring.

No. 11 was honored to be selected as the best defensive player in the Big Ten ahead of Notre Dame stars Jake Evans and Jordan Gross, but credits the award mostly to his teammates.

“It’s huge,” Hamilton said. “It’s a huge accomplishment in my life. I couldn’t have done it without the guys in the locker room with me. With [goaltenders] Peyton [Jones], Chris [Funkey], and Matt [Erlichman] helping me in the back end and I give a lot of credit to the forwards as well for getting on the puck and letting them work their magic.”

He said his longer than normal journey to this point made the feeling of winning it even more special, especially considering the support his family gave him on his five-year journey before his arrival at Penn State.

“I think I took an unusual route to get back to college,” he said. “It’s definitely nice, but it’s huge for my family as well. They’ve helped me through this entire process. My dad was a little hesitant to let me leave Miami at first, but it all worked out in the end.”

Head coach Guy Gadowsky offered high praise for Hamilton, who leads the Big Ten in two of the most important stats for a defenseman.

“First of all, it’s such a well-deserved award,” Gadowsky said. “For defensemen, I believe he leads [the Big Ten] in points, but I’m sure he’s much more proud of the fact that he leads the nation in blocks. When you have that combination, what a well-deserved award.”

While the numbers are extremely impressive, Gadowsky is thrilled that Hamilton won the award because of his character and the positive influence he has on the locker room on a daily basis.

Gadowsky explained that Hamilton has a warrior mentality day in and day out. The senior always plays through injuries and plays selflessly in the eyes of his head coach. Gadowsky even credited Hamilton with making the locker room and practice fun, always smiling, and being a great teammate.

Hamilton and the Nittany Lions will appear in their second consecutive NCAA tournament starting Saturday night in Allentown. Penn State will take on Denver at 7 p.m. at the PPL Center, broadcast on ESPN3.