For the third straight season, a Western Collegiate Hockey Association student-athlete has won the Julie Chu Rookie of the Year award as Ohio State's Hilda Svensson is this year's recipient, along with Clarkson's Sara Manness, the Women's Hockey Commissioners Association announced Thursday. Svensson is the second Buckeye in three years to earn the honor, following 2024 award winner Joy Dunne. The Buckeye rookie is also the seventh WCHA student-athlete to earn the honor, which was established in 2014.

The 2025-26 WCHA Rookie of the Year and third-team All-WCHA selection, Svensson, led all rookies in the WCHA in points during league play with 31 (9g, 22a). The Buckeye forward played in just 20 league games after competing in her first Olympic Games for Team Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Svensson ranks first among all rookies in assists with 32, second in points (50), and sixth in goals (18). Svensson was the only rookie in the WCHA to garner a WCHA Forward of the Month honor, while she also claimed two Rookie of the Month honors during the season.

The Julie Chu Rookie of the Year is chosen by a vote of the NCAA Division 1 schools’ assistant coaches, with one vote per staff. The award is named after the former Harvard University and U.S. Olympic standout who recorded 93 points as a freshman during the 2003-04 season, en route to a career in which she set an NCAA record with 284 career points. The names on the ballot are each conference’s Rookie of the Year. 

Winners of the Women’s College Hockey Rookie of the Year Award 
Year - Recipient, Institution 
2014 - Dani Cameranesi, University of Minnesota 
2015 - Annie Pankowski, University of Wisconsin 
2016 - Sarah Potomak, University of Minnesota 
2017 - Jaycee Gebhard, Robert Morris University 
2018 - Daryl Watts, Boston College 
2019 - Sarah Fillier, Princeton University 
2020 - Hannah Bilka, Boston College 
2021 - Kiara Zanon, Penn State University 
2022 - Peyton Hemp, University of Minnesota 
2023 - Tessa Janecke, Penn State University 
2024 - Joy Dunne, Ohio State University
2025 - Caitlin Kraemer, Minnesota Duluth
2026 - Hilda Svensson, Ohio State & Sara Manness, Clarkson

For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on X and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at wcha.com.