Dylan Lugris wins 2024 Hockey Humanitarian Award

Penn State junior Dylan Lugris won the 2024 Hockey Humanitarian Award on Friday evening, annually given to a male or female collegiate hockey player who has given back to their community in the true humanitarian spirit.

The Buffalo, N.Y., native was one of five finalists alongside Cornell’s Hank Kempf, LIU’s Jack Quinn, Merrimack’s Raice Szott and Syracuse’s Sarah Thompson.

“This is a big, big day for sled hockey, especially for our community and our program,” Lugris said. “I’m looking forward to what’s next.”

Lugris has been the catalyst for the Penn State Sled Hockey Classic, an event held annually over the past two years dedicated to raising money and awareness for the local sled hockey team, the State College Coyotes.

Lugris, alongside the rest of the Nittany Lions, has raised over $20,000 in back-to-back seasons thanks to jersey sales and GoFundMe donations.

With the additional $3,000 presented on Friday night on behalf of the Hockey Humanitarian Award, the two-year total has now eclipsed $50,000.

“[The State College Coyotes] are great people and I couldn’t have done it without any of them or my teammates or staff members,” Lugris said. “It was a huge kind of collective effort and I think that was what made this so special.”

The 6-foot-2 forward is the third Penn State player to be nominated for the award, following men’s hockey’s David Goodwin and women’s hockey’s Sarah Nielsen in 2017, and is the first Nittany Lion to win the award.

With an overwhelming amount of support over the past two years, Lugris and the rest of the State College community are looking forward to the next steps toward the future of sled hockey in State College.

“Right now we’re looking forward to seeing where their program grows and maybe having two different teams, maybe even three with different ages, skill sets and more,” Lugris said. “So it’s really exciting.”

Joshua Bartosik is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jsb6137@psu.edu.