PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Providence College men’s hockey senior Kyle Murphy (Fair Haven, N.J.) was named the 2013 Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award Winner, as announced by the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The award was established by the HCA in honor of former Army player Derek Hines, who was a “consummate team player and team builder.” Hines played at Army from 1999-2003 and was a four-year letter-winner as well as a co-captain his senior season. He was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 1, 2005 in Afghanistan.
“I am extremely honored and deeply humbled to accept the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award,” Murphy said. “Derek was a great hockey player but, more importantly, he was an extraordinary person. Derek’s infectious personality, natural leadership ability and genuine spirit truly embody the perfect teammate and I will strive each day to live my own life as Derek so selflessly lived his.”
“Kyle has been extremely influential over the last two years in turning this program into a top-four program in Hockey East this season, bringing all the attributes of a winner to the team,” Head Coach Nate Leaman said.
After leaving the University of Notre Dame, where he proved to be an exceptional student and also played 17 games during the 2009-10 season, Murphy decided to play for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL. He also took classes at a local college to remain on track to graduate once he returned to the college level. He took 36 credit hours in order to graduate with an Associate’s degree while helping the Vipers to the 2011 BCHL Championship. Through the championship run, he remained on top of his studies and earned an ‘A’ in every course he took.
Murphy then chose to attend Providence College with then first-year Head Coach Nate Leaman. Before the 2011-12 season, word came from the NCAA that even though he excelled while taking a heavy course load while with the Vipers, Murphy was ruled a partial qualifier and only allowed to participate in Friar practices for the season.
The adversity did not deter Murphy, who was often cited by Leaman as the hardest day-in and day-out worker in practice. Murphy’s work ethic and leadership was so persistent throughout the 2011-12 season that before the 2012-13 season – without having played a game for the Friars – Murphy was named the team captain.
