WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University's Max French (West Kelowna, B.C./West Kelowna) has been named one of 15 candidates for the 2016-17 men's hockey Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes that excel on and off the ice.

To be eligible for the award, "a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition," according to a release by the award's committee.

In his three-plus seasons at Bentley so far, French has certainly excelled as a player and student. He has racked up 59 goals and 126 career points, both good for 4^th among active players in the NCAA, while his 67 career assists are 13th. Last season as a junior, he notched a career-high 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists), which is tied for the 4^th most points scored in a single-season in Bentley's Division I history. Those numbers saw him named first-team All-Atlantic Hockey. So far this season, French leads the Falcons in both assists (13) and points (22) and is 2^nd in goals (9).

Off the ice, French earned his bachelor's degree from Bentley in corporate finance and accounting in just three years, and is currently working towards his master's degree in accounting. He was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 1 Men's At-Large team last season, and has been named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic team three straight years.

The list of 15 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, and the winner will be announced at the Frozen Four in April.