MADISON, Wis.— It has been 17 years since a Wisconsin men's hockey player won a conference freshman of the year honor, and a whopping 40 years since a Wisconsin head coach was named a conference coach of the year.

Both those droughts have ended as freshman forward Trent Frederic was voted the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year as chosen by the coaches and media, while Tony Granato was picked as the 2017 Big Ten Coach of the Year.

The Big Ten released its annual award winners on Monday.

A total of seven Badgers were recognized in some form, including Frederic and Granato.

Frederic was joined by sophomore forward Luke Kunin and junior defenseman Jake Linhart as part of the All-Big Ten second team, while sophomore defenseman Peter Tischke and freshman goaltender Jack Berry earned All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades.

In addition, Frederic was named to the all-freshman team.

Senior forward Aidan Cavallini was named UW's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.

St. Louis native Frederic arrived in Madison this fall after being drafted 29th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2016 NHL Entry draft and immediately made an impact on the team. The forward accumulated 15 goals and 18 assists in 28 games played during the regular season, including three two-goal games.

Twice a Big Ten Second Star of the Week this season, Frederic was also the Hockey Commissioners' Association National Rookie of the Month for February after recording eight goals and 14 points in eight games during the month. Frederic is UW's leading scorer since the start of 2017 with 10 goals and 21 points in 18 games.

Frederic was a unanimous selection for the all-freshman team, the only unanimous pick in the year-end awards.

Frederic is the first Badger since Dany Heatley in the 1999-2000 season to pick up a freshman/rookie of the year honor and the sixth all time. He joins Heatley, Mark Johnson (1977), Mike Richter (1986), Curtis Joseph (1989) and Jim Carey (1993) as Badgers who have won league freshman/rookie of the year honors.

Head coach Tony Granato, another first-year arrival in Madison, was tabbed as the conference's coach of the year. After Wisconsin won just 12 games over the past two seasons combined, Granato and his coaching staff led UW to a 19-14-1 record in the regular-season slate and a second-place finish in the Big Ten standings. The Badgers were picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches' poll.

Granato becomes just the second coach in Wisconsin history to win conference coach of the year, and the first in 40 years. Bob Johnson won the 1977 WCHA Coach of the Year after leading the Badgers to the WCHA regular-season title that season. That team also won the WCHA tournament and the NCAA title.

Kunin has enjoyed a successful sophomore campaign, leading the Badgers with 21 goals and 36 points in 33 games played. The Chesterfield, Missouri native, who was drafted 15th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2016 draft, serves as just the second sophomore captain in program history, the first since Mike Eaves in the 1975-76 season.

During the Badgers' winter break, Kunin joined Team USA for the World Junior Championships in Montreal and Toronto, captaining the team to a gold medal victory over Canada. He scored two goals and added two assists over seven games en route to the championship.

Kunin earned three weekly awards during the season, including two times as Big Ten Second Star of the Week and once as the league's third star.

Linhart, from Brookfield, Wisconsin, recorded career highs in assists and points this season, scoring six goals, 17 assists and 23 points in 33 games played. The junior defenseman scored the game-winning goal in overtime at Michigan State on Feb. 4.

Tischke and Berry were given honorable mentions for their play this season.

Tischke, a Hinsdale, Illinois native, returned for his sophomore season and quickly became a trusted player on the Badgers' blue line. He recorded three goals and six assists in 32 games, surpassing his season total from last year in all categories.   

Berry boasts a 2.84 goals-against average and .892 save percentage to go along with one shutout and a 10-7-1 record. The Holly, Michigan native, began his career this season with 144 minutes, 17 seconds of shutout hockey before finally allowing a goal, setting the UW mark for longest shutout streak to start a career, more than doubling the prior school mark.

He was the Big Ten Third Star of the Week once during the season.

Wisconsin (19-14-1, 12-8-0 Big Ten) begins the postseason on Friday at the 2017 Big Ten Tournament. Played at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, the Badgers will take on the winner of Ohio State-Michigan State in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. CT. The Big Ten tournament championship game takes place on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. The entire Big Ten tournament will air on BTN.