In his sophomore campaign, Gaudreau emerged as the star of the team and improved upon his already impressive stats, achieving a 21–30–51 scoring line in 35 games, leading the nation in points per game, at 1.46. He then led the Eagles to a fourth consecutive Beanpot championship after helping to win a gold medal for the United States at the 2013 World Juniors. Despite losing to archrival Boston University in the Hockey East tournament semi-finals and bowing out of the NCAA tournament in the first round against Union College, he was awarded Hockey East Player of the Year and was named an ACHA First Team All-American for his tremendous offensive output. On April 3, 2013, Gaudreau was named one of the three finalists for the 2013 Hobey Baker Award, along with Eric Hartzell and Drew LeBlanc. St. Cloud State's Drew LeBlanc eventually won the award.