Milton Academy hockey player Jake Thibeault presents NHL's Calder Trophy during Awards Show

BOSTON -- The NHL shined the spotlight Tuesday night on Jake Thibeault, the former Milton Academy hockey player who walked across his high school graduation stage recently after being partially paralyzed during a game last year.

Thibeault presented the Calder Trophy, the league's Rookie of the Year award, to Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider at Tuesday night's NHL Awards Show in New York.

Thibeault was one of the top high school hockey prospects in New England before his injury last September. He played at Milton Academy and for a private club called the Boston Bulldogs.

During a regional hockey tournament, Thibeault went into the boards and was partially paralyzed from the waist down. He spent the following days arduously rehabbing at Journey Forward in Canton and Spaulding Rehab in Charlestown.

But earlier this month, he walked across the stage at his high school graduation to receive his diploma, with the help of a walker and leg braces.

Thibeault told Steve Hartman of CBS News that he is planning to attend Babson College in Massachusetts this fall.