When the news dropped on Wednesday that Cole Eiserman had decommitted from Minnesota to play college hockey closer to home, you could almost feel the number of smiles coming across New England hockey fans' faces.
Just a couple of hours later, Eiserman posted an Instagram story with the BU men's hockey logo and the caption "Coming home."
The Newburyport, Mass., native would no longer play his college hockey days in Minneapolis, Minn., but in Boston. The local members of the famous Miracle on Ice team could sleep peacefully.
There are a lot of winners from Eiserman's most recent decision.
On the surface, the Terriers get another recruiting victory. From the legendary Jack Parker, to Albie O'Connell, to now Jay Pandolfo, BU head coaches and their staffs have never struggled to draw talent. That's why it's no surprise that when Eiserman opened his recruitment back up, he chose BU.
Eiserman is projected to arrive on Comm. Ave next season after being selected somewhere inside the top five in June's NHL Draft. He's a goal-scoring machine who can shoot the daylights out of the puck. It would surprise no one if he's a one-and-done.
So why is it so impactful that Eiserman opted for BU?
Pandolfo and assistants Joe Pereira and Kim Brandvold were able to plant a flag for Hockey East by recapturing a major local talent. It's a big win for the conference.
Hockey East is on a roll when it comes to bringing in the big names. Macklin Celebrini, the favorite to go No. 1 in the 2024 NHL Draft, plays for the Terriers this year. Tom Willander was selected No. 11 overall by the Vancouver Canucks earlier this year and will also sport the red and white this winter. Joining Eiserman next season at BU is Cole Hutson — Lane's younger brother — who is slated to be picked early next June.
Trevor Connelly is also a top 2024 NHL Draft prospect who chose Providence College. As someone who was at USA Hockey's Select 17 Camp earlier this year, I can say he was by far the best player there. There was no close second.
Maine generated headlines when it recruited Bradly Nadeau, who was selected 30th by the Carolina Hurricanes in the most recent NHL Draft.
And then there's Boston College. James Hagens, the early favorite to go No. 1 in 2025, just committed to BC. Head coach Greg Brown also has local prodigies Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) entering as freshmen this year. Both were picked inside the top 10 in June. The Eagles also have Gabe Perreault coming in, who was picked 23rd by the New York Rangers earlier this year.
Celebrini is from Vancouver. Willander is from Stockholm. Nadeau is from New Brunswick. Hutson is from Illinois. Connelly is from California. Hagens is from Long Island.
INSIDE THE PROCESS: What it's like to be recruited for college hockey
So all of these prospects from all over the world pick Hockey East, but the kid right in the conference's backyard doesn't?
Oof. Ouch. That one stung.
It also stung because the draws of the Big Ten and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference are strong. Those schools are good, the competition is high and the atmospheres at games are rowdy. More and more local prospects are including Big Ten and NCHC schools in their sights.
It should be noted that if any local was to do this, it was always going to be Eiserman. In 2020, he departed the region at 14 to play for the famed Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. He scored 97 goals in his first season as a 14U and was shipped straight to the 18U team the next season, where he scored 56.
It was a foregone conclusion he'd make the U.S. National Team Development Program, which is located in Plymouth, Mich. Just four games into his second year there and he has five goals and eight points. No one is surprised.
All told, he hasn't played hockey during the fall and winter in New England for a long time. Still, leaving the region for hockey at that level isn't super rare; opting to play college hockey outside of the region, however, is.
That's not a knock against Eiserman. No prospect has more institutional knowledge and was more prepared for their recruitment than Eiserman. He watched his older brothers Chris, William and Shane go through the process and chart hockey careers of their own.
So far, things have worked out perfectly for him and there's no sign that will end. When he toured BU, BC, Northeastern and Minnesota in 2022 and chose Minnesota, it was the right thing for him at the time. But sometimes things change and sometimes there really is no place like home.
This is why there's a third big winner from Wednesday's news: Massachusetts hockey.
When Smith and Leonard crossed the stage in Nashville earlier this year after being selected, you can bet there were thousands of young, local youth hockey players watching with wide eyes.
LIFE STORY: Inside the journey Cole Eiserman took to prominence
Smith was a Boston Jr. Eagle and St. Sebastian's Arrow; Leonard played for the Springfield Rifles and Pope Francis. Youth hockey players all over the state, even the region for that matter, will play those teams and play at those rinks. They will watch Smith and Leonard at BC this fall, becoming Eagles fans and someday wanting to replicate a similar path. On the ice, they'll model their stride after Smith and shoot the puck like Leonard.
Now, those kids will do the same with Eiserman — the local star going to a local school.
