Can Hockey East regain its perch atop the college hockey mountain top? That’s the ultimate question as league teams begin their season this weekend with everyone’s sights set on April in Tampa.
Defending regular season champion Northeastern was picked first by the league’s coaches in the annual preseason coaches’ poll that was released earlier this month. Boston University was slotted second with two-time defending Hockey East Tournament champion UMass coming in third.
Whether it’s Northeastern or Boston University finishing first is up for debate, but both the Huskies and Terriers have a huge advantage in the goaltending department heading into the season. 2022 Mike Richter Award-winner Devon Levi returns for Northeastern while U.S. Olympic goaltender Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) is the man between the pipes for Boston University.
The league will likely fall into three tiers during the 2022-23 season with Boston University and Northeastern holding the upper level. From there, it should be five teams in the middle then four vying for positioning at the bottom.
1. Northeastern
The Huskies have the best goaltender in the nation in Levi, a junior who will undoubtedly have pro success with the Buffalo Sabres when he does leave college. Levi will be the backbone to a promising Northeastern squad that possesses a boatload of talent up front.
Jerry Keefe’s squad has more than an abundance of players capable of playing top six minutes at forward. Led by Aidan McDonough (Milton, Mass.), Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.), Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.), Jack Hughes (Westwood, Mass.), and Justin Hryckowian, the forward group has plenty of returning players to propel the team to victory most nights. Add in Matt Choupani, Jakov Novak and Riley Hughes (Westwood, Mass.) and the team has got a ton of depth. That’s not even mentioning freshman Cam Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.), who is highly touted, and Merrimack transfer Liam Walsh.
The biggest question for me with these Huskies is the potential for the defense to take some lumps, especially early in the season. Junior Jayden Struble (Cumerland, R.I.) is the prized returner. Freshmen Vinny Borgesi, Jackson Dorrington (North Reading, Mass.) and Hunter McDonald are all talented players out of the USHL. Boston University transfer Braden Doyle (Lynnfield, Mass.) should help on the power play and puck-moving game, as well.
2. Boston University
The Terriers usually have talented teams on paper, so the 12 NHL draft picks on the roster comes as no surprise. The home fans at Agganis Arena are hoping that a shakeup in the coaching staff will help BU get back to national relevancy.
It’s expected that first-year head coach Jay Pandolfo (Burlington, Mass.) will receive good goaltending from Commesso, now a junior and with plenty of international experience under his belt. It’s the defense in front of him that should give the Terriers reason for optimism. Senior Dom Fensore and freshmen Lane Hutson will provide plenty of spark from the backend, but perhaps more importantly, the duo can break pucks out of their own zone and alleviate pressure. Sophomore Ty Gallagher looks primed to take another step, and junior Cade Webber and senior Case McCarthy provide some size and stability on the backend.
Up front, BU has plenty of depth. Seniors Jay O’Brien (Hingham, Mass.), Wilmer Skoog, Matt Brown and Ethan Phillips will provide veteran leadership and should all produce. Juniors Luke Tuch and Dylan Peterson are talented power forwards right in back of them. The freshman class has a world of potential, highlighted by center Ryan Greene. Also incoming are 2021-22 USHL leading scorer Jeremy Wilmer, Devin Kaplan, and Quinn Hutson.
3. Providence
Unlike the coaches, I have the Friars overtaking UMass for the third spot. I’m banking on the goaltending duo of freshman Philip Svedeback, a Bruins draft pick, and Nebraska-Omaha transfer Austin Roden holding down the fort.
Nate Leaman’s team has an experienced and talented defense that can skate, move pucks and defend. Sophomore Guillaume Richard is going to take a huge step and will be a top-pairing player. Seniors Max Crozier and Cam McDonald are both great skaters and Minnesota Duluth transfer Connor Kelley feels he has something to prove. Austin May, Taige Harding, Uula Ruikka, Garrett Sundquist, and Luke Johnson provide the depth at the bottom of the lineup.
Up front, junior Brett Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.) and senior Parker Ford (Wakefield, R.I.) will be the catalysts for the offense. Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.), Patrick Moynihan (Millis, Mass.) and Nick Poisson are also threats to contribute offensively. Bennett Schimek, Brady Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.), Jaroslav Chmelar, and Liam Valente are the top freshman forwards.
4. UMass
Greg Carvel has built UMass into a consistent winner in Hockey East, but the Minutemen lost too much talent for me to put them in the top three. Bobby Trivigno, Josh Lopina, Garrett Wait, Matt Kessell, Ty Farmer, Colin Felix, Anthony Del Gaizo and Matt Murray are all gone.
This year’s team will be built upon a strong defense, as has become customary under Carvel’s leadership. Two sophomores, Scott Morrow (Darien, Conn.) and Ryan Ufko lead the way on the Minutemen blue line. Aaron Bohlinger and Linden Alger are the next most experienced veterans returning. Freshmen Noah Ellis, Owen Murray, Mikey Adamson (Quincy, Mass.) and Kennedy O’Connor (Springfield, Mass.) will all be pressed into action and serious minutes at some point.
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The top returning scorers up front are Cal Kiefiuk, Reed Lebster and Lucas Mercuri. One returner the staff expects to take a step is Ryan Lautenbach. There will be a plethora of newcomers who will have to jump into the fray right away, including Kenny Connors, Cole O’Hara, Tyson Dyck and Michael Cameron.
The goaltending position is a serious question mark with mostly unproven Luke Pavicich and Arizona State transfer Cole Brady, a NHL pick, having to fill the void left by Murray. Brady had decent numbers at ASU, but whether or not they’ll translate to Hockey East is to be determined. If the goaltending exceeds my expectations, UMass could push higher in the standings.
5. Boston College
It would be easy to assume Boston College will struggle in year one of the post-Jerry York era, but I believe the Eagles could surprise some people. The goaltending is rightfully a question mark with Colgate transfer Mitch Benson and junior Henry Wilder (Needham, Mass.) vying for the starting spot after NTDP recruit Dylan Silverstein left school.
My reason for optimism with BC is due to what should be a strong defensive group. Gone are Drew Helleson and Jack St. Ivany, but Marshall Warren, Eamon Powell, and Aidan Hreschuk should provide a solid top three among returners. Freshmen Seamus Powell, Charlie Leddy (Fairfield, Conn.) and Lukas Gustafsson all have plenty of USHL experience and should be able to step into necessary roles within the lineup.
Up front, replacing Marc McLaughlin, Jack McBain and Brandon Kruse will be no easy task. Freshman Cutter Gauthier is the prized recruit. Can returners Nikita Nesterenko, Colby Ambrosio and Trevor Kuntar take steps up in their production? The sleeper in terms of the freshman class is Swede Oskar Jellvik.
This could be the last year for opposing teams to step on a down BC squad, as the future looks bright in Chestnut Hill. Next year’s forward group could be really good with the additions of Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.), Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.) all entering from the NTDP. First-year head Greg Brown (Hartford, Conn.) will right the ship quickly.
6. Connecticut
Coming off an appearance in the Hockey East championship game for the first time in program history, Mike Cavanaugh’s team will look to build upon that, but it won’t come easily. Gone are three of the four leading scorers from 2021-22: Jachym Kondelik, Marc Gatcomb and Vlad Firstov. There’s a host of other departures that will hurt the Huskies’ chances, as well.
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Junior Ryan Tverberg will lead the offense with freshman sensation Matthew Wood hoping to jump up and contribute right away as the youngest player in college hockey. Can NHL picks Chase Bradley and Nick Capone (East Haven, Conn.) take steps in their development?
Junior John Spetz will be the leader on the blue line with Vermont transfer Andrew Lucas hoping to make a splash in the puck-moving department. The one position where UConn likely upgraded was in goal. Russian freshman Arsenii Sergeyev, a Calgary draft pick, will be the man between the pipes.
This is an awfully young team that will get better as the season goes along. That’s one thing Cavanaugh has proven during his time in Storrs. He can get the most out of his teams and have them playing well in the second half.
7. UMass Lowell
I struggled with the placement of UConn and UMass Lowell. I could see this going either way, but the goaltending edge goes to the Huskies, at least on paper. The River Hawks will start the season with Alaska-Fairbanks transfer Gustavs Davis Grigals in net. The Latvian put up good numbers with the Nanooks, but the level of competition takes a major step up in Hockey East.
Offensively, UMass Lowell lost Andre Lee, which is a big loss. Carl Berglund is the top returning scorer. Players such as Matt Crasa and Brian Chambers will be expected to take steps this season. Freshmen Scout Truman, Nick Rheaume and Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.) will be key rookie forwards.
The defense could be good and is the biggest reason UML could finish higher in the standings. Jon McDonald and Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) are veterans who play a solid two-way game. Brehdan Engum, Isac Johnson, Gabe Blanchard and Marek Korencik are other returners of note. The top freshman on the blueline will be USHL vet TJ Schweighardt.
Norm Bazin will have this team playing strong defense and paying attention to detail, but the lack of scoring and the questions in goal have me thinking seventh is more realistic.
8. New Hampshire
New Hampshire lost their top three scorers, Jackson Pierson, Tyler Ward and Filip Engaras. That won’t be easy to replace. Sophomores Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) and Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.) will be looked upon to take jumps from already productive freshman campaigns. Stiven Sardarian, Jake Dunlap (Windham, N.H.), Cy Leclerc (Brentwood, N.H.) and Morgan Winters are the top freshmen forwards.
The defense could be the strength of Mike Souza’s team in 2022-23. Kalle Eriksson, Colton Huard, Alex Gagne (Bedford, N.H.) and Luke Reid anchor a strong blue line with freshman Damien Carfagna expected to step in and contribute immediately. The goaltending will be upgraded with the arrival of freshman Tyler Muszelik from the NTDP.
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Where the offensive production will come from is the biggest question, but a strong defense and better goaltending should have UNH fans cheering more at the Whittemore Center.
9. Merrimack
Merrimack lost a ton of key parts to the team’s blue line, including Declan Carlile and Zachary Uens, who turned pro early. That will be the biggest reason for why the Warriors won’t match their success of 2021-22. Zach Vinnell transferred and Liam Dennison could miss time with an injury. That leaves a new and inexperienced blue line for head coach Scott Borek. He’ll count on grad transfer Slava Demin, freshman Zach Bookman and sophomore Michael Brown (Belmont, Mass.) to take steps right away.
Sophomore Hugo Ollas helped solidify the Merrimack goaltending position last season and junior Zachary Borgiel is more than capable of filling in and holding down the fort.
The offense is talented, but also lost some key pieces, including Max Newton, Steven Jandric and Liam Walsh. Junior Alex Jeffries (Lunenburg, Mass.), sophomore Matt Copponi (Mansfield, Mass.) and senior Filip Forsmark will be tasked with leading the way. Look for some grad transfers, Ryan Leibold, Will Calverley, and Otto Leppanen, to be counted upon heavily. Among the freshmen, watch for Nikita Borodayenko from Dubuque in the USHL.
10. Maine
It will be good for the league to get Maine back toward the top of the standings, as the Black Bears have the best fanbase in Hockey East. However, it might take second-year head coach Ben Barr and his assistants one more season to get to where they want to be.
Maine returns its top two leading scorers, Lynden Breen and Donovan Villeneuve-Houle, both now juniors. Jakub Sirota and David Breazeale are back to anchor the blue line. Freshmen to watch are forwards Reid Pabich, Killian Kiecker-Olson and Parker Lindauer and defensemen Brandon Chabrier and Luke Antonacci. The goaltending duties will fall upon Clarkson transfer Jacob Mucitelli and junior Victor Ostman.
11. Vermont
Hockey East is a tough league to crack and while Vermont has improved its talent under Todd Woodcroft, I’m just not sure how I see them breaking through in 2022-23. Junior goaltender Gabe Carriere is a good piece to start with and Penn State transfer Oskar Autio can help between the pipes.
The team lost three of its top four returning scorers, including defensemen Andrew Lucas and Robbie Stucker. Freshman forward Ethan Bowen is a former North Dakota recruit who could help the offense. The team got bigger on the blue line with the additions of rookie defenders Eli Barnett and Xavier Henry. Also a newcomer on defense is Ralfs Bergmanis out of the USHL.
