The college hockey season is about to begin. All we can do is predict, so I’m going to do a bit of forecasting.
The overarching theme of the new season: New England college hockey will be remembered for the rookies.
The first round of this year's NHL Draft was dominated by New England college hockey players. A big-time rookie could go No. 1 overall in the 2024 draft.
This will not be a season based around freshmen getting their feet wet for a big-time push in their second seasons. There will be freshmen who won’t just contend for the top 10 in scoring, but who will have legitimate cases for the Hobey Baker come season’s end.
Macklin Celebrini
Boston University, 6/13/2006, F, left shot, 5-11/181
Celebrini arrives on Comm. Ave as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL draft, and for good reason. He spent one season in the United States Hockey League, leading the league in goals (46) and points (86) as a 16-year-old. In the USHL’s Tier 1 era, he’s the first player to win the league’s rookie, forward and player of the year awards.
He can do it all, scoring and dishing out scoring chances with ease. His hockey sense is impressive. So, too, is his compete level. The only question facing him entering his freshman year is the status of his shoulder. He sustained the injury early last season and played through it, but got surgery as soon as Chicago was eliminated from the USHL’s Clark Cup playoffs.
If Celebrini is fully healthy, he will be a force on an already very good Terriers team.
Andon Cerbone
Quinnipiac, 4/13/2004, F, left shot, 5-9/163
Fresh off a championship of his own with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, Cerbone arrives on the campus of a school that just won the national championship in Quinnipiac. Cerbone played a huge role in Youngstown’s win this past spring, contributing three game-winning goals in the playoffs. That paired well with his seven game-winning lamplighters during the regular season. In all, Cerbone scored 18 goals and totaled 49 points in 43 games for Youngstown this past season. A Stamford, Conn., native, he grew up playing for Mid Fairfield and played two seasons for Brunswick School.
Ryan Conmy
New Hampshire, 10/23/2004, F, right shot, 5-10/187
NHL: Drafted 182nd overall by Los Angeles in 2023
The lone Wildcat on this list, Conmy played last season with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. The Alexandria, Va., native scored 33 goals and tallied 62 points in 60 games. He has no trouble getting inside ice and is a great playmaker. UNH doesn’t project to be competing for a top spot in Hockey East, but still expect Conmy to make an impact.
Ryan Fine
Harvard, 3/14/2005, F, right shot, 5-9/183
Fine spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, scoring 16 goals and adding 26 assists in 63 games in 2022-23. The Center Moriches, N.Y., native initially was committed to BU but switched to Harvard last fall. A former Mid Fairfield and Don Bosco Prep standout, he’s a player with a lot of skill and a good skater.
Graham Gamache
Providence, 6/11/2002, F, right shot, 5-11/183
Gamache most likely will slot in with Providence and make a big impact because he’s the oldest player on this list. At 21, Gamache spent two seasons with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, posting 20 goals and 55 points in 61 games last season. That was an uptick from his 34 points in 62 games performance the year prior.
Michael Hrabal
UMass, 1/20/2005, G, catches left, 6-7/216
NHL: Drafted 38th overall by Arizona in 2023
UMass had a down year by its standards last season and the addition of Hrabal fixes two things. For starters, he’s the headliner in a strong recruiting class. But the second, and this is the biggest, is that he’s a promising young goalie who can step in and start. The 6-foot-7, 216-pound netminder posted a 2.86 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 31 games for the USHL’s Omaha Lancers last season. Coming in as a freshman and starting in Hockey East is never easy, but Hrabal has the skills to do it.
RANKINGS: Check out our NEHJ Hockey East preseason poll
Ryan Leonard
Boston College, 1/21/2005, F, right shot, 6-0/190
NHL: Drafted eighth overall by Washington in 2023
Prepare to see quite a few Boston College players on this list, and for good reason. The Eagles enjoy a great recruiting class that should bring them to the top of Hockey East. Leonard has a wicked shot that was on display all last season with the NTDP 18-U team. The Amherst, Mass., native and Pope Francis product scored 51 goals and totaled 94 points in 57 games. He notched eight more goals and 17 more points at the U-18 world juniors after the season ended, scoring the overtime-winning goal in the gold-medal game. His high compete and ability to play on the edge will make him a weapon for BC this winter.
Dans Locmelis
UMass, 1/21/2004, F, left shot, 6-0/172
NHL: Drafted 119th overall by Boston in 2022
The Latvian native will play full-time in North America for the first time this winter. With the Lulea HF J20 team last season, Locmelis posted 25 goals and 59 points in 44 games. He’s a strong center with a high IQ who can make an instant impact when games begin in October.
Ben MacDonald
Harvard, 2/24/2004, C, left shot, 6-0/181
NHL: Drafted 91st overall by Seattle in 2022
New England Hockey Journal readers should know MacDonald well, as he graced the cover of the November-December 2021 issue when he was a star at Nobles. The Weston, Mass., native followed a great season at Nobles in 2021-22 with a great showing with the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL this past season. MacDonald potted 23 goals and totaled 50 points in 52 games. He enters Harvard this fall as a freshman that should make an impact.
Hudson Malinoski
Providence, 5/19/2004, F, left shot, 6-1/174
NHL: Drafted 153rd overall by Toronto in 2023
Malinoski is all about playmaking and being a productive force down the middle. He did that with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits last season, scoring 16 goals and dishing out 53 assists in 44 games. Prior to that, he was a force for the Saskatoon Blazers in the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League.
NEW MAGAZINE: Check out our full college hockey preview edition
Bradley Nadeau
Maine, 5/5/2005, F, right shot, 5-10/163
NHL: Drafted 30th overall by Carolina in 2023
For the first time since 1999, Maine had a first-round pick in the NHL draft. Nadeau was taken 30th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in June, becoming the first Black Bear to be taken in Round 1 since Barrett Heisten. Nadeau is best known for his shot, which was hard to miss in the BCHL last season. Playing for the Penticton Vees, Nadeau was tied for the league lead in goals (45) and led the BCHL in points (113).
Josh, an ’03 and his older brother, will join him for his freshman season in Maine. Josh posted 44 goals and 110 points in 54 games for Penticton last season. Both of those marks ranked second in the BCHL.
Quite the duo coming in for Maine.
Gabriel Perreault
Boston College, 5/7/2005, F, left shot, 5-11/165
NHL: Drafted 23rd overall by the New York Rangers in 2023
Perreault led the NTDP U-18 squad in goals (53), assists (79) and points (132) last season, helping to ensure his status as a first-round pick. He’s a proven playmaker with a great set of hands. Prior to heading to the NTDP in 2021-22 with the U-17 team, he was a standout forward with the Chicago Mission. He should have no trouble being a key contributor for the Eagles this winter.
Will Smith
Boston College, 3/17/2005, F, right shot, 6-0/181
NHL: Drafted fourth overall by San Jose in 2023
New England Hockey Journal readers know a lot about Smith. The Lexington, Mass., native was picked fourth overall by the San Jose Sharks in June. Prior to that, he scored nine goals and totaled a tournament-high 20 points in seven games at the U-18 world juniors, helping Team USA snag the gold medal. That was only a continuation of what he did for all of the 2022-23 season, as he scored 51 goals and posted 127 points in 60 games for the NTDP U-18 team.
NEXT STEPS: What are Will Smith's next developmental steps at Boston College?
His abilities with the puck on his stick and his skating made him a hot commodity at the draft and will carry him into finding success at BC. Expect Smith to make an immediate impact.
Ryan St. Louis
Brown, 6/13/2003, LW, left shot, 5-10/170
This fall won’t be St. Louis’ first rendezvous with college hockey. In 2021-22, the Riverside, Conn., native spent a season with Northeastern, and it didn’t go according to plan. So, the son of NHL legend and Montreal Canadiens head coach Marty went back to the USHL for a little more seasoning, and it paid off. St. Louis notched 30 goals and 72 points in 58 games for the Dubuque Fighting Saints and looks poised to be an impact forward for Brown this winter.
Aydar Suniev
UMass, 10/16/2004, F, left shot, 6-2/192
NHL: Drafted 80th overall by Calgary in 2023
Last season, UMass was missing a game-changing forward. Suniev has the opportunity to be that this winter. The Russian scored 45 goals and added 45 assists in 50 games for the BCHL’s Penticton Vees last season. He’s a great skater and often uses his size to his advantage. It’s no surprise that he was taken in the third round in June.
