Recruits 2023 and beyond

[RatushnyFan]

They picked up their game a little..............14-0 final

[BearLover]

Cornell recruits looking promising. I'll do a longer write-up when I have time. One thing that's clear: next  year's freshman class will be headlined by 20- and 21-year-olds who put up good numbers in junior hockey. The following year's class may instead be headlined by 18- and 19-year-old draft picks without as much junior hockey experience.

[Dafatone]

Cornell recruits looking promising. I'll do a longer write-up when I have time. One thing that's clear: next  year's freshman class will be headlined by 20- and 21-year-olds who put up good numbers in junior hockey. The following year's class may instead be headlined by 18- and 19-year-old draft picks without as much junior hockey experience.

My vaguely hot take is that draft picks are overrated for college hockey.

[blackwidow]

Cornell recruits looking promising. I'll do a longer write-up when I have time. One thing that's clear: next  year's freshman class will be headlined by 20- and 21-year-olds who put up good numbers in junior hockey. The following year's class may instead be headlined by 18- and 19-year-old draft picks without as much junior hockey experience.

My vaguely hot take is that draft picks are overrated for college hockey.

a lot of cornell hockey draft picks from 14-20 certainly have been underwhelming

[BearLover]

Cornell recruits looking promising. I'll do a longer write-up when I have time. One thing that's clear: next  year's freshman class will be headlined by 20- and 21-year-olds who put up good numbers in junior hockey. The following year's class may instead be headlined by 18- and 19-year-old draft picks without as much junior hockey experience.

My vaguely hot take is that draft picks are overrated for college hockey.

Draft picks aren't everything. But they aren't nothing, either. Would you rather have stronger, more experienced 21-y/os, or leaner, more raw 18-y/os with a ton of talent and potential? It depends how well your program develops players and how long you can get the players to stay. Also, to secure the commitment of a draft pick, you need to recruit such a player at a very young age—which leaves more margin for error than recruiting an older player who has already developed. Despite this, draft picks remain a strong proxy for talent, both within the Cornell program (many of our best players over history were draft picks) and also when comparing programs against each other. Here are the number of drafts picks among the top 10 pairwise teams this season:

Michigan—13 including 7 first rounders
Minnesota State—4
Western Michigan—2
Denver—12
Minnesota-Duluth—7
Minnesota—15
NoDak—9
Q—2
Notre Dame—9
St. Cloud—5

Average draft picks on top 10 teams: 7.8

[BearLover]

(Here is a more in-depth post on our recruits.)

We have some promising recruits in the pipeline. Disclaimer: Don't quote me on their positions beyond F/D/G, as they are not always listed online consistently.

First up are the most enticing players who should be matriculating next fall (in order of how recently they committed). They are on the older side but have produced in their respective leagues.

Winter Wallace (C/RW)—turned 20 in January; 6'3, 214 lbs; 14-16-30 in 47 games this year in the USHL. Power forward who may help shore up our netfront issues.

Nick DeSantis (C)—will turn 20 in May; 5'9, 152 lbs; 14-26-40 in 51 games in the USHL. Small forward who has produced in the tight-checking USHL.

Sean Donaldson (LW)—will turn 21 this month; 5'11, 180lbs; 36-34-70 in 46 games in the BCHL. Blossomed into a dominant BCHL scorer after not putting up big numbers in the USHL last season.

Dalton Bahncroft (RW)—turned 21 in February; 6'2, 188; 33-53-86 in 48 games in the OJHL. While the OJHL is a weaker league than the USHL or BCHL, Bahncroft is first in the entire league in points per game.

Remington Koeppel (G)—turned 20 this month; 6'2, 188 lbs; .892 sv% in 30 games in the USHL this season; .900 in 25 games last season. While Koeppel's numbers aren't fantastic this season, they're actually better than Shane's and Howe's numbers were in the USHL, the toughest junior league. The starting goalie competition next season should be anyone's game.


Next are the most promising players likely to arrive in 2023-2024. They are basically the opposite of next year's arrivals: rather than undrafted older recruits, these players are likely to matriculate at 18 or 19 years old and several of them will probably be drafted.

Rather than list their numbers (since most are not in junior hockey yet) or size (since they may still be growing), I will add other relevant notes (in reverse order of how recently they committed):

Marian Mosko (LD)—turns 18 in May; ranked #164 by NHL Central Scouting; drafted by the USHL. Possible late-round pick who will likely play a year in the USHL before matriculating.

George Fegaras (RD)—turns 18 in April; 13-33-46 in 51 games in the OJHL; ranked #91 by NHL Central Scouting; drafted by the USHL. Possible mid-round draft pick who, like Mosko, may play one year in the USHL before coming. The fact he has produced in junior hockey as a defenseman at such a young age bodes well.

Tyler Catalano (C/RW)—just turned 18 at the end of February but already 6'4 and 216 lbs. 1-9-10 in 45 USHL games but still very young. Very likely will spend one more year in the USHL before matriculating.

Ben Robertson (LD)—doesn't turn 18 until September but already playing in the USHL, putting up 2-10-12 in 44 games as a defenseman. Nearly all of his points have come since his midseason trade to Waterloo.

Liam Steele (D)—turns 18 in April but already 6'4 216 lbs. Ranked #83 by NHL Central Scouting. Possible mid-round draft pick currently in Canadian prep school and committed to the BCHL for next season.

Tyler Wishart (C/RW)—turns 18 in April. Recruited by BU, UNH, and Quinnipiac, Wishart has put up big numbers in prep school at Kimball Union. Drafted by the USHL, he'll probably play in Lincoln at least one year before matriculating.

Luke Devlin (C)—turned 18 this month; already 6'3 (and 187 lbs). Ranked #202 by NHL Central Scouting. Possible late-round draft pick and yet another St. Andrews product (Barron, Stienburg, Ertel). I would guess he will play one year of junior hockey next season before matriculating.


Other commits include Charlie Major, Jack O'Brien, Aiden Cobb, and Shaun Mahoney. These players either haven't put up the same numbers or there isn't much information available on them.

[CAS]

Jack O'Brien, a 19-year old D who is now playing his third year w/Nanaimo Clippers, is likely to arrive this fall.

[Trotsky]

Thanks for that wrap-up, Bear.

[billhoward]

I love reports on the commits. Every year, based on their stats, I start looking at where the final four is being played and what weekend.

[Trotsky]

If anybody wondered (I did):

Code Select Expand


2023 Tampa
2024 St. Paul
2025 St. Louis
2026 Las Vegas


[CU2007]

(Here is a more in-depth post on our recruits.)

We have some promising recruits in the pipeline. Disclaimer: Don't quote me on their positions beyond F/D/G, as they are not always listed online consistently.

First up are the most enticing players who should be matriculating next fall (in order of how recently they committed). They are on the older side but have produced in their respective leagues.

Winter Wallace (C/RW)—turned 20 in January; 6'3, 214 lbs; 14-16-30 in 47 games this year in the USHL. Power forward who may help shore up our netfront issues.

Nick DeSantis (C)—will turn 20 in May; 5'9, 152 lbs; 14-26-40 in 51 games in the USHL. Small forward who has produced in the tight-checking USHL.

Sean Donaldson (LW)—will turn 21 this month; 5'11, 180lbs; 36-34-70 in 46 games in the BCHL. Blossomed into a dominant BCHL scorer after not putting up big numbers in the USHL last season.

Dalton Bahncroft (RW)—turned 21 in February; 6'2, 188; 33-53-86 in 48 games in the OJHL. While the OJHL is a weaker league than the USHL or BCHL, Bahncroft is first in the entire league in points per game.

Remington Koeppel (G)—turned 20 this month; 6'2, 188 lbs; .892 sv% in 30 games in the USHL this season; .900 in 25 games last season. While Koeppel's numbers aren't fantastic this season, they're actually better than Shane's and Howe's numbers were in the USHL, the toughest junior league. The starting goalie competition next season should be anyone's game.


Next are the most promising players likely to arrive in 2023-2024. They are basically the opposite of next year's arrivals: rather than undrafted older recruits, these players are likely to matriculate at 18 or 19 years old and several of them will probably be drafted.

Rather than list their numbers (since most are not in junior hockey yet) or size (since they may still be growing), I will add other relevant notes (in reverse order of how recently they committed):

Marian Mosko (LD)—turns 18 in May; ranked #164 by NHL Central Scouting; drafted by the USHL. Possible late-round pick who will likely play a year in the USHL before matriculating.

George Fegaras (RD)—turns 18 in April; 13-33-46 in 51 games in the OJHL; ranked #91 by NHL Central Scouting; drafted by the USHL. Possible mid-round draft pick who, like Mosko, may play one year in the USHL before coming. The fact he has produced in junior hockey as a defenseman at such a young age bodes well.

Tyler Catalano (C/RW)—just turned 18 at the end of February but already 6'4 and 216 lbs. 1-9-10 in 45 USHL games but still very young. Very likely will spend one more year in the USHL before matriculating.

Ben Robertson (LD)—doesn't turn 18 until September but already playing in the USHL, putting up 2-10-12 in 44 games as a defenseman. Nearly all of his points have come since his midseason trade to Waterloo.

Liam Steele (D)—turns 18 in April but already 6'4 216 lbs. Ranked #83 by NHL Central Scouting. Possible mid-round draft pick currently in Canadian prep school and committed to the BCHL for next season.

Tyler Wishart (C/RW)—turns 18 in April. Recruited by BU, UNH, and Quinnipiac, Wishart has put up big numbers in prep school at Kimball Union. Drafted by the USHL, he'll probably play in Lincoln at least one year before matriculating.

Luke Devlin (C)—turned 18 this month; already 6'3 (and 187 lbs). Ranked #202 by NHL Central Scouting. Possible late-round draft pick and yet another St. Andrews product (Barron, Stienburg, Ertel). I would guess he will play one year of junior hockey next season before matriculating.


Other commits include Charlie Major, Jack O'Brien, Aiden Cobb, and Shaun Mahoney. These players either haven't put up the same numbers or there isn't much information available on them.

Great stuff, thanks

[Jim Hyla]

(Here is a more in-depth post on our recruits.)

Remington Koeppel (G)—turned 20 this month; 6'2, 188 lbs; .892 sv% in 30 games in the USHL this season; .900 in 25 games last season. While Koeppel's numbers aren't fantastic this season, they're actually better than Shane's and Howe's numbers were in the USHL, the toughest junior league. The starting goalie competition next season should be anyone's game.

Great stuff, thanks

Agree, thanks.

I was hoping that we'd have a more definitive #1 goalie next year.

Nice to have competition, but have to hope that Shane and Howe improve. Both are okay, but I've been spoiled by the likes of Galajda, who became Notre Dame's #1.

What extra games might we have won if he was with us this year?

[blackwidow]

https://twitter.com/PirtleChase/status/1511507694842269706?t=5kufAdj6Ogk7aWG8EIahtQ&s=19

[ursusminor]

Having read many reports on Pirtle on Neutral Zone, I don't look forward to seeing him play against RPI. That is, assuming RPI still has a team. Shirley still has almost three months to destroy it.

[scoop85]

Having read many reports on Pirtle on Neutral Zone, I don't look forward to seeing him play against RPI. That is, assuming RPI still has a team. Shirley still has almost three months to destroy it.

While I have no idea on his selection criteria, Heisenberg has Pirtle listed as his top Northeastern recruit in his age group.