Recruits 2025 and Beyond

[BearLover]

Mass exodus of talent this year, particularly now with Bancroft leaving. Only 2 of the top 7 scorers on this year's team remain. Bancroft leaving is really a kick in the balls. And we still need a goalie. The hope lies in the portal or a miracle late recruit from the CHL (plausible on the former, highly doubtful on the latter).

With Michael Fisher transferring in we basically have our D set for next year at least, assuming everyone stays healthy.

Need a goalie and probably need a forward now.

What is rough about this situation is that next year would typically be a rebuilding year with so much talent graduating and no obvious #1 goalie, but it's also likely the last year we have Walsh and Castagna, so things do not line up.

[BearLover]

If nobody else leaves early, here is what our roster currently looks like for next year:

G: Keopple, Katz, Roest* (3)
D: Robertson, Stanley, Fegaras, Veilleux*, Fisher*, Wolfenberg, O'Brien, Gorski*, Mosko, McCrady* (10)
F: Walsh, Castagna, Major, Devlin, DeSantis, Kraft, Long*, Pirtle*, DiGiulian*, Wallace, Catalano, Pelletier*, Hiscock*, Donaldson, Murray (15)

* denotes new addition

Bancroft leaving is extremely painful, as now we really need another forward. We also don't know who the starting goalie is supposed to be.

Next year's team is going to be very freshman-heavy, with few seniors. Probably another year we need to win the ECAC tournament to get in. Fortunately, the ECAC is looking very weak again, with the exception of Quinnipiac.

The remaining flight risk is Walsh. If he leaves, it's sayonara, 2025-26 season.

[Dafatone]

If nobody else leaves early, here is what our roster currently looks like for next year:

G: Keopple, Katz, Roest* (3)
D: Robertson, Stanley, Fegaras, Veilleux*, Fisher*, Wolfenberg, O'Brien, Gorski*, Mosko, McCrady* (10)
F: Walsh, Castagna, Major, Devlin, DeSantis, Kraft, Long*, Pirtle*, DiGiulian*, Wallace, Catalano, Pelletier*, Hiscock*, Donaldson, Murray (15)

* denotes new addition

Bancroft leaving is extremely painful, as now we really need another forward. We also don't know who the starting goalie is supposed to be.

Next year's team is going to be very freshman-heavy, with few seniors. Probably another year we need to win the ECAC tournament to get in. Fortunately, the ECAC is looking very weak again, with the exception of Quinnipiac.

The remaining flight risk is Walsh. If he leaves, it's sayonara, 2025-26 season.

I'd be wary of making any predictions. In 2021-22, we relied heavily on the freshman class that is now leaving. It wasn't the best year in terms of how it ended (lost two out of three at home vs Colgate in the ECAC QF), but we went 18-10-4 and were about as good as we were the last two years save for the postseason.

If the incoming class steps up, we could compete.

[BearLover]

If nobody else leaves early, here is what our roster currently looks like for next year:

G: Keopple, Katz, Roest* (3)
D: Robertson, Stanley, Fegaras, Veilleux*, Fisher*, Wolfenberg, O'Brien, Gorski*, Mosko, McCrady* (10)
F: Walsh, Castagna, Major, Devlin, DeSantis, Kraft, Long*, Pirtle*, DiGiulian*, Wallace, Catalano, Pelletier*, Hiscock*, Donaldson, Murray (15)

* denotes new addition

Bancroft leaving is extremely painful, as now we really need another forward. We also don't know who the starting goalie is supposed to be.

Next year's team is going to be very freshman-heavy, with few seniors. Probably another year we need to win the ECAC tournament to get in. Fortunately, the ECAC is looking very weak again, with the exception of Quinnipiac.

The remaining flight risk is Walsh. If he leaves, it's sayonara, 2025-26 season.

I'd be wary of making any predictions. In 2021-22, we relied heavily on the freshman class that is now leaving. It wasn't the best year in terms of how it ended (lost two out of three at home vs Colgate in the ECAC QF), but we went 18-10-4 and were about as good as we were the last two years save for the postseason.

If the incoming class steps up, we could compete.

Sorry to nitpick, but I don't think this is quite right.

We won a ton of games in OT that year. So the 18 wins is misleading. More like 14 wins.

Also, in 2023-24 we were very competitive for an at-large bid. In 2021-22 we were not. 2021-22's regular season was similar to this year's, yes. But this year's team went on a miracle run to the league championship.

[scoop85]

I don't know if it was mentioned anywhere but Fisher was a 3rd round draft choice of San Jose in the 2022 draft, which I know will be thrilling news for certain people on this forum.

Here's a report from Dobber Prospects in 2022:

Fisher spent his entire 2021-2022 campaign with St. Mark's in the high school prep circuit, where he finished second on his team in scoring as a defenseman with 13 goals and 37 assists for 50 points in only 28 games. The prospect has already committed to Northeastern University for the 2022-2023 campaign, where he'll be continuing his development against legitimate competition, on a team known for developing their blue-liners' chance-suppressing tendencies.

Fisher is electrifying on the puck, utilizing a variety of fakes to carry the puck up the ice. He's daring, manipulative, and shows a wide arsenal of puck skills which he pulls out at the right times to make an impact in all three zones. Off the puck, there are some concerns, such as his tendency to lose a marker or struggle to close gaps quickly. This isn't as apparent against teenagers in high school, but I expect him to have a tough first year with Northeastern as he learns to do these things on a more regular basis. He should adapt quickly, however, as his hockey sense is clearly above-average and he got better as his season went on. A team could take a swing at him as early as the start of the second round, especially if they have a hole on the right side of their defensive pipeline and don't mind a long-term project. He could be a top pair defender, or not make the NHL; it all depends on what the next few years of his development look like. Hadi Kalakeche

[Dafatone]

If nobody else leaves early, here is what our roster currently looks like for next year:

G: Keopple, Katz, Roest* (3)
D: Robertson, Stanley, Fegaras, Veilleux*, Fisher*, Wolfenberg, O'Brien, Gorski*, Mosko, McCrady* (10)
F: Walsh, Castagna, Major, Devlin, DeSantis, Kraft, Long*, Pirtle*, DiGiulian*, Wallace, Catalano, Pelletier*, Hiscock*, Donaldson, Murray (15)

* denotes new addition

Bancroft leaving is extremely painful, as now we really need another forward. We also don't know who the starting goalie is supposed to be.

Next year's team is going to be very freshman-heavy, with few seniors. Probably another year we need to win the ECAC tournament to get in. Fortunately, the ECAC is looking very weak again, with the exception of Quinnipiac.

The remaining flight risk is Walsh. If he leaves, it's sayonara, 2025-26 season.

I'd be wary of making any predictions. In 2021-22, we relied heavily on the freshman class that is now leaving. It wasn't the best year in terms of how it ended (lost two out of three at home vs Colgate in the ECAC QF), but we went 18-10-4 and were about as good as we were the last two years save for the postseason.

If the incoming class steps up, we could compete.

Sorry to nitpick, but I don't think this is quite right.

We won a ton of games in OT that year. So the 18 wins is misleading. More like 14 wins.

Also, in 2023-24 we were very competitive for an at-large bid. In 2021-22 we were not. 2021-22's regular season was similar to this year's, yes. But this year's team went on a miracle run to the league championship.

Looking up pairwise rankings on specific dates in those seasons is kind of a chore, but my memory is that we went into the ECAC postseason in 2023-24 somewhat on the outside looking in, then ran the table. And 2021-22 we were in the running until we lost in the quarters.

I bet if you swapped those postseasons and we lost 2 out of 3 in 2023-24, we wouldn't have made it. And had we run the table in 2021-22, we would have been in by pairwise regardless of the autobid. But this is based on memory, which is fickle.

[BearLover]

If nobody else leaves early, here is what our roster currently looks like for next year:

G: Keopple, Katz, Roest* (3)
D: Robertson, Stanley, Fegaras, Veilleux*, Fisher*, Wolfenberg, O'Brien, Gorski*, Mosko, McCrady* (10)
F: Walsh, Castagna, Major, Devlin, DeSantis, Kraft, Long*, Pirtle*, DiGiulian*, Wallace, Catalano, Pelletier*, Hiscock*, Donaldson, Murray (15)

* denotes new addition

Bancroft leaving is extremely painful, as now we really need another forward. We also don't know who the starting goalie is supposed to be.

Next year's team is going to be very freshman-heavy, with few seniors. Probably another year we need to win the ECAC tournament to get in. Fortunately, the ECAC is looking very weak again, with the exception of Quinnipiac.

The remaining flight risk is Walsh. If he leaves, it's sayonara, 2025-26 season.

I'd be wary of making any predictions. In 2021-22, we relied heavily on the freshman class that is now leaving. It wasn't the best year in terms of how it ended (lost two out of three at home vs Colgate in the ECAC QF), but we went 18-10-4 and were about as good as we were the last two years save for the postseason.

If the incoming class steps up, we could compete.

Sorry to nitpick, but I don't think this is quite right.

We won a ton of games in OT that year. So the 18 wins is misleading. More like 14 wins.

Also, in 2023-24 we were very competitive for an at-large bid. In 2021-22 we were not. 2021-22's regular season was similar to this year's, yes. But this year's team went on a miracle run to the league championship.

Looking up pairwise rankings on specific dates in those seasons is kind of a chore, but my memory is that we went into the ECAC postseason in 2023-24 somewhat on the outside looking in, then ran the table. And 2021-22 we were in the running until we lost in the quarters.

I bet if you swapped those postseasons and we lost 2 out of 3 in 2023-24, we wouldn't have made it. And had we run the table in 2021-22, we would have been in by pairwise regardless of the autobid. But this is based on memory, which is fickle.

By the time the postseason came around in 2021-22, we had long been locked out of an at-large. In 2023-24, things were looking good for an at-large down the stretch (I remember you, or at least I think it was you, making the point that we would have a great shot if the RPI cutoff were at .54 like most years, but it was around .56 that year). But we had a rough end to that regular season and ended up heading into the ECAC tournament with a slim chance at an at-large. I think if we had lost in the finals of the ECAC, we would have been like 14th in the PWR and the first team out.

[scoop85]

I don't know if it was mentioned anywhere but Fisher was a 3rd round draft choice of San Jose in the 2022 draft, which I know will be thrilling news for certain people on this forum.

Here's a report from Dobber Prospects in 2022:

Fisher spent his entire 2021-2022 campaign with St. Mark's in the high school prep circuit, where he finished second on his team in scoring as a defenseman with 13 goals and 37 assists for 50 points in only 28 games. The prospect has already committed to Northeastern University for the 2022-2023 campaign, where he'll be continuing his development against legitimate competition, on a team known for developing their blue-liners' chance-suppressing tendencies.

Fisher is electrifying on the puck, utilizing a variety of fakes to carry the puck up the ice. He's daring, manipulative, and shows a wide arsenal of puck skills which he pulls out at the right times to make an impact in all three zones. Off the puck, there are some concerns, such as his tendency to lose a marker or struggle to close gaps quickly. This isn't as apparent against teenagers in high school, but I expect him to have a tough first year with Northeastern as he learns to do these things on a more regular basis. He should adapt quickly, however, as his hockey sense is clearly above-average and he got better as his season went on. A team could take a swing at him as early as the start of the second round, especially if they have a hole on the right side of their defensive pipeline and don't mind a long-term project. He could be a top pair defender, or not make the NHL; it all depends on what the next few years of his development look like. Hadi Kalakeche

Also of note is that Fisher had flipped to Northeastern from Princeton prior to going to the USHL, where he played just 14 games for Youngstown. His one season at Northeastern he was a -9, so hopefully he's worked on some things at Petincton; there's no =/- listed on that team's website, but they are the top team in that league, so I would hope he's well in the plus territory. He'll be coming in as a 21-year-old, so he should be ready to contribute from the get go.

[Dafatone]

If nobody else leaves early, here is what our roster currently looks like for next year:

G: Keopple, Katz, Roest* (3)
D: Robertson, Stanley, Fegaras, Veilleux*, Fisher*, Wolfenberg, O'Brien, Gorski*, Mosko, McCrady* (10)
F: Walsh, Castagna, Major, Devlin, DeSantis, Kraft, Long*, Pirtle*, DiGiulian*, Wallace, Catalano, Pelletier*, Hiscock*, Donaldson, Murray (15)

* denotes new addition

Bancroft leaving is extremely painful, as now we really need another forward. We also don't know who the starting goalie is supposed to be.

Next year's team is going to be very freshman-heavy, with few seniors. Probably another year we need to win the ECAC tournament to get in. Fortunately, the ECAC is looking very weak again, with the exception of Quinnipiac.

The remaining flight risk is Walsh. If he leaves, it's sayonara, 2025-26 season.

I'd be wary of making any predictions. In 2021-22, we relied heavily on the freshman class that is now leaving. It wasn't the best year in terms of how it ended (lost two out of three at home vs Colgate in the ECAC QF), but we went 18-10-4 and were about as good as we were the last two years save for the postseason.

If the incoming class steps up, we could compete.

Sorry to nitpick, but I don't think this is quite right.

We won a ton of games in OT that year. So the 18 wins is misleading. More like 14 wins.

Also, in 2023-24 we were very competitive for an at-large bid. In 2021-22 we were not. 2021-22's regular season was similar to this year's, yes. But this year's team went on a miracle run to the league championship.

Looking up pairwise rankings on specific dates in those seasons is kind of a chore, but my memory is that we went into the ECAC postseason in 2023-24 somewhat on the outside looking in, then ran the table. And 2021-22 we were in the running until we lost in the quarters.

I bet if you swapped those postseasons and we lost 2 out of 3 in 2023-24, we wouldn't have made it. And had we run the table in 2021-22, we would have been in by pairwise regardless of the autobid. But this is based on memory, which is fickle.

By the time the postseason came around in 2021-22, we had long been locked out of an at-large. In 2023-24, things were looking good for an at-large down the stretch (I remember you, or at least I think it was you, making the point that we would have a great shot if the RPI cutoff were at .54 like most years, but it was around .56 that year). But we had a rough end to that regular season and ended up heading into the ECAC tournament with a slim chance at an at-large. I think if we had lost in the finals of the ECAC, we would have been like 14th in the PWR and the first team out.

Yeah, that was me going on about the RPI cutoff. Like I said, fickle memory. I remember 2021-22 being a year that felt pretty good most of the season and kind of just faded, but maybe some of that mood was simply joy at having hockey again.

[BearLover]

I don't know if it was mentioned anywhere but Fisher was a 3rd round draft choice of San Jose in the 2022 draft, which I know will be thrilling news for certain people on this forum.

As this is a thinly veiled swipe at me, I will clarify my view, which is that I believe draft picks are generally a very strong proxy for talent and recruiting, though obviously not foolproof. Fisher is far from the typical drafted recruit. He was drafted a full three years ago and already spent a year in college. Injuries have thus far derailed his career. So I don't really view this as similar at all to taking an 18- or 19-year-old draftee. Seems high upside though and I'm glad we got him.

[stereax]

I don't know if it was mentioned anywhere but Fisher was a 3rd round draft choice of San Jose in the 2022 draft, which I know will be thrilling news for certain people on this forum.

As this is a thinly veiled swipe at me, I will clarify my view, which is that I believe draft picks are generally a very strong proxy for talent and recruiting, though obviously not foolproof. Fisher is far from the typical drafted recruit. He was drafted a full three years ago and already spent a year in college. Injuries have thus far derailed his career. So I don't really view this as similar at all to taking an 18- or 19-year-old draftee. Seems high upside though and I'm glad we got him.

Might be a note on me, too - I tend to get a little more excited about draft picks, haha. Third round is relatively high for Cornell, Sharks are an org I keep tabs on too, so this actually makes me pretty happy

[arugula]

Will fisher come in as a sophomore?  Only played the one year at Northeastern.

[chimpfood]

I think Caron Ryan might come in a year early. We need a center and I don't think any of our other recruits coming this year are, and he's put up good numbers in the BCHL. By the way, where did you guys hear about fisher?

[stereax]

I think Caron Ryan might come in a year early. We need a center and I don't think any of our other recruits coming this year are, and he's put up good numbers in the BCHL. By the way, where did you guys hear about fisher?

The Vees posted about it here.

Weird ass development path tho. Full year at Northeastern and then full year in the BCHL.

[Will]

I think Caron Ryan might come in a year early. We need a center and I don't think any of our other recruits coming this year are, and he's put up good numbers in the BCHL. By the way, where did you guys hear about fisher?

The Vees posted about it here.

Weird ass development path tho. Full year at Northeastern and then full year in the BCHL.

It's unusual, but not unheard of. Sometimes players do a year in Division I, but something isn't quite right (maybe he thought he should be doing better than 1-1-2 in 29 games at Northeastern?) so they return to juniors for a year before coming back to Division I, often at a different school.  I would say this path was more common before the transfer portal, as back then players would have to sit for a year if they wanted to transfer schools.