Recruits 2026 and Beyond

[chimpfood]

Forgot to post after the end of Charlie Arend's season. 20 year old forward for Dubuque of the USHL. 43 points in 52 games, a big step up from the previous two years. I don't see him factoring in this upcoming season but hopefully can be a piece for us later in his career.

[chimpfood]

The other ECAC schools are recruiting surprisingly well. Harvard as usual is doing well with high draft picks, Quinnipiac bringing in some more huge CHL scorers, Clarkson and RPI also getting some decent CHL guys. The big surprise for me is Saint Lawrence who looks to have tricked two draft picks and another draft eligible who will probably go this year into coming. We'll see how many of those actually come to fruition.

[stereax]

As part of the Devils' FO restructuring, Sunny Mehta brought in Braden Birch '13 to be AGM of the Devils and GM of the Utica Comets.

This means y'all are now federally obligated to listen to me ramble about the Devils <3

(This was supposed to go in alumni in the pros, but alas.)

[BearLover]

No surprise, but Alex Pelletier named USHL Player of the Year: https://ushl.com/news/2026/4/20/mens-ice-hockey-alex-pelletier-named-ushl-player-of-the-year.aspx

Some credit should go to the Cornell coaching staff, as Pelletier never could have won USHL PotY had the coaches brought him in last year.

[BearLover]

The other ECAC schools are recruiting surprisingly well. Harvard as usual is doing well with high draft picks, Quinnipiac bringing in some more huge CHL scorers, Clarkson and RPI also getting some decent CHL guys. The big surprise for me is Saint Lawrence who looks to have tricked two draft picks and another draft eligible who will probably go this year into coming. We'll see how many of those actually come to fruition.

Not disagreeing with you, but we need to grade recruiting on a curve. Now that the player pool has doubled with CHL eligibility, every program should be recruiting better than it did two years ago. The question is whether our/the ECAC's recruiting is improving more or less than the rest of the country's.

[chimpfood]

No surprise, but Alex Pelletier named USHL Player of the Year: https://ushl.com/news/2026/4/20/mens-ice-hockey-alex-pelletier-named-ushl-player-of-the-year.aspx

Some credit should go to the Cornell coaching staff, as Pelletier never could have won USHL PotY had the coaches brought him in last year.

this is kinda the exact reason you send him back to be fair. If we brought him in he would've been standing at the top of section D most games and now he gets to shoot 7 shots per game and put up 85 points in a season.

[BearLover]

No surprise, but Alex Pelletier named USHL Player of the Year: https://ushl.com/news/2026/4/20/mens-ice-hockey-alex-pelletier-named-ushl-player-of-the-year.aspx

Some credit should go to the Cornell coaching staff, as Pelletier never could have won USHL PotY had the coaches brought him in last year.

this is kinda the exact reason you send him back to be fair. If we brought him in he would've been standing at the top of section D most games and now he gets to shoot 7 shots per game and put up 85 points in a season.

I find it very unlikely he would run away with the USHL goals and points lead but not be able to crack the Cornell lineup.

[chimpfood]

No surprise, but Alex Pelletier named USHL Player of the Year: https://ushl.com/news/2026/4/20/mens-ice-hockey-alex-pelletier-named-ushl-player-of-the-year.aspx

Some credit should go to the Cornell coaching staff, as Pelletier never could have won USHL PotY had the coaches brought him in last year.

this is kinda the exact reason you send him back to be fair. If we brought him in he would've been standing at the top of section D most games and now he gets to shoot 7 shots per game and put up 85 points in a season.

I find it very unlikely he would run away with the USHL goals and points lead but not be able to crack the Cornell lineup.

Who knows man. Sean Donaldson lit the world on fire in juniors and never got much playing time. I still wouldn't be surprised if Pelletier never becomes very close to a point per game player in college. His production was really impressive this year but he takes a ridiculous amount of shots that he's not gonna get now that he's on a team with Letourneau, Hemming, etc.

[pfibiger]

I wonder now if it is true because it has been a while. It might have been that we lost him to Cornell, but Cornell didn't get him either. It could however be that it takes a while for him to get through Cornell admissions. He has not appeared on anyone else's list either. Since he was born in 2005, if he is an actual recruit he would be going to Ithaca this fall.

What could all the possible reasons be why this has not come out yet?

The kid doesn't have an instagram

He does have one.

Looking at OHL '05s that have good numbers and a family connection that would make ursusminor think they're unlikely to commit to RPI I was wondering if it's Brad Gardiner (Barrie) -- drafted in the 3rd by Dallas, father Bruce was a captain at Colgate.

Nailed it.

[chimpfood]

21 year old 2023 third round draft pick. 65 points in 67 games, 56% on faceoffs. Big pickup, especially with him being a center

[BearLover]

No surprise, but Alex Pelletier named USHL Player of the Year: https://ushl.com/news/2026/4/20/mens-ice-hockey-alex-pelletier-named-ushl-player-of-the-year.aspx

Some credit should go to the Cornell coaching staff, as Pelletier never could have won USHL PotY had the coaches brought him in last year.

this is kinda the exact reason you send him back to be fair. If we brought him in he would've been standing at the top of section D most games and now he gets to shoot 7 shots per game and put up 85 points in a season.

I find it very unlikely he would run away with the USHL goals and points lead but not be able to crack the Cornell lineup.

Who knows man. Sean Donaldson lit the world on fire in juniors and never got much playing time. I still wouldn't be surprised if Pelletier never becomes very close to a point per game player in college. His production was really impressive this year but he takes a ridiculous amount of shots that he's not gonna get now that he's on a team with Letourneau, Hemming, etc.

I certainly don't expect Pelletier to win the Hobey. But I think it's also highly likely the coaching staff didn't realize what they had in Pelletier. Running away with the USHL lead in points and goals is extremely hard to do. For reference, this fall we're bringing in multiple players who are the same age as Pelletier but produced about half as many points.

[BearLover]

21 year old 2023 third round draft pick. 65 points in 67 games, 56% on faceoffs. Big pickup, especially with him being a center

Aren't there now like 33 players and 20 forwards on the roster next year?

Interesting pickup though, he didn't really pan out after he was taken in the third round but seems to have followed in (long ago third round pick) Fisher's footsteps and gone the route of good education + good hockey. Projects to be a solid contributor. Teammate of Cole Emerton.

[ursusminor]

Close to a month since I hinted about Gardiner who was also being recruited by RPI, but lost him to Cornell. Almost certainly the reason it took so long to make the annoucement was that his team was still playing until two days ago. I don't see why announcing where a player will be the next season, especially an overager, is a distraction during the playoffs, but he isn't the only one who waited until after his team was eliminated.

Gardiner assisted on both Barrie goals in their final game. See the embedded video in the boxscore. https://chl.ca/ohl/gamecentre/28988/

[stereax]

Question: post-secondary school implies college.

Will he come in as a sophomore? Or, what I consider to be way more likely, will they not transfer his credits in to preserve eligibility?

Fun fact: when I was looking up Gardiner, I pulled up some of the '23 combine results. Among them, Castagna. So that gives you a little bit of perspective.

[chimpfood]

Question: post-secondary school implies college.

Will he come in as a sophomore? Or, what I consider to be way more likely, will they not transfer his credits in to preserve eligibility?

Fun fact: when I was looking up Gardiner, I pulled up some of the '23 combine results. Among them, Castagna. So that gives you a little bit of perspective.

"Throughout the season, Gardiner posted a 90% academic average through American Public University"

Good catch. Coming in as a 21 year old probably just makes sense to start him as a sophomore if they can, seems unlikely he stays all 4 if things go well.