Opponent and other news and results 2025-2026

[stereax]

Talking about out long with an injury. I do think that he had surgery back in 2021. Neutral Zone in a public post wrote it better than I could.

Matthew Jovanovic (D, L, 6'2,  201, No team, 09/22/2004, RPI)

Jovanovic has not played a competitive game since the 2020-21 season as a member of the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers. He has been out all this time due to injury and never even got to play for the Saginaw Spirit – the OHL team that drafted him. RPI has given him a chance to comeback and play the game he loves again.

They have dropped him from 4.5 to 4.0 stars.

YEOUCH. What the hell happened to him. Poor dude.

[ursusminor]

Talking about out long with an injury. I do think that he had surgery back in 2021. Neutral Zone in a public post wrote it better than I could.

Matthew Jovanovic (D, L, 6'2,  201, No team, 09/22/2004, RPI)

Jovanovic has not played a competitive game since the 2020-21 season as a member of the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers. He has been out all this time due to injury and never even got to play for the Saginaw Spirit – the OHL team that drafted him. RPI has given him a chance to comeback and play the game he loves again.

They have dropped him from 4.5 to 4.0 stars.

YEOUCH. What the hell happened to him. Poor dude.

It's always hard to get details about injuries. Apparently, a hip injury revealed something wrong that he had since birth. He is now skating with NHL players and supposedly he will be able to play this year. We will see what happens. RPI, which had almost a complete turnover, felt it was worth a gamble to sign him.

I doubt that he will return to 4.5 level. I add that Neutral Zone has downgraded him further to 3.5 stars. This makes sense to me.

If most of RPI's gambles come through, Eric Lang will deserve ECAC Coach of the Year honors. RPI is the only ECAC school never to have had a coach honored.

[VIEWfromK]

In sum, Robertson is a known quantity great collegiate player.

Through ten games of his freshman year I thought he was on the way to being a great college hockey player.  Then he struggled to maintain that pace all the way up until he started to get back to that level this past postseason.  The power play was not much with him as the only defenseman on the top unit most times. He was just as inconsistent as many players in their first two years.  Now I would prefer that he had stayed at Cornell and built on his finish to last postseason but I would argue that none of Cornell's players are irreplaceable.  It's just that I've grown attached to them and don't want them to leave.

[Trotsky]

In sum, Robertson is a known quantity great collegiate player.

Through ten games of his freshman year I thought he was on the way to being a great college hockey player.  Then he struggled to maintain that pace all the way up until he started to get back to that level this past postseason.

This is what I saw, too.

[BearLover]

In sum, Robertson is a known quantity great collegiate player.

Through ten games of his freshman year I thought he was on the way to being a great college hockey player.  Then he struggled to maintain that pace all the way up until he started to get back to that level this past postseason.  The power play was not much with him as the only defenseman on the top unit most times. He was just as inconsistent as many players in their first two years.  Now I would prefer that he had stayed at Cornell and built on his finish to last postseason but I would argue that none of Cornell's players are irreplaceable.  It's just that I've grown attached to them and don't want them to leave.

Fair enough. But the fact he was reportedly being wooed by UMich, Denver, and Notre Dame suggests to me he is considered a great player by those who understand hockey better than I do.

[Chris H82]

I'm on Vancouver Island for a few days, and the CBC radio station out of Victoria had a 10-minute story today about the impact of the NCAA rule changes allowing CHL players to now play in the NCAA. Nothing particularly new in the story, but some good examples of the impacts to the local CHL (WHL) team, the Victoria Royals.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-48-on-the-island/clip/16166042-how-ncaa-changes-mens-hockey-eligibility-impacting-hockey

[ursusminor]

Talking about out long with an injury. I do think that he had surgery back in 2021. Neutral Zone in a public post wrote it better than I could.

Matthew Jovanovic (D, L, 6'2,  201, No team, 09/22/2004, RPI)

Jovanovic has not played a competitive game since the 2020-21 season as a member of the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers. He has been out all this time due to injury and never even got to play for the Saginaw Spirit – the OHL team that drafted him. RPI has given him a chance to comeback and play the game he loves again.

They have dropped him from 4.5 to 4.0 stars.

YEOUCH. What the hell happened to him. Poor dude.

It's always hard to get details about injuries. Apparently, a hip injury revealed something wrong that he had since birth. He is now skating with NHL players and supposedly he will be able to play this year. We will see what happens. RPI, which had almost a complete turnover, felt it was worth a gamble to sign him.

I doubt that he will return to 4.5 level. I add that Neutral Zone has downgraded him further to 3.5 stars. This makes sense to me.

If most of RPI's gambles come through, Eric Lang will deserve ECAC Coach of the Year honors. RPI is the only ECAC school never to have had a coach honored.

Article about Matthew Jovanovic's history on an RPI fan blog https://www.rpifieldhouse.com/p/matt-jovanovic-commits-to-rpi

[BearLover]

I'm on Vancouver Island for a few days, and the CBC radio station out of Victoria had a 10-minute story today about the impact of the NCAA rule changes allowing CHL players to now play in the NCAA. Nothing particularly new in the story, but some good examples of the impacts to the local CHL (WHL) team, the Victoria Royals.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-48-on-the-island/clip/16166042-how-ncaa-changes-mens-hockey-eligibility-impacting-hockey

We're seeing this all play out even within our own recruiting pipeline: recruiting kids directly from the CHL, younger kids going to the CHL prior to college, fewer kids going Junior A.

At this point, 8 of 12 Cornell recruits playing junior hockey are in the CHL. Of 15 total recruits, the breakdown is as follows:
USHL (4): Sandruck, Tuminaro, Pelletier, Major
QMJHL (4): Marmulak, Kirkwood, Dontigny, Wotton
OHL (2): Dec, Emerton
WHL (2): Ament, Wehmann
Still finishing high school (3?): Peckham(?), DiPlacido, Broderick(?) [unclear if Peckham and Broderick are returning to high school or going to juniors. Possible they are trying to make USHL teams out of camp. DiPlacido will play his senior year at St. Andrews]

Shockingly, zero recruits are in the BCHL. In past years it has felt like around half of our recruits were in the BCHL.

[VIEWfromK]

Another wrinkle


https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2025/08/ncaa-grants-eligibility-to-two-former-pros.html#ref=home

[abmarks]

Shockingly, zero recruits are in the BCHL. In past years it has felt like around half of our recruits were in the BCHL.

I was reading an article earlier today but I forgot to save the link so I can't find it at the moment. However, it was talking about changes to the Canadian leagues and it had some quotes from the head of the bchl.

He said that in Prior seasons something like 25% of all D1 NCAA players had come through the bchl and that the ivy League school rosters were 48% from BCHL iirc.

[Trotsky]

Another wrinkle


https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2025/08/ncaa-grants-eligibility-to-two-former-pros.html#ref=home

From that:

The NCAA is also currently facing a U.S. District Court ruling that challenges how the NCAA counts years of eligibility. Previously, the collegiate association would include years in JUCO, or Junior College, against a player's maximum five years of NCAA eligibility. This new antitrust lawsuit would look to reverse that decision

Holy shit.  We're gonna wind up with 32-year old NCAA basketball players who have played for JuCos, European professional leagues, and the Wyoming State Penitentiary All Stars.

[The Rancor]

NIL Money should be held in a trust until players either graduate or otherwise leave the school. Players should be provided room, board, scholarship, team uniforms, equipment and can earn money washing jock straps after practice, but that's it. Otherwise, intelligible. You should get one 'free' transfer without sitting a year, the second transfer is sit one season, lose no eligibility, third one you lose a season and a year. Everyone gets 5 seasons, grad years included. Max age is 26 at graduation, unless Military or Civilian service, then 27. No more shootouts, except for in season tournaments. White jerseys at home after January 1, then team colors. Playoff's higher seed chooses. Not more than 2 CHL seasons for NCAA eligibility. Nurses, doctors, social workers, other medical providers and teachers get full tuition reimbursement for 5 years of service in the public sector which includes our new Medicare for All system... something something solar on all new construction high speed rail....

[BearLover]

NIL Money should be held in a trust until players either graduate or otherwise leave the school. Players should be provided room, board, scholarship, team uniforms, equipment and can earn money washing jock straps after practice, but that's it. Otherwise, intelligible. You should get one 'free' transfer without sitting a year, the second transfer is sit one season, lose no eligibility, third one you lose a season and a year. Everyone gets 5 seasons, grad years included. Max age is 26 at graduation, unless Military or Civilian service, then 27. No more shootouts, except for in season tournaments. White jerseys at home after January 1, then team colors. Playoff's higher seed chooses. Not more than 2 CHL seasons for NCAA eligibility. Nurses, doctors, social workers, other medical providers and teachers get full tuition reimbursement for 5 years of service in the public sector which includes our new Medicare for All system... something something solar on all new construction high speed rail....

Why 5 years of eligibility when college is 4 years? That would kill the Ivy League if it happened.

[Trotsky]

Why 5 years of eligibility when college is 4 years? That would kill the Ivy League if it happened.

I have some bad news for you.

[Trotsky]

Max age is 26 at graduation, unless Military or Civilian service, then 27.

22.  And no Starship Troopers discounts either.