Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Draft Kind to Comm. Ave Schools

BC, BU lead all NCAA teams with five players each among NHL Draft selections.

Draft Kind to Comm. Ave Schools
BU coach David Quinn says that J.J. Piccinich has “a burning desire to score goals.”

The Boston College-Boston University rivalry is alive and well, as each school can lay claim to the most players selected in the 2014 NHL Draft. Five Eagles and Terriers were taken in Philadelphia, more than any other school.

Sortable List of Drafted Players

After a down year in 2013-14, BU will look to its infusion of young talent to help return the program to prominence. Four of the five future Terriers selected Saturday will be on campus in the fall, as will top 2015 draft prospect Jack Eichel.

“We have a great recruiting class coming in,” said forward J.J. Piccinich, moments after Toronto drafted him in the fourth round. “We definitely want to turn things around. We have a new coach in Coach Quinn who is great. I love him to death.”

Piccinich and fifth-rounder Liam Coughlin should provide offensive support around Eichel. Defensively, second- and third-round choices Johnathan MacLeod and Brandon Hickey bring size and strength to Agganis Arena. MacLeod is a punishing physical defenseman while Hickey is an exceptional skater. Another second-round selection, Maxim Letunov, is another year away.

Boston College, meanwhile, isn’t rebuilding, but needs contributions from its freshman class after losing its entire first line to the NHL. Helping fill those holes will be first-rounders Sonny Milano and Alex Tuch. Sixth-round picks Joey Dudek (2014-15) and Chris Brown (2015-16) will also provide offense.

Goaltender Thatcher Demko, the one returnee among the Eagles’ draft picks, knows that the rookies have big shoes to fill.

“I knew [Tuch and Milano] at the NTDP program last year and they’re both great guys,” Demko said. “We’re getting some good players at BC next year and hopefully those guys can replace the guys we lost.”