Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Top Storylines for 2015-16
Top talents and big stories we’ll be watching as the puck is set to drop.
By Nate Ewell
Wide open field – Providence’s national championship in 2015 marked the third straight season and fourth time in five years that a program won its first title. Prior to 2011, it had been 18 years since a first-time champ was crowned.
An abundance of talented players has created incredibly parity in college hockey, and another first-time champ could be crowned in Tampa in April. A record 10 teams earned first-place votes in the preseason polls, and three of which are seeking their first NCAA title.
More than half of all Division I teams have made the 16-team NCAA tournament in the last four years (33).
NCAA Tournament Appearances, Last 4 Seasons
4 – Boston College, Denver, Minnesota, North Dakota
3 – UMass Lowell, Miami, Minnesota State, Quinnipiac, St. Cloud State, Union
2 – Boston University, Ferris State, Minnesota Duluth, Notre Dame, Providence, Wisconsin, Yale
1 – Air Force, Canisius, Colgate, Cornell, Harvard, Maine, Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, New Hampshire, Niagara, Omaha, RIT, Robert Morris, Vermont, Western Michigan
Back for more – While early departures for the pros are commonplace across college sports – and 32 underclassmen left early for NHL deals in the offseason – several stars decided to return to campus to continue working toward their degree, develop their game and pursue a championship. Foremost among them is Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, a Nashville Predators prospect who led the nation in goals last season. Vesey, a senior who is fluent in Mandarin, returned to complete his government degree and pursue a second straight NCAA Tournament berth for the Crimson.
Others who are back include Northeastern’s Kevin Roy (Lac-Beauport, Que./Lincoln-USHL/ANA), North Dakota’s Paul LaDue (Grand Forks, N.D./Lincoln-USHL/LA), Providence’s Mark Jankowski (St. Catherines, Ont./Stanstead College/CGY), Boston University’s Matt Grzelczyk (Charlestown, Mass./U.S. NTDP/BOS), Michigan’s J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill./U.S. NTDP/COL), Yale’s Rob O’Gara (Nesconset, N.Y./Milton Academy/BOS) and many more.
Super stoppers – Six of the top 14 NHL goaltending prospects in the world are NCAA hockey products, according to In Goal Magazine, and the 2015-16 should showcase some future NHL stars in net. Four of last season’s top five goaltenders in save percentage return, led by Yale junior Alex Lyon (Baudette, Minn./Omaha-USHL), who spent last spring representing the U.S. at the IIHF World Championship. Also back are Big Ten Player of the Year Jake Hildebrand of Michigan State (Butler, Pa./Cedar Rapids-USHL) and eight goaltenders with NCAA experience who have been drafted by NHL teams.
Save Percentage Leaders, 2014-15
.939 – Alex Lyon, Yale (Jr. in 2015-16)
.939 – Ryan Massa, Omaha (Graduated)
.937 – Kyle Hayton, St. Lawrence (Soph.)
.934 – Jayson Argue, Bentley (Soph.)
.933 – Jamie Phillips, Mich. Tech (Sr.)
Future stars – This year’s NHL training camps featured 87 players who spent last season in NCAA hockey, and many more are poised to make the jump in the near future. Eight first-round picks are among the nearly 200 NHL draft picks on college rosters, including at least one on 41 teams. Many more will get NHL opportunities as undrafted free agents – 22 free agents signed NHL contracts after last season, and 55% of all undrafted NHL players last year came from the NCAA ranks.
First-Round NHL Draft Picks Playing NCAA Hockey
Zach Werenski, Michigan (8th, Columbus)
Kyle Connor, Michigan (17th, Winnipeg)
Alex Tuch, Boston College (18th, Minnesota)
Nick Schmaltz, North Dakota (20th, Chicago)
Mark Jankowski, Providence (21st, Calgary)
Colin White, Boston College (21st, Ottawa)
Brock Boeser, North Dakota (23rd, Vancouver)
Jack Roslovic, Miami (25th, Winnipeg)
Future coaches? – Head coaching changes were rare in college hockey this offseason – North Dakota’s Brad Berry, promoted from assistant coach, is the only new hire. Some moves at the NHL level could spark interest in the NCAA coaching ranks, however, as three former NCAA coaches earned head coaching positions in the NHL, including Berry’s old boss, Dave Hakstol (Philadelphia). New Jersey’s John Hynes and Detroit’s Jeff Blashill also come from an NCAA background. Prior to this year, only 11 NHL head coaches in history had NCAA coaching experience.
Who takes home the Hobey? – The Hobey Baker Award, college hockey’s top individual honor, will have a new winner in 2015-16 as last year’s honoree, Jack Eichel, chases the Calder Trophy with the Buffalo Sabres. Harvard’s Vesey, mentioned above, is the lone returnee from last year’s 10 finalists, but expect other challengers to emerge. Staying in the Boston area – which has produced the last two Hobey winners in Eichel and Johnny Gaudreau – Northeastern’s Kevin Roy (Lac-Beauport, Que./Lincoln-USHL/ANA) is the leading active career scorer in the game and Eichel’s old BU linemate, Danny O’Regan (Needham, Mass./St. Sebastien’s/SJ), is close behind. RIT’s Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, B.C./Alberni Valley-BCHL), Union’s Mike Vecchoine (Saugus, Mass./Tri-City-USHL) and Denver’s Danton Heinen (Langley, B.C./Surrey-BCHL/BOS) and Trevor Moore (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Tri-City-USHL) are other returnees who posted more than 40 points a year ago.
Mighty revivals – Michigan Tech and Harvard ended NCAA Tournament droughts in 2014-15 and will look to take another step this season, much like Providence did in its second appearance after a long absence last spring. Other teams which appear to be knocking on the door for a return to the tournament include St. Lawrence (last made it in 2007) and Bowling Green (1990).
European influx – Thanks in part to the impact of NHLers like Gustav Nyquist (Maine), Carl Hagelin (Michigan) and Andrej Sustr (Omaha), NCAA hockey has become a more popular development path for elite European players. This season 58 European players will play in Division I, believed to be an all-time high and double the number from just five years ago (29 in 2011-12). Among them are offensive stars like St. Cloud State’s Kalle Kossila (Kauniainen, Finland/Espoo Blues) and Boston University’s Ahti Oksanen (Kirkkonummi, Finland/Espoo Blues), elite goaltenders like Minnesota Duluth’s Kasimir Kaskisuo (Vantaa, Finland/Minnesota-NAHL) and top recruits like Massachusetts’ William Lagesson (Goteborg, Sweden/Dubuque-USHL/EDM) and North Dakota’s Matej Tomek (Bratislava, Slovakia/Topeka-NAHL/PHI).
European Players in NCAA Division I
2011-12 – 29
2012-13 – 40
2013-14 – 37
2014-15 – 45
2015-16 – 58
Chasing 1,000 – Boston College head coach Jerry York already holds college hockey’s all-time record for wins by a head coach (984), and he’s closing in on another milestone. York, who has posted at least 18 wins in each of the last 18 seasons and enters the season with the No. 1 team in the polls, needs just 16 victories to reach 1,000 for his career.
Most Wins, Active Coaches
984 – Jerry York
810 – Red Berenson
646 – Don Lucia
560 – Dick Umile
Go West – Arizona State debuts in Division I less than 11 months after announcing plans to elevate its program, becoming the Southern-most and Western-most team in the Lower 48. The Sun Devils become the 60th program playing Division I hockey.
New stars – An impressive freshman class comes to campus this fall, one headlined by more than 40 players already selected in the NHL draft and 2015 draft eligible stars like Charlie McAvoy (Boston University/Long Beach, N.Y./U.S. NTDP), Luke Kunin (Wisconsin/Chesterfield, Mo./U.S. NTDP) and Tage Thompson (Connecticut/Orange, Conn./U.S. NTDP). Older freshmen often have the biggest impact, at least initially. Among the undrafted freshmen who could make a big impact are Adam Johnson (Minnesota Duluth/Hibbing, Minn./Sioux City-USHL), Stephen Baylis (Bowling Green/Ottawa, Ont./Carleton Place-CCHL), Corey Mackin (Ferris State/Philadelphia, Pa./Coquitlam-BCHL) and Brett Supinski (Union/Collegeville, Pa./Coquitlam-BCHL).
Smart guys – The talent U.S. college hockey players display on the rink is matched by their performance in the classroom. Hockey leads all NCAA Division I men’s sports with a 92% graduation rate, as measured by the NCAA, enjoyed the best score of any men’s sport in the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate.
Big stages – College hockey teams will take the ice at unique venues from Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Coors Field in Denver this season. Brown, Colgate, UMass Lowell and Northeastern will visit Belfast for the Friendship Four tournament, which will feature conference games in the first round. Meanwhile, Colorado College and Denver play an NCHC game at Coors Field Feb. 20. In addition, one-third of all NHL arenas will host NCAA games this season, with five games scheduled for New York City’s Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center.