In this article I will break down each team in Hockey East Conference and get you ready for another exciting season of college hockey in New England. This conference is always very competitive and will continue to be this season. Listed below are my predictions and reasonings.
1. Boston University Terriers
Last season’s record: (29-11-0)
Boston University made it all the way to the Frozen Four last season but was eliminated after a 6-2 loss to Minnesota. The Terriers won the Hockey East Tournament and had a phenomenal conference record as they won 75% of their games in the conference.
This season, the goaltending is going to be very different. Drew Commenso signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and his understudy, Vinny Duplessis, transferred away to Quinnipiac, the reigning national champions. To replace them, Boston University brought in Mathieu Caron from Brown and former Massachusetts goalie Henry Graham. This is expected to be a huge drop off in quality.
Boston University is headlined by Lane Hutson, who became the first defenseman to lead Hockey East in points. A key addition is Macklin Celebrini, who is expected to be selected first in the 2024 NHL Draft. The Terriers also shopped within the conference, bringing in the highly rated Jack Hughes from Beantown rival Northeastern. While it may be a difficult adjustment in the goaltending department, the talent on this team is unmatched in this conference.
2. Merrimack Warriors
Last season’s record: (23-14-1)
Merrimack are widely expected to do very well this season. The Warriors have potentially the best depth in the conference, barring Boston University, and also the star power to compete with the best of the best. Forwards Alex Jefferies and Chase Stevenson are the star offensive players for Merrimack this season. The defense should be similarly strong.
Hugo Ollas and Zachary Borgiel are going to split time in net yet again. This is not necessarily a weak point, but in order to be a great regular season team, they will need great goaltending and Merrimack could potentially be lacking in that department. Hopes are super high for the Warriors, as they are nationally ranked coming into the season.
3. Boston College Eagles
Last season’s record: (14-16-6)
Boston College is coming off their second straight losing season with vengeance in the recruiting game. They have brought in six new highly rated recruits. Three first round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabe Perreault all join the Eagles attack. These three are already a force as they played together in the U.S National Team Development Program.
They join forces with sophomore Philadelphia Flyer draft pick Cutter Gauthier in what should be a lethal Boston College offense. The Eagles net will be occupied by Jacob Fowler, a freshman who played USHL hockey at Youngstown.
4. Massachusetts Minutemen
Last season’s record: (13-17-5)
The Minutemen could be the sleeper team of Hockey East this season. With a strong recruiting class, many returning underclassmen and a proven coach in Greg Carvel. Massachusetts could very easily be in the mix with the best teams in Hockey East this season. The headliner is 6’7 goaltender Micheal Hrabal, who was drafted to the Arizona Coyotes in the second round of the NHL Draft. He’s in the company of Cole Brady who will likely start off the season as the starting goaltender. Looking to keep them unoccupied will be Scott Morrow and Ryan Ufko. They are potentially a top 3 defensive pairing in the division.
Offensively, Massachusetts held on to most of their talent. This includes forwards Cole O’Hara and Kenny Connors, who will look to build off of a very promising freshman season. The Minutemen also added young talent to the offense, bringing in 2022 First Team All-BCHL forward and second round draft pick Aydar Suniev. They also added Latvian forward Dan Locmelis who was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the 2022 NHL Draft.
5. Northeastern Huskies
Last season’s record: (17-13-5)
Northeastern had the impossible task of filling Devon Levi’s shoes this offseason. While they did a somewhat adequate job in finding a replacement for the future in Cameron Whitehead who was drafted in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Las Vegas Golden Knights, they will still suffer from the monumental loss that is Devon Levi leaving to join the Sabres in the NHL. Losses of other veterans Aiden McDonough and Jack Hughes will hurt the Huskies on the ice as well. Northeastern will need continuously strong performances from forwards like captain Justin Hryckowian and Cam Lund.
The Huskies strengthened their offense by bringing in forward Alex Campbell who lit it up at Clarkson during his stay. What should be a good team, will potentially be in the hands of a freshman goaltender in Whitehead. Northeastern are probably the most volatile team in the conference with the ability to explode for big wins or implode resulting in big losses at any moment.
6. UConn Huskies
Last season’s record: (20-12-3)
The UConn Huskies are perennially competitive and this will not change this season. They lost some of their best offensive players in Ryan Tverberg and Justin Pearson but other than that the roster remains nearly intact. The offense is in the hands of star forward Matthew Wood who was recently picked in the first round of the NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators.
Arseni Sergeyev returns to start in goal and will look to continue his run of great form. Last season Sergeyev had a .912% save percentage in 19 starts. Continuity and growth of young centerpieces should lead to yet another competitive season for UConn
7. Providence Friars
Last season’s record: (16-14-7)
Providence have made a name for themselves by being consistently around .500. Yet another Providence team comes into this season that is well coached and strong in defense. The Friars retain Philip Svedebäck as their starting goaltender, who has been the backbone to this team for two years now.
Providence lost a lot of attacking talent after forwards Parker Ford and Brett Berard left them this offseason. Looking to step up for the Friars are attackers Riley Duran and Bennett Schimek. The offense certainly has question marks, but you can not deny Providence’s ability to deny.
8. Maine Black Bears
Last season’s record: (15-16-5)
Maine has been on an upward trajectory ever since they hired head coach Ben Barr. Last season they started 2-7-1 in their first 10 games but turned it around into a sixth place finish in Hockey East. Freshman forward Bradly Nadeau is the player to watch for Maine. He was drafted in the first round to the Hurricanes in the 2023 NHL Draft and scored 113 points for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. That is nothing to be brushed aside. He’s paired with his brother Josh who also put up 100 points of his own this past season in junior hockey.
Victor Ostman holds down the fort for the Black Bears, looking to build off of his Second Team All-Hockey East season in 2022-2023. While signs look positive and they do have dark horse potential, Maine only has one NHL commit on the roster which will make it very difficult for them to compete against some of these loaded teams.
9. New Hampshire Wildcats
Last season’s record: (11-21-3)
New Hampshire has a lot to come back from if they want to be relevant this season. Their captain Chase Stevenson was transferred to Merrimack and last season’s starter in net David Fessenden transferred out as well. With a weak recruiting class, weak depth and an incredibly weak goaltending room, New Hampshire could very well finish this season last in Hockey East.
The few positives in this team come on the offensive front. Forward Stiven Sardarian is Buffalo Sabres draft pick, who will look to get his groove on for the Wildcats. Protecting the goal for New Hampshire, Tyler Muszelik and Jakob Hellsten, each of whom have left lots to be desired in their previous performances.
10. UMass Lowell River Hawks
Last season’s record: (18-15-3)
UMass Lowell will struggle this season, losing not only their goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals but also their best offensive players in forward Carl Berglund and defenseman Jon McDonald. The River Hawks did qualify for the national tournament last season. This may be due to the well coached physical defense that UMass Lowell plays. While this is not going to change, this strategy makes for a better tournament team than regular season team.
The River Hawks do not have enough offensive firepower to compete with the best of the best in Hockey East. The fall off in goaltending from Davis Grigals to Luke Pavicich and Henry Welsch is going to be noticeable from day one. Defenseman Ben Meehan is the name to watch on this roster, being the only NHL commit.
11. Vermont Catamounts
Last season record: (11-20-5)
What a tough way to go into a season. Vermont was already going to struggle this season but the coaching situation makes it nearly impossible for them to make any sort of stand. Todd Woodcroft was relieved of his duties in the offseason due to reported misconduct, which leads to an already poor team having to do a quick turnaround going into the season. They welcome in fourteen new faces including expected starting goaltender Conner McKenzie. This team has a lot to prove if they want to be taken seriously by the rest of the division.
With all of that said, college hockey, and particularly the Hockey East Conference is super unpredictable. My predictions are just that, predictions. What can be said for sure is that we are in for a great season.
