CHL to NCAA Recruiting Megathread

[cinnamoroll]

I could see Manchester working out well. They don’t have a team and they have a big arena, which is where they held the regional. What I don’t know is if their crowd would show up for major junior. The ECHL team evidently didn’t draw well there. Whereas the AHL team did well for attendance.

Not sure how it would work out in Portland? They already have the Maine Mariners(ECHL).

saw in replies to the various quotes that’s there’s some speculation (no actual knowledge just a guess) that the ownership group will pivot from ECHL to QMJHL

 

[cinnamoroll]

Medicine Hat Tigers have won the Ed Chynoweth Cup over the Spokane Chiefs in 5 games with a 4-2 win. I couldn't watch much of this one, first because Clark Cup Finals game 3 went to double overtime, and second the power had gone out starting the 4th intermission in Muskegon/1st intermission in Spokane. It was an evenly played game from what I saw.

Gavin McKenna played, only had 1 goal. Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) played some, but definitely in limited minutes, was not always on the bench. No points tonight, but was a +1 and took a penalty. Mathew Ward (Northern Michigan) 1a +1 3 shots, 10/18 on faceoffs

Notably, a finnish import played for Medicine Hat scored the first goal of the game, which further supports the theory of finns = wins. Unlike Halttunen who scored the same clip last years playoffs, this is first-year OHLer stay at home defenseman Niilopekka Muhonen who had 4 goals in 60 games this season scoring his first goal of the playoffs. Unlikely candidate to say the least. Like London, both their import picks this year were Finnish players at the same position.

Shea Van Olm (Penn State) had 4 shots, 1 penalty. The top line of SVO-Catton-Cristall accounted for 19 of the Chiefs 36 shots.
Brayden Crampton (BGSU) had 1 assist, 3 shots.

the entire field of the memorial cup is now set. Moncton Wildcats, London Knights, Medicine Hat Tigers, and Rimouski Océanic will duel it out for the Memorial Cup. If the pattern holds, Moncton gets it done tomorrow evening and all reconvene in Rimouski in one week.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Saginaw's Kristian Epperson to DU. 06 forward moved from NTDP U17 end of last season (before rule change), former Michigan commit.

 

[cinnamoroll]

After last year saw all 3 CHL championships be sweeps, they almost had a similar situation but with every finals series going 5 games. Rimouski Océanic decided to play spoiler yesterday, winning game 5 on the road 3-1.

Shots were 23-34 in favor of Moncton, no power plays either side. Only penalties charged came at the end of the game. One unique stat the Q tracks and has on their game sheets is if a shot is dangerous, as a fraction, the column is DS/S. Rimouski had 11 of their 23 shots considered dangerous, while only 9 of Moncton's 34 were considered dangerous.

Mathieu (Northeastern) 2g (1st goal and empty netter). Fauchon (Providence) was notably quiet, he's often a volume shooter but had no shots. Belzil's (UMass) 4th line has received praise from their coach and gotten more ice time.

Can confirm Coughlin (Maine) is injured again, seems the head hit he received in the Chicoutimi game not only gave him likely a concussion, but there was also some lower body injury as well. Seems during his return that lower body injury didn't feel totally right, and they'd much rather have him be healthy for the Memorial Cup than push himself to play in the finals.

Game 6 is tomorrow in Rimouski at 1pm ET. Matinee game on a Monday might seem like a bad idea, but May 19th is Victoria Day, a national holiday in Canada. Almost no one will have work or school that day. I'd guess Guimond (Yale) to be back in net.

 

[Sparkee]

Half way through and the difference is in goal. Rousseau is making all the saves, Longevin just let one in from long range high stick side.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Moncton has won the QMJHL championship in 6 games, 3-2 win. Rimouski has a surge in the 3rd period but couldn't complete the comeback. Moncton dominated the 2nd period, outshooting Rimouski 19-7. Total shots were 33-26. Moncton still lost the faceoff battle, which they did most games. More hits this game too, and more power plays. 0/2 Moncton, 1/4 Rimouski

Vidicek (Quinnipiac) 1 shot, 11/24 faceoffs
Desnoyer +1, 3 shots, 3/3 faceoffs, 1 minor penalty

Fauchon (Providence) 1 goal, 3 shots, +1
Mathieu (Northeastern) 1 goal 1 assist, 4 shots, +1, 11/16 faceoffs

Now, on to the Memorial Cup! Preview posts coming soon

Half way through and the difference is in goal. Rousseau is making all the saves, Longevin just let one in from long range high stick side.

Smart of McDougall to put him back in net for game 6. Rooster has always been great in big games, despite what some Canadians would tell you (happens to be unable to stop PUCKS PUT INTO THE NET BY HIS OWN DEFENSEMAN).

Also- G Harrison Meneghin of Medicine Hat Tigers signed his ELC w Tampa

 

[cinnamoroll]

the big nhl draft pick question mark answered: teams get extensions on draft rights when they go to college.

- Madden shares that, under current CBA, CHL players who commit to NCAA schools will have their signing rights extended, like USHL players currently

 

[Sparkee]

the big nhl draft pick question mark answered: teams get extensions on draft rights when they go to college.

Seems like this would be incentive for kids, and their NHL team that drafted them, to go NCAA before their rights expire.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Seems like this would be incentive for kids, and their NHL team that drafted them, to go NCAA before their rights expire.

could change soon, new cba is in the works and theyre hoping to announce it around the cup final- bettman has a few press conferences he holds i think before game 1. but this counts for the previously drafted players afaict

 

[cinnamoroll]

some relevant info with the draft combine coming up:

since this is the decentralized draft the teams wanted, a lot more meetings will get done then that would normally be done around/before the draft. rumblings are people already want to go back to the prior format, so seems likely to be a one-off. teams at the top of the draft will be talking to some of the guys who haven't made commitment decisions because they haven't been drafted yet.

general consensus is that none of the players in this draft class are likely to just straight into the NHL, and CHL-drafted players have this dumb rule about not letting them go to the AHL until they're in their 20-year-old year, so college is really the next best step up. Porter Martone and Michael Misa are the biggest fish out there. Michael Misa is almost entirely considered the likely number 2, Martone can be anywhere from 3-8. The number 1 guy is Erie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and he barely played this year between injury, mono, world juniors, only to break his collarbone the 2nd game of WJC and never made it back to game action. Still very evidently the top guy.

the one player approaching "could be in the NHL ASAP" status is Michael Misa. on the recent episode of Called Up podcast, both hosts agreed that with the Sharks holding the 2nd overall pick, in the likely event of them picking him, he's almost definitely going NCAA. just things to keep an eye/ear out on

 

[cinnamoroll]

F Matteo Michels from Brandon Wheat Kings to UVM, 05 Texas native (born in Ontario, moved to Texas at 3). 55 point in 68 games, standout trait is speed. Here's an article from the Brandon Sun on him being grilled on the WHL by his little brother and his friends when he goes home, especially since the rule change.

Commits signing in WHL:

F Eli McKamey from BCHL Penticton-->Victoria Royals, UND commit. 09, Victoria drafted him 2nd round 2024, first ever 15 year old in the BCHL.
F Keaton Jundt from Sioux Falls Power 16U AAA-->Calgary Hitmen, UND commit. 08, Listed by Calgary this year (basically can claim rights of an undrafted player)
F Riley Ashe from Salmon Arm Silverbacks-->Prince George Cougars, Omaha commit. 06, PG drafted him 3rd round 2021.
F Jack Finnegan from Sioux Falls Power 16U AAA-->Prince George Cougars, Miami commit. 08, listed by PG.

Bonus: a little Memorial Cup hype.

 

[cinnamoroll]

One of the remaining overage targets off the board: F Sam Alfano to ASU. Another piece of news broken by the team themselves after Maine with Coughlin. 41g-43a with Erie Ottters this past year, 6'4, 205 lbs

 

[cinnamoroll]

Dalyn Wakely to UMass Lowell. OA F for Barrie, edmonton drafted him 2024 as double overager, led the team in points during playoffs.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Memorial Cup Preview​

Hosted by Rimouski Océanic, they and the 3 CHL league champions will duel it out for the Memorial Cup. This is the 105th Memorial Cup Tournament. The games will be on TSN/RDS in Canada, NHL Network in the US, and for free on Victory+.

Today was the first set of festivities, lots of fan events, press conferences, media shoots for TSN, etc. plus some practice. A lot of people are really excited about this tournament slate, good storylines to pursue and there’s a legit argument for these 3 teams being the top 4 in the entire CHL this year.

Here's a handy guide from the CHL.

SCHEDULE​

Round-Robin – Game 1 – Friday, May 23 – Medicine Hat vs. Rimouski (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Round-Robin – Game 2 – Saturday, May 24 – Moncton vs. London (6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT)
Round-Robin – Game 3 – Sunday, May 25 – Rimouski vs. London (6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT)
Round-Robin – Game 4 – Monday, May 26 – Moncton vs. Medicine Hat (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Round-Robin – Game 5 – Tuesday, May 27 – London vs. Medicine Hat (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Round-Robin – Game 6 – Wednesday, May 28 – Rimouski vs. Moncton (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Tie-Breaker (*if necessary) – Thursday, May 29 (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Semi-Final – Friday, May 30 (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)
Championship Final – Sunday, June 1 (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT)

Teams​

Hosts- Rimouski Océanic

Lost in the finals to Moncton. 5th Memorial Cup appearance, 1 title in 2000

Of all these teams they’ve probably had the worst luck with injuries. A few of their more significant injury returnees have delayed their comebacks in order to be as healthy as possible for this game, such as Luke Coughlin (Maine) and Spencer Gill (PHI signed).

Key players: captain F Jacob Mathieu (Northeastern), F Jonathan Fauchon (Providence), F Mathieu Cataford (VGK signed), G Mathis Langevin, G William Lacelle

QMJHL Champions- Moncton Wildcats

3rd Memorial Cup appearance

Defense defense defense. Absolute wagon, best points percentage in the whole CHL. Blessed with almost no health concerns.

Playoff MVP: F Caleb Desnoyers, 2025 Draft eligible (projected top 10)
Other key players: G Mathis Rousseau, G Rudy Guimond (Yale), F Juraj Pekarcik (STL Signed), D Étienne Morin (CGY signed)

WHL Champions- Medicine Hat Tigers

6th Memorial Cup appearance, 2 titles in 1987, 1988

Terrifying team. Hard to play against. Has the power of friendship on their side.

Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State?) and Andrew Basha (CGY signed) were out long term and came back for the finals, Basha looking healthy, Lindstrom with a few more hiccups as he missed an entire year+. They hope his health is improved for the Mem Cup run. Gavin McKenna was out for a few games as well but returned for the clinching game and all reports are he is ready to play.

Playoff MVP: G Harrison Meneghin (TBL signed)
Other key players: F Gavin McKenna (2026 Draft projected 1st overall), captain F Oasiz Wiesblatt (NSH AHL signed), D Bryce Pickford (2025 Draft eligible), F Cayden Lindstrom, F Andrew Basha

OHL Champions- London Knights

7th Memorial Cup appearance, 2 titles in 2005, 2016.
CHL-wide cartoon villain, everyone loves to hate them, which only makes them stronger. Back to back OHL champs, this year they needed even less games to do it. Record is closest to Moncton. Last year they were under 30 seconds from getting the Memorial Cup Final to overtime, which favored them. Avenging that has been the goal all season.

Only significant injury concern was captain Denver Barkey (PHI signed), returned for the final game for sparing use. They hope he will be back to full strength and regular position.

Playoff MVP: F Kasper Halttunen (SJS signed)
Other key players: F Easton Cowan (TOR signed), D Sam Dickinson (SJS signed), D Oliver Bonk (PHI signed), Denver Barkey, G Austin Elliott (UML)

Biggest Storylines​

Coaches:

Rimouski’s Joël Perrault is the new guard per-se, potentially a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Medicine Hat’s Willie Desjardins is a junior hockey legend, London’s Dale Hunter is well known (and well hated, on and off the ice), and Moncton’s Gardiner McDougall went from New Brunswick legend to USports legend to national recognition in short order. McDougall has the fun reality of his son being the GM of his team, so the constant joke has been that he could fire his dad if he wanted to. Also a family affair in London, with brother Mark Hunter as GM and son Dylan Hunter as an assistant coach.

Goalies:

3 of the 4 teams have played both their starter and their backup so far. Most notably, both Rimouski and Moncton used both goalies as an intentional tandem for large parts of the playoffs. I’d guess they would go for the hot hand (Rousseau in Moncton, Langevin in Rimouski). Rousseau, Meneghin, and Elliott are overage goalies, Guimond is an 05, Langevin is an 06, and Lacelle is a rookie, 07. Rousseau has the clutch save in big moments bump and the most experience in these high pressure situations. Elliott went 52-2 all season over 3 wins in Saskatoon and the rest with London, Rudy Guimond went 24-1 in the QMJHL, recording his first loss in game 4 of the QMJHL finals. Medicine Hat backup Jordan Switzer and London Backup Alexei Medvedev are both 2007-born rookies, future in net sort of thing. Medvedev hasn't needed to play all playoffs though.

Other storylines:

- I’m sure there will be some chatter about the NCAA ruling, especially in regards to players like Moncton’s Guimond and London’s Montgomery joining their teams, plus some of the announced commitments. Any given CHL announcer's knowledge of NCAA hockey landscape is variable but they could surprise us.
- Gavin McKenna, like other exceptional status players before him has a lot of media around him. Hopefully not too overwhelming, but there’s a possibility of Medicine Hat losing a game badly but they’re still talking about how awesome McKenna is. Common consensus is that an active bidding war is under way in the NCAA for his services.
- The emotional and cheesy stuff: Meneghin’s father died last day of regular season, Wiesblatt raised by deaf single mom, Lacelle is partially deaf, indigenous representation- Cayden Lindstrom Driftpile Cree Nation, Gavin McKenna Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation, the Gill brothers Spencer and Dyllan (TBL signed, Moncton)
- More Finns = more winns? Both London and Medicine Hat have 2 Finnish import picks, London’s are both wingers and Medicine Hat’s are defensemen.
- The WHL has not won a Memorial Cup in a decade- neither a champion or a host. Next year Kelowna hosts, so they have a better chance statistically with 2 teams, but some are hoping Medicine Hat breaks the drought beforehand.

NCAA Commits on Each Team:​

London Knights
G Austin Elliott, UMass Lowell, OA
D Andoni Fimis, UVM, 06
F Blake Montgomery, Wisconsin, 05
F Evan Van Gorp, Maine, 06

Medicine Hat Tigers
F Mathew Ward, Northern Michigan, OA
[rumored] F Cayden Lindstrom, Michigan State

Moncton Wildcats
C Markus Vidicek, Quinnipiac, OA
C Simon Binkley, Alaska-Fairbanks, 06
G Rudy Guimond, Yale, 05

Rimouski Océanic
C Jonathan Fauchon, Providence, OA
C Thomas Belzil, UMass, 06
LW Jacob Mathieu, Northeastern, OA
D Luke Coughlin, Maine, 05

I'm sure plenty of teams have an eye on this tournament for recruiting. Will be fun.

 

[Sparkee]

On my guide it says Medicine Hat vs. Rimouski tonight starting at 8 PM EST on the NHL Network channel.

I’m looking forward to watching the memorial cup games. I will try to watch all of them. It is great hockey.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Victory plus stream wasn't working initially, but they fixed it.

Luke Coughlin (Maine) is in, Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) is not

I don't think they repeated the entire intro in English, but after they welcomed the 2000 Rimouski Memoriial Cup winning team, they had a member of the armed forces bring out the Memorial Cup... happened to be the father of Rimouski defenseman Olivier Théberge, who received permission to go on leave to watch his son play. When they called the captains out for the faceoff, instead of Mathieu, Théberge went up and got to hug his dad a few times. Sappy moments like that.

 

[Sparkee]

Victory plus stream wasn't working initially, but they fixed it.

Luke Coughlin (Maine) is in, Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) is not

I don't think they repeated the entire intro in English, but after they welcomed the 2000 Rimouski Memoriial Cup winning team, they had a member of the armed forces bring out the Memorial Cup... happened to be the father of Rimouski defenseman Olivier Théberge, who received permission to go on leave to watch his son play. When they called the captains out for the faceoff, instead of Mathieu, Théberge went up and got to hug his dad a few times. Sappy moments like that.

Coughlin is paired with Roy on the top D pair. So it seems he must be back to full strength.

 

[Sparkee]

McKenna is such a dangerous player. Cherry picked an outlet pass into a breakaway and gets goalie down and buries it high stick side with ease. The difference in the game right now 4-3 Medicine Hat.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Medicine Hat wins 5-4

What a fun game, perfect to kick off the tournament. Always back and forth. Rimouski pp is deadly, 3/4, Med Hat goes 1/3. Shots were 38-24 MH, slight edge to rimouski in faceoffs.

Mathieu (Northeastern) 1g, 4 shots, 16/21 on faceoffs
Fauchon (Providence) 1g, 5 shots
McKenna 1g1a
Ward (Northern Michigan) had no points, 1 shot +1, tough night in faceoff dot. Was a screen in front for one of Pickford's goals.

Draft eligible defenseman Bryce Pickford with 2g. He's the only guy on the Med Hat roster with Memorial Cup experience from when he was with Seattle when Kamloops hosted 2023, they were smoked in the final by a clinical Québec Remparts team coached by Patrick Roy. Massive spike in production this year. Meneghin got pitchforked badly by Cataford but stayed in the game, didn't seem as sharp after. Hopefully he bounces back.

London v Moncton on deck!

Some commits signing in the CHL:

G Patrick Quinlan NTDP U18->OHL Sarnia Sting. Notre Dame commit, 8th round 2023 OHL Draft pick, 2025 NHL Draft eligible. Some thought he was going to Notre Dame immediately, but recently there has been a string of NTDP players who take a year in the USHL after their U18 year and have grown immensely. Quinlan takes the opportunity to rebound his stock after two tough years in NTDP (not surprising, since he played against lots of older players and had a mediocre-to-bad team in front of him).

08 D Zachary Roussy Bishop's College->Gatineau Olympiques. Providence commit

07 D Timofei Runtso St Cloud Norsemen->Victoria Royals. Miami commit.
08 F Mathieu Lajoie Bonnyville Pontiacs->Moose Jaw Warriors. ASU commit

 

[Sparkee]

Another great game, this one went to OT. Cowan with a beauty assist that Reilly redirect chips up over Roussea to get London the win over Moncton. Defensemen Dickinson doesn’t look far off from the NHL.