UNH Hockey Off Season Thread 2026

[cinnamoroll]

I agree on Marty with the C, and Fitzy and Turner with the A. In the recent past they have gone with a sophomore or Junior with an A, and I wouldn’t be surprised if an underclassmen grabs one of the assistant roles.

My bet would be Philbrick, a NH native and likely anchor on the 2nd D line with Carr.

I could also just see them going with two A’s instead of 3, which they have done in the past as well.

for sophomore potential- agree with Carr, Newcombe would be good too. basically all the CHL guys wore letters, De Angelis prob had his the longest.

Kyle Chauvette said at dev camp he's going to be the designated EBUG for the Bruins, so he's going to TD Garden for basically an entire year, plus every other NHL arena.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Kyle Chauvette said at dev camp he's going to be the designated EBUG for the Bruins, so he's going to TD Garden for basically an entire year, plus every other NHL arena.

What a great gig for kids like KC who weren't drafted, have realistic post-grad expectations, and don't want to deal with the slog and uncertainty of playing in the Coast league. The new EBUG rules seem tailored for a guy like him, as it offers him a non-union employee position which covers his expenses and probably pays a decent five figure salary for basically practicing and traveling with the team for six-plus months. And if by chance the team decides to offer a PTO or a pro contract at some point, he's had a year(s) long audition in front of the team, coaching staff and front office, with them not having to worry about what kind of mischief their depth goalie may be getting into in his downtime at some faraway post.

Also, it's a great opportunity to get into scouting or some other off-ice role in the organization. Seems to be a win-win. Good luck to Chauvette in his new role!

 

[Scott]

Question of the Day: Is there anyone over in Durham right now making sure that the door doesn't slam into AD Rich's butt on her way out??

 

[FlagUp17]

Saw earlier Crookshank got traded with Markstrom to Florida in exchange for Rodrigues, Boqvist, and Steeves. Not sure how much playing time will be available for him down there… hopefully more than he was getting for New Jersey. Best of luck to him!

 

[bakchk20]

I agree on Marty with the C, and Fitzy and Turner with the A. In the recent past they have gone with a sophomore or Junior with an A, and I wouldn’t be surprised if an underclassmen grabs one of the assistant roles.

My bet would be Philbrick, a NH native and likely anchor on the 2nd D line with Carr.

I could also just see them going with two A’s instead of 3, which they have done in the past as well.

2nd D? Who's your 1st pairing?

 

[FlagUp17]

2nd D? Who's your 1st pairing?

I was thinking it would be Fitzgerald paired with someone. My initial thought would be Vass, but maybe Souza pairs the experienced Fitzy with one of the freshmen (perhaps PvR). I think de Haro anchors the 3rd line.

Just my thought though. I wouldn’t be opposed if Carr/Philbrick takes the 1st line given their camaraderie built this past season.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Question of the Day: Is there anyone over in Durham right now making sure that the door doesn't slam into AD Rich's butt on her way out??

Staff Directory - University of New Hampshire Athletics

The official staff directory for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats

unhwildcats.com

Staff Directory - University of New Hampshire Athletics

The official staff directory for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats

unhwildcats.com

 

[Chuck Murray]

Staff Directory - University of New Hampshire Athletics

The official staff directory for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats

unhwildcats.com

Staff Directory - University of New Hampshire Athletics

The official staff directory for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats

unhwildcats.com

I see Watcher's signature block has added another line ... the latest in a long line of frustrating sub-par seasons for the program we all love.

Always great to see you on here, Watcher. Hopefully with a looming "changing of the guard", we'll see you (and others) way more often!

 

[HockeyRef]

TvR to the Penguins...

 

[HockeyRef]

I think Marty, Captain. A's go to Fitzy, Ring and Turner.

Agree about Ring!!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend. Encountered this interesting but extended read on the 1981 effort by the B's to move to Salem NH ...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2025.2486663#abstract

Remember a lot of this stuff as if it were yesterday. All this was happening before the advent of the current Boston Garden, the Tsongas Arena not far away in Lowell MA, the now SNHU Arena in downtown ManchVegas, and concurrently with the Centrum in Worcester MA (now the DCU Center). The Whittemore Center was also still a decade away. It is the Centrum that seems to be overlooked in this piece, and that better explains the spooked reaction from Boston politicians when the Jacobs family looked into moving north of the border. The Original Garden was notoriously bad for concerts, with abysmal sound and supporting facilities, and the much newer Providence Civic Center was already taking a huge chunk of the prominent touring musical acts' business from Boston to begin with. Even the original Schaefer Stadium (Foxboro) and the McMahon family's Cape Cod Coliseum were taking other chunks out of that business (Great Woods was also a few years away still). And then with the Centrum, that would put the final nail in the coffin of Boston Garden as a viable rock concert venue.

I'm surprised the article makes no reference to it at all, as the three pronged "attack" of the B's to Salem NH, the Celtics to the Suffolk Downs property in Revere (just past the tunnel and airport from East Boston) and everything else to the Centrum or the Providence Civic Center was perceived as such a huge threat to what was still a decaying urban core of the big city (I believe the City of Boston lost about 250,000 in population between the end of WW2 and the early '80's). The Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market renovation and re-opening a few years before the '80's was Boston's first real attempt to stem the erosion, and then of course, the arrival of high tech etc. really changed the course of things in the city proper ... but not before tech had established its beachhead along the Rte. 128 "inner hub" in the heart of suburbia.

In retrospect, it's interesting that so many of the things that were prominent at the time have either changed, faded away or become obsolete. Seabrook Greyhound Park - arguably the biggest hurdle to the B's move, as viewed from Concord - is no more, and has since been replaced by a gambling venue. The Rockingham Park parcel has become a mall first, and now Tuscan Village where the grand old track used to stand. The mall is adding a gambling venue as we speak, and another two are closer to the Nashua NH area outside of Lowell. Portsmouth, being untouched by the sports bug, got hit hard when the Pease Air Force Base closed down circa 1990 ... but has since arisen on the back of the converted Pease International Tradeport, and is now arguably the most affluent of many affluent areas in the southern tier of NH. By any measure, Seabrook and Salem are far improved from 40+ years ago, Portsmouth and Concord are almost unrecognizable (for the better, the latter with its flaws), and even much-maligned Manchester was just recently voted one of the best run cities in the country, and with Nashua the #1 hottest housing market in the country, with the Millyard in Manchester emerging as a significant tech hub to mirror Pease.

Things can change, and sometimes it's relatively quickly ... and other times, it's gradual and in ways you don't really anticipate.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend ... only 90 days left before meaningful hockey starts up again!!