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CHL to NCAA Recruiting Megathread

WHL and OHL finals series are tied 1-1, Moncton is up 2-0 in the Q finals.

Another bit of news: D Tyson Jugnauth is doing the opposite of Luke Misa, no longer going to Michigan State and signing his ELC with Seattle.
 
Today is a popular day for big CHL commitments. Along with Malcolm Spence, so far we have:

04 F Beau Jelsma from Barrie Colts to Providence. Captain past 2 years, 5'10 181

04 F Jaden Lipinski from Vancouver Giants to Maine. 6'4, 209, Scottsdale, AZ native, 2023 CGY 4th round pick.

04 F Rylen Roersma from Edmonton Oil Kings to UAF, 5'11 190

Antonin Verreault from Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to Quinnipiac
 
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This game is crazy, Oshawa just scored with goalie pulled. See if they can score another one to tie it?

lol, then Oshawa coach changes goalie after the empty netter?

Then London takes a too many men on the ice, and Oshawa hits a pipe in closing seconds.

Completely wild hockey. Loved it.
 
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Sparkee said:
This game is crazy, Oshawa just scored with goalie pulled. See if they can score another one to tie it?

lol, then Oshawa coach changes goalie after the empty netter?

Then London takes a too many men on the ice, and Oshawa hits a pipe in closing seconds.

Completely wild hockey. Loved it.
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The too many men on the ice penalty was goofy. Ryder Boulton goes for his first shift of the game and is just barely early. Insane finish... thanks to the Finnish. (thank you i will be here all night)

NCAA and NHL hockey is great, but the lack of structure in CHL compared to those leagues leads to some pretty wacky games. Sometimes you just want to enjoy the firehose hockey. For example, last years game 3 at Oshawa went similarly but roles reversed, with Oshawa getting the lead quickly. London was down 6-2, tied it, and won in double overtime. The goal scorer was rookie defenseman Henry Brzustewicz... playing 3rd line wing that game because of injuries and suspensions. Also featured a Kasper Halttunen hat trick, he likes those in Oshawa.

Much closer series than last year thats for sure. Yesterday's double OT game 2 in the Q was tons of fun too, Rudy Guimond (Yale) improves to 32-0 in the QMJHL. He had less work than Lacelle, but Rimouski had a lot of very high end shots, lots of difficult saves. Turning into quite the series, and we're guaranteed to get at least one more matchup in the Memorial Cup. The first two periods of the WHL game 2 were fun, 3rd period was pretty slow.
 
It's a lot trickier to track the new signings in theCHL that are already committed, so I'm doing my best to reach out to teams blogs/news accounts about commits.

Portland Winterhawks sign DU commit 07 F Sam Spehar. Draft eligible, projected mid-round, played some NTDP and Team USA along with USHL past year.

Also one rule I don't think I've heard about, but like how a player with a parent who played for a team in a league not in the jurisdiction of their hometown (Landon Sim to OHL despite being from Q territory) can be drafted into that league, that even extends to import players, and they don't even count as an import spot. 09 F Alessandro Domenichelli signed with Portland and won't count as one of their import picks despite being from Switzerland and never having played in North America. Didn't need to be picked in import draft either, 2nd round pick in 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. His dad, Hnat Domenichelli, played with Kamloops Blazers from 92-96.

Mike McMahon confirmed what I has already speculated- there's a bunch of high-end draft eligible players waiting for their drafted teams to give them some input on where they end up. Teams might be holding a spot for them or might push a recruit back one year, or look for someone still in the portal.

In finals news:

- London Knights can win their second straight OHL championship over the Oshawa Generals tomorrow night in London. For the second straight year, London wins both home games for Oshawa ft Kasper Halttunen back-to-back hat tricks. No almost comeback last night, and for once London won the special teams games, going 2/6 on power plays and killing all 5 of Oshawa's. Of definite concern is the status of London F Landon Sim, who got a knee-on-knee from Oshawa D Andrew Gibson. He left the game end of the 3rd and didn't return. all year Oshawa has had a terrible time with back-to-backs, so they seemed pretty defeated by the end. Jacob Oster was mercy pulled after the 2nd when it was 5-1 despite a spectacular 1st where he stopped all 17 shots. Powell (ASU) has looked great but not been rewarded for it in points. Montgomery (Wisconsin) had 1 assist, EVG (Maine) is mostly playing 3rd line wing (EVG-Nicholl-Halttunen) since Barkey's absence moved other wings up. Though he isn't at his usual center spot, it's a lot more responsibility- he's trusted to be out there with a line that gets more use than he does at 4C. The current 4C Van Bommel didn't take any faceoffs last night. Good sign for his potential larger role in the team next season.

- Moncton and Rimouski game 3 is tonight, game 4 is tomorrow night, in Rimouski so both are 4pm ET. the QMJHL has enforced bans of airhorns from arenas, but we will see how well that actually works. That is the worst part about watching some QMJHL games- certain arenas hadn't banned it despite how unpleasant it is to practically everyone but the fan with the horn, so the Q has enforced a league ban. I don't think Rimouski had banned it yet, while Moncton... their arena is called Avenir Centre- as in, Avenir Hearing. When the naming rights are owned by a chain of hearing clinics, they aren't messing around with that stuff. I'm guessing Guimond (Yale) gets game 4 and Rousseau gets tonight.

- Medicine Hat and Spokane play game 4 tonight at 7pm. Cayden Lindstrom has been playing every game (and looked fantastic last night) but they might not want to push it with a back to back, especially when he had a bit of a scare with a hit getting his leg. He returned to the game eventually. More concerningly, Gavin McKenna was a late scratch and some mentioned he looked to be favoring one foot by the end of game 2. The Chiefs didn't show up until the third period, so maybe they'll have enough energy to put up a better effort. Cowan was also mercy pulled after 2 periods. SVO (Penn State) tried to win a faceoff vs Wiesblatt by spearing him in the family jewels and they've been beefing all series. Ward (Northern Michigan) has had great physical play all around but hasn't been rewarded on the stats sheet this series. Spokane is winning in one area though- dominant in faceoffs.
 
Sparkee said:
Rimouski goalie Lacelle not tracking the puck tonight. Got pulled. Gave up 5 goals on 15 shots.
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William Lacelle is a really fascinating kid. in his rookie year, only 17, wins Jacques Plante. Injury led to him losing the starter spot in playoffs, and both he and Langevin don't seem to be 100%. He is definitely on the smaller side for goalies, and just straight up light. Basically, for the first time in a while, he looks how young goalies normally look. Maybe a sweep tomorrow night wouldn't be too bad, since it gives both goalies time to heal.

I am rooting for Lacelle a lot. Like Oshawa's Noah Powell, he is partially deaf. There's a video of him discussing it (with english subtitles). 95% deaf in his left ear since birth, 50% deaf in his right, can lip read in both English and French. He's expressed interest in NCAA previously (after being drafted in QMJHL 2023, went back to his previous team to maintain college eligibility). Could be a high end goaltender colleges will target.

On him not tracking the puck.... he does say he has the hardest time with super loud environments, and it was really quite loud in Rimouski. I don't think anyone is enforcing that airhorn ban.
 
Game 4 was a 5-1 win for Rimouski, who was not messing around tonight, and Moncton obliged by taking lots of dumb penalties and being outshot bad the first 2 periods. Guimond (Yale) officially has his first loss in the QMJHL. Played the first 8 minutes, gave up 3 on 8 shots, Rousseau played 32 minutes, saved 25 of 27. Guimond got the whole 3rd period, only faced 5 shots and saved them all.

Fauchon (Providence) 1g
Mathieu (Northeastern) 1a

Back to Moncton for game 5. Will be saturday 7pm AT (6pm ET)

Luke Coughlin (Maine) did not play, was watching OHL so I missed if they said anything about it. I'll scour francophone media for info, could just be not rushing him on a back to back, esp since they need to prepare for mem cup.
 
OHL Playoffs is officially over, J. Ross Robertson Cup awarded. London Knights win 5-2 in game 5 over the Oshawa Generals. 3rd straight finals appearances, 2nd straight championship. Beat last year's record of 16-2, going 16-1. This is the first time the London Knights have won a series at home since 2023. They have been the top seed since and the only non-sweep before tonight was a game 6 in Saginaw. Nice for the fans to finally celebrate it at home.

Coach Dale Hunter ties the record for most J Ross Robertson Cup with 5. Playoff MVP goes to Finnish forward (and San Jose Sharks prospect) Kasper Halttunen, the first Import Draft pick to win the 99 Gretzky Trophy. He was a post away from a 3rd straight hat trick. Oshawa is so very happy to not see him in the OHL again. They pushed hard after a slow start, ultimately outshot London 34-25. London is just really good, which is a usual thing London is.

London captain Denver Barkey made a surprise return to the lineup as a 4th line center. He was on the 2nd power play and had very limited minutes. I'm sure it meant a lot to him and his teammates that he be with them. Hopefully he'll be healthy enough for his regular lineup spot by the Memorial Cup.

Austin Elliott (UML) has a total season record of 51-2. His teammates call him "Stone Cold". Wacky journey for his overage year– starting being waived by Saskatoon Blades in the WHL, claimed by OHL Barrie, traded to the best team, got rewarded with an OHL championship, a shot at a Mem Cup, and a NCAA DI scholarship to solidify his future plans.

Thats 3/4 participants in the Memorial Cup confirmed. Could be confirmed as soon as tomorrow night in Medicine Hat. Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) is expected to be back, McKenna is game-time decision.

If anyone wants to hear more about their commits and particularly their playoff performances, feel free to ask. Mem cup teams will get their own preview posts once the date comes closer.

Memorial cup festivities begin May 22nd, first game is on the 23rd. It will be Rimouski v WHL champs. The Championship will be on June 1st. More details and the full schedule can be found here.
 
cinnamoroll said:
OHL Playoffs is officially over, J. Ross Robertson Cup awarded. London Knights win 5-2 in game 5 over the Oshawa Generals. 3rd straight finals appearances, 2nd straight championship. Beat last year's record of 16-2, going 16-1. This is the first time the London Knights have won a series at home since 2023. They have been the top seed since and the only non-sweep before tonight was a game 6 in Saginaw. Nice for the fans to finally celebrate it at home.

Coach Dale Hunter ties the record for most J Ross Robertson Cup with 5. Playoff MVP goes to Finnish forward (and San Jose Sharks prospect) Kasper Halttunen, the first Import Draft pick to win the 99 Gretzky Trophy. He was a post away from a 3rd straight hat trick. Oshawa is so very happy to not see him in the OHL again. They pushed hard after a slow start, ultimately outshot London 34-25. London is just really good, which is a usual thing London is.

London captain Denver Barkey made a surprise return to the lineup as a 4th line center. He was on the 2nd power play and had very limited minutes. I'm sure it meant a lot to him and his teammates that he be with them. Hopefully he'll be healthy enough for his regular lineup spot by the Memorial Cup.

Austin Elliott (UML) has a total season record of 51-2. His teammates call him "Stone Cold". Wacky journey for his overage year– starting being waived by Saskatoon Blades in the WHL, claimed by OHL Barrie, traded to the best team, got rewarded with an OHL championship, a shot at a Mem Cup, and a NCAA DI scholarship to solidify his future plans.

Thats 3/4 participants in the Memorial Cup confirmed. Could be confirmed as soon as tomorrow night in Medicine Hat. Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) is expected to be back, McKenna is game-time decision.

If anyone wants to hear more about their commits and particularly their playoff performances, feel free to ask. Mem cup teams will get their own preview posts once the date comes closer.

Memorial cup festivities begin May 22nd, first game is on the 23rd. It will be Rimouski v WHL champs. The Championship will be on June 1st. More details and the full schedule can be found here.
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Do you happen to know if Torrance came back after the awkward collision with O’Brien. Seemed he had a hard time making it off the ice. Not sure if he was concussed? Tough way to end your last OHL game. He seems like a great player.
 
cinnamoroll said:
Game 4 was a 5-1 win for Rimouski, who was not messing around tonight, and Moncton obliged by taking lots of dumb penalties and being outshot bad the first 2 periods. Guimond (Yale) officially has his first loss in the QMJHL. Played the first 8 minutes, gave up 3 on 8 shots, Rousseau played 32 minutes, saved 25 of 27. Guimond got the whole 3rd period, only faced 5 shots and saved them all.

Fauchon (Providence) 1g
Mathieu (Northeastern) 1a

Back to Moncton for game 5. Will be saturday 7pm AT (6pm ET)

Luke Coughlin (Maine) did not play, was watching OHL so I missed if they said anything about it. I'll scour francophone media for info, could just be not rushing him on a back to back, esp since they need to prepare for mem cup.
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Coughlin was listed last night as RD on the top d pairing with Roy as LD. However, he never played with Roy. He played RD on the third pairing, didn’t play on power play or special teams. He had very low ice time last night. At least that is how it seemed to me. My guess is they are being cautious with him.
 
Sparkee said:
Do you happen to know if Torrance came back after the awkward collision with O’Brien. Seemed he had a hard time making it off the ice. Not sure if he was concussed? Tough way to end your last OHL game. He seems like a great player.
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Torrance was on the ice for the opening faceoff in the 3rd period. The O'Reilly collision was near the end of the second iirc, looked to me like a leg issue. definitely one of those moments where if he wasn't on a stretcher taken to a hospital, he was going out there as much as he could. Beyond just being an overage player, he's an Oshawa native and played in the Oshawa Generals minor hockey system before being drafted there. Can only imagine how important it is to him.

Oshawa is unique in that none of their 3 overage players have committed to NCAA. Along with LW Luke Torrance, there is D Luca D'Amato and G Jacob Oster. Oster was last year's OHL Goaltender of the Year and had a solid season. they could be among the guys wanting to finish their season before announcing or just not planning on going NCAA.

Sparkee said:
Coughlin was listed last night as RD on the top d pairing with Roy as LD. However, he never played with Roy. He played RD on the third pairing, didn’t play on power play or special teams. He had very low ice time last night. At least that is how it seemed to me. My guess is they are being cautious with him.
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I believe that was in game 3 Wednesday night- game 4 Thursday night he is not listed on the official game report's lineup.
 
QMJHL looking to add 2 american franchises, hopefully by 26-27. Likely names out there are Portland and Manchester who have the most significant ownership interest. Q commissioner Mario Cecchini seems optimistic about his relationship with USA Hockey, summit will be held this summer to discuss an agreement. Would help with recruitment of American players. the language barrier can be very prohibitive in their efforts, having teams with american presence would help the health of the league immensely.

The QMJHL has tried to do American towns twice, for one season in Plattsburgh, NY 84-85 (not even a full season), and Lewiston, ME from 03-11 after relocating from Sherbrooke. Lewiston MAINEiacs folded, bought back by the league, became the Sherbrooke Phoenix in 12-13. Despite a championship win in 2007, team never broke even. potential relocations were proposed and fell through in 2009, but subsequent rumors remained and attendance suffered. Notable NHL players who played during their existence include Jonathan Bernier, Jaroslav Halák, David Perron.

New CHL commits:
F Brayden Schuurman, OA, Seattle Thunderbirds to Colorado College

EDIT: right after i post, this comes up.
03 F Cam MacDonald transferring from Acadia to UNH, former Cape Breton Eagle.

Committed players signing in CHL:
F Hunter Rudolph, St Cloud State commit, to Everett Silvertips
 
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Saskatoon Blades 08 F Cooper Williams commits to UND. Won't be coming until likely 2026, expected to be in Saskatoon this season. Led WHL scoring for 08-born players, 21 goals, 57 points in 68 regular season games, 26 nhl draft eligible. Was a WHL rookie of the year finalist, unsurprisingly did not win however... no slight to him, considering it went to exceptional-status defenseman Landon DuPont, who had 60 points and is an 09, projected1st overall in 2027.

Schlossman mentions UND's new head coach expressed in his first press conference that he aims for them "to be a leader in recruiting Western Canada". Expect them to go hard after some of the bigger fish in the WHL.
 
cinnamoroll said:
QMJHL looking to add 2 american franchises, hopefully by 26-27. Likely names out there are Portland and Manchester who have the most significant ownership interest. Q commissioner Mario Cecchini seems optimistic about his relationship with USA Hockey, summit will be held this summer to discuss an agreement. Would help with recruitment of American players. the language barrier can be very prohibitive in their efforts, having teams with american presence would help the health of the league immensely.

The QMJHL has tried to do American towns twice, for one season in Plattsburgh, NY 84-85 (not even a full season), and Lewiston, ME from 03-11 after relocating from Sherbrooke. Lewiston MAINEiacs folded, bought back by the league, became the Sherbrooke Phoenix in 12-13. Despite a championship win in 2007, team never broke even. potential relocations were proposed and fell through in 2009, but subsequent rumors remained and attendance suffered. Notable NHL players who played during their existence include Jonathan Bernier, Jaroslav Halák, David Perron.
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A return of the Portland Pirates would be awesome
 
cinnamoroll said:
QMJHL looking to add 2 american franchises, hopefully by 26-27. Likely names out there are Portland and Manchester who have the most significant ownership interest. Q commissioner Mario Cecchini seems optimistic about his relationship with USA Hockey, summit will be held this summer to discuss an agreement. Would help with recruitment of American players. the language barrier can be very prohibitive in their efforts, having teams with american presence would help the health of the league immensely.

The QMJHL has tried to do American towns twice, for one season in Plattsburgh, NY 84-85 (not even a full season), and Lewiston, ME from 03-11 after relocating from Sherbrooke. Lewiston MAINEiacs folded, bought back by the league, became the Sherbrooke Phoenix in 12-13. Despite a championship win in 2007, team never broke even. potential relocations were proposed and fell through in 2009, but subsequent rumors remained and attendance suffered. Notable NHL players who played during their existence include Jonathan Bernier, Jaroslav Halák, David Perron.

New CHL commits:
F Brayden Schuurman, OA, Seattle Thunderbirds to Colorado College

EDIT: right after i post, this comes up.
03 F Cam MacDonald transferring from Acadia to UNH, former Cape Breton Eagle.

Committed players signing in CHL:
F Hunter Rudolph, St Cloud State commit, to Everett Silvertips
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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).

I noticed NCDC is expanding and is going to have a team now in Presque Isle. Not sure what the name is.
 
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