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CHL to NCAA Recruiting Megathread

Cape Breton Eagles pxp Patrick McNeil has been recently tweeting about QMJHL free agent invites to camp and helpfully has added commits to his tweets. I won’t post all of them as they come out but here’s a few already announced:

Rimouski:
Matthew Dabrowski, Merrimack
Indiana Grossbard, Dartmouth

Chicoutimi:
Ben Short, Merrimack
Wade Weil, Maine

Cape Breton:
Connor Towle, Holy Cross

Val d’Or:
Sheldon Rioux, Brown
 
UMD commit D Keith McInnis signs with hometown Red Deer Rebels

Miami commit D Kase Kamzik signs with Sarnia Sting

Rylan Gould, Michigan Tech commit, originally planned to return for his overage season in Swift Current, is now reportedly enrolling in the fall.

In terms of the sort of connections noticed in where players end up, a la Buttazzonis to UML, Tomas Mrsic's commitment to CC has him joining older brother Mateo Mrsic, who had been committed to join this fall since 2022. Tomas Mrsic is also a former teammate of Colton Roberts at Delta Hockey Academy.

Another member of that same Delta Hockey Academy team, 06 F Miguel Marques, has committed to Maine after lots of speculation. Seemed to be an Instagram following indication, but it is now official, at least verbally, pending eligibility and college acceptance. Played for Lethbridge Hurricanes, 2024 3rd round pick to Nashville.
 
Former NTDP goaltender Harrison Boettinger signs with 2026 Mem Cup host Kelowna Rockets. Previously Lethbridge drafted him 4th overall in 2022 US priority draft, rights were traded as part of a deadline deal for Caden Price.

Kelowna GM mentioned being impressed with his performance at this years CHL/USA Prospects Challenge this past November. He was previously a DU commit but it's missing on his EP profile, not sure the status of that, but Johnny Hicks flipping commitment might've pushed his arrival back. He's only 17, 2026 draft eligible.

In terms of the big impact pieces coming to CHL when they otherwise wouldn't have, this is up there.
 
cinnamoroll said:
Former NTDP goaltender Harrison Boettinger signs with 2026 Mem Cup host Kelowna Rockets. Previously Lethbridge drafted him 4th overall in 2022 US priority draft, rights were traded as part of a deadline deal for Caden Price.

Kelowna GM mentioned being impressed with his performance at this years CHL/USA Prospects Challenge this past November. He was previously a DU commit but it's missing on his EP profile, not sure the status of that, but Johnny Hicks flipping commitment might've pushed his arrival back. He's only 17, 2026 draft eligible.

In terms of the big impact pieces coming to CHL when they otherwise wouldn't have, this is up there.
Click to expand...
In today's world, Instagram is the indicator of a player's commitment. It's still there in Boettiger's bio.
 
Friedge on today's 32 thoughts on McKenna:
  • Had zoom call with DU, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State
  • Reportedly top 2 are Michigan State and Penn State
  • Michigan State has Medicine Hat teammate Cayden Lindstrom
  • Penn State on the rise
I also really like when I get to successfully convey to a fanbase that they should be excited about some of their new recruits. I'll definitely do a deep dive into each teams incoming CHL recruits, maybe by division.
 
Carter Casey has signed with reigning WHL champs Medicine Hat Tigers. 07 goaltender who after finishing his Minnesota High School season went to the Waterloo Black Hawks and had one of the most dominant postseason runs the USHL has ever seen, taking them to the Clark Cup final which they lost in game 7 overtime. He's not committed yet but he's had significant interest from many schools.

Medicine Hat's goaltending was a question mark with the graduation of Harrison Meneghin, this signing is a great answer for that.
 
cinnamoroll said:
Carter Casey has signed with reigning WHL champs Medicine Hat Tigers. 07 goaltender who after finishing his Minnesota High School season went to the Waterloo Black Hawks and had one of the most dominant postseason runs the USHL has ever seen, taking them to the Clark Cup final which they lost in game 7 overtime. He's not committed yet but he's had significant interest from many schools.

Medicine Hat's goaltending was a question mark with the graduation of Harrison Meneghin, this signing is a great answer for that.
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I figured that CHL would lose some top recruits but then backfill with some top younger US kids. Probably a lot of top 09s from US will sign on after development/tryout camps.
 
06 F Max Heise, Michigan State commit, signs with Prince Albert Raiders.

04 RHD Kalem Parker commits to Michigan Tech. Parker plated 5 seasons in the WHL in Victoria, Moose Jaw, and Calgary, winning the WHL championship with Moose Jaw in 2024. Minnesota 2023 6th round pick.

06 G AJ Reyelts, UMD Commit, signs with Penticton Vees

06 F Heath Nelson signs with Victoria Royals, Augustana commit

07 F Henri Ament, Cornell commit, signs with Everett Silvertips

The WHL has been the most impacted league in terms of players joining NCAA based on pure numbers, but they have one big benefit multiple teams are already cashing in on, which is that they have recruiting rights to Minnesota. Wenatchee in particular was on top of getting some of the bigger Minnesota high school players.
 
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Luke Mistelbacher(WHL) commits to Maine for 2026/27. He is elligible and likely to be drafted this time. He played for Swift Current Broncos but was traded this summer to Brandon Wheat Kings. There is speculation he could actually come in this fall if NHL team drafting him prefers that. Any rumors on this cinnimaroll?

chl.ca

2025 NHL Draft-eligible forward Mistelbacher commits to University of Maine - Western Hockey League

Mistelbacher finished fourth in the WHL goals race with a whopping 42 tallies (including three hat tricks and a four-goal game) in 2024-25.
chl.ca chl.ca
 
Sparkee said:
Luke Mistelbacher(WHL) commits to Maine for 2026/27. He is elligible and likely to be drafted this time. He played for Swift Current Broncos but was traded this summer to Brandon Wheat Kings. There is speculation he could actually come in this fall if NHL team drafting him prefers that. Any rumors on this cinnimaroll?
Click to expand...
Will probably need to wait until after the draft because some teams might prefer one or the other, but looking at his profile and what Brandon could look like this season, it might be a good idea for him to have another year. Kinda string bean-y, and Brandon could be poised for a deep run as long as Roger McQueen stays healthy. Also depends if there's space for him on this year's roster.
 
Day 1 of the NHL Draft is in the books. Of the players picked, a few are relevant to the subject at hand–
  • Penn State commit Jackson Smith 14th to CBJ, programs' highest ever NHL draft pick, first time in the first round. Of note, totally non-biased and completely objective reporting from ESPN's Emily Kaplan (Penn State alum) claiming McKenna to Penn State (but Bucci didn't dispute...)
  • UND commit Cole Reschny 18th to CGY
  • Rumored BC commit Justin Carbonneau 19th to STL, reports are he will talk with Brown after draft
Some of the players taken known to be targets of multiple NCAA teams:
  • F Michael Misa 2nd SJS, Saginaw Spirit
  • F Porter Martone 6th PHI, Brampton Steelheads
  • F Bill Zonnon 22nd PIT, Blainsville-Boisbrand Armada
  • G Joshua Ravensbergen 30th SJS, Prince George Cougars
Expect Michigan commit Malcolm Spence to go early tomorrow. Also expect the league to immediately return to the normal draft procedure because that was Rough. I also wanted to highlight that this was a great year for the QMJHL. After 2 straight drafts with 0 first round picks, this season they had 3, including one in the top 5.
 
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