TheRevengeance
2016 Hockey East Overlords
With this season coming to a close for Northeastern, it's time to look ahead towards what the next one will bring. The Huskies won 22 games in 2015-16, the third-highest mark in program history, trailing only the 1982 Huskies, who qualified for the Frozen Four, and the 2009 team. Neither of those teams finished above .500 the following year. So next year immediately brings the chance to solidify ourselves into the top half of Hockey East and show that this winter was the start of a new era in Husky history.
From the net out, we start with Ruck. Just a freshman, he didn't have his best game ever to end the year, but he performed admirably down the stretch and the experience he gained should be invaluable to him for the next 2-3 years. If he truly is the goaltender we saw this spring and the goaltender that did his best to steal the Beanpot game away from BU, we're going to have a solid foundation to build on for a long time between Ruck and Cayden Primeau after him. Curtis Frye will be coming in next year as a 21 year old freshman and might be in competition for the backup job, but has never put up good numbers anywhere and probably is the next iteration of Mountain/Theut.
On defense, we're going to have some turnover. We graduate Saucerman, Darou, and Fennell, three of our top six and will see a fourth departure in Matt Benning as well. Luckily, we have some guys that should be able to come in and more than adequately fill those shoes, hopefully without stumbling too much out of the blocks.
Ryan Shea is a fourth round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and a former BC High standout. He spent much of this past season injured in the USHL and will look to regain his past form wth the Huskies. He's undoubtedly the #1 defenseman of the future, but he might have some adjustment to go through at the start of the year considering his very abbreviated USHL experience.
Jeremy Davies comes to us from Quebec and has played the past two seasons in the USHL, most recently racking up 44 points and 46 PIM this year in Bloomington. He's our next offensive defenseman in the Cockerill/Saucerman mold, except better, and should also bring along some playmaking ability from the point. Could become a big piece of the PP.
Nick Fiorentino just committed about a month ago and is coming to us from the BCHL, where has 38 points and 118 PIM in 58 games this season. I don't know much about him and honestly, I assume that if he was available a month ago to come in this year, he isn't a particularly special defenseman. I'll slot him in below everyone else and if he happens to be better than that, it'll be a pleasant surprise.
Logan Day and Jon Barry are both redshirted members of this year's team who could step into the spotlight next year. Barry played a few games in the fall and looked good before missing the year on an injury redshirt, while Day sat out the year as a result of a transfer from Providence, where he played two games and scored one goal on their National Championship team in 2015. The biggest knock on Day has been his defense (He's yet another offense-centric point man) so whether he sees the ice likely depends on how he's developed on the defensive side of the puck. Of the two, Barry is probably the one with the potential to have the biggest impact, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Day in the lineup regularly, especially if one or both freshmen have a tough transition up to this level.
Garret Cecere is a transfer from Colorado College who committed to St. Lawrence, only to decommit when Greg Carvel left and commit here just a few days ago. He'll arrive as a junior and be eligible to play this season. He's a wild card to me, I don't know where to place him. He was very well regarded entering college, but this is now two teams he's left. He'll likely battle for the final defensive spot with Barry and Day.
Projected lines:
Shea-Williams
Owens-Cockerill
Davies-Cecere
Barry-Day
Fiorentino-Schechter
On to the offense. Obviously, we lose Roy and McMurtry right off the bat. ZAR has been confirmed to return for this upcoming year, so we won't have any early departures barring a surprise over the summer. Incoming we have:
Grant Jozefek. Comes in with two years of USHL experience in Lincoln, including a point-per-game 50 points in 51 games this year. Should make an immediate impact as a playmaker who can also put the puck home.
Liam Pecararo comes to us with a backstory. He put up 61 points in 54 games in Waterloo in 13-14 before joining Maine. He originally committed under Whitehead but stayed on when the change to Gendron was made, and evidently regretted it and didn't like how the coach and program were treating him. He left, spending another year with Waterloo in the meantime, and now will come to us as the next Jim Madigan second-chance-transfer
Biagio Lerario is a former Brown commit. He has 70 points over his last two years as an overage USHLer, which is impressive simply because he somehow found the ice time to score 70 points despite spending nearly 300 minutes in the penalty box. Can't imagine him taking a spot anywhere besides a grind-line, but unless he manages to do that without taking penalties every shift, he can sit in the stands next to Will Messa.
John Picking comes from the Boston Junior Bruins of the USPHL where he's posted 99 points in 89 games and 59 in 40 this season. Those are nice numbers, but for a 21 year old playing in the USPHL, I'm not going to peg them as something that's likely to transfer to the NCAA level. Maybe I'm wrong, some others seem to have higher opinions of him than I do, but considering the mitigating factors, I don't see it. Another guy that, like Fiorentino, I'm going to start wth zero expectations and if he happens to be better than that, good for us and for the coaching staff.
Finally, the star of the class is Matt Filipe. He will likely be the highest player from Northeastern chosen in the draft snce Kevin Roy and is the highest regarded forward from New England in the upcoming class. Expect him to land somewhere in Round 3-4. A Malden Catholic star who spent a year in the USHL gaining experience, he's the real deal, plain and simple.
Projected lines:
Nolan-John-AstonReese
Griffin-Gaudette-Sikura
Jozefek-Filipe-Pecararo
Collier-Hedges-Kurker
Lerario-Pond-Schule
Jamieson-Picking-Rosenthal
Messa
So there we go. Happy offseason everyone! Only 189 days until the calendar turns to October. The hockey banquet will be held Thursday, April 14th, at Matthews if anybody is interested in going to that.
From the net out, we start with Ruck. Just a freshman, he didn't have his best game ever to end the year, but he performed admirably down the stretch and the experience he gained should be invaluable to him for the next 2-3 years. If he truly is the goaltender we saw this spring and the goaltender that did his best to steal the Beanpot game away from BU, we're going to have a solid foundation to build on for a long time between Ruck and Cayden Primeau after him. Curtis Frye will be coming in next year as a 21 year old freshman and might be in competition for the backup job, but has never put up good numbers anywhere and probably is the next iteration of Mountain/Theut.
On defense, we're going to have some turnover. We graduate Saucerman, Darou, and Fennell, three of our top six and will see a fourth departure in Matt Benning as well. Luckily, we have some guys that should be able to come in and more than adequately fill those shoes, hopefully without stumbling too much out of the blocks.
Ryan Shea is a fourth round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and a former BC High standout. He spent much of this past season injured in the USHL and will look to regain his past form wth the Huskies. He's undoubtedly the #1 defenseman of the future, but he might have some adjustment to go through at the start of the year considering his very abbreviated USHL experience.
Jeremy Davies comes to us from Quebec and has played the past two seasons in the USHL, most recently racking up 44 points and 46 PIM this year in Bloomington. He's our next offensive defenseman in the Cockerill/Saucerman mold, except better, and should also bring along some playmaking ability from the point. Could become a big piece of the PP.
Nick Fiorentino just committed about a month ago and is coming to us from the BCHL, where has 38 points and 118 PIM in 58 games this season. I don't know much about him and honestly, I assume that if he was available a month ago to come in this year, he isn't a particularly special defenseman. I'll slot him in below everyone else and if he happens to be better than that, it'll be a pleasant surprise.
Logan Day and Jon Barry are both redshirted members of this year's team who could step into the spotlight next year. Barry played a few games in the fall and looked good before missing the year on an injury redshirt, while Day sat out the year as a result of a transfer from Providence, where he played two games and scored one goal on their National Championship team in 2015. The biggest knock on Day has been his defense (He's yet another offense-centric point man) so whether he sees the ice likely depends on how he's developed on the defensive side of the puck. Of the two, Barry is probably the one with the potential to have the biggest impact, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Day in the lineup regularly, especially if one or both freshmen have a tough transition up to this level.
Garret Cecere is a transfer from Colorado College who committed to St. Lawrence, only to decommit when Greg Carvel left and commit here just a few days ago. He'll arrive as a junior and be eligible to play this season. He's a wild card to me, I don't know where to place him. He was very well regarded entering college, but this is now two teams he's left. He'll likely battle for the final defensive spot with Barry and Day.
Projected lines:
Shea-Williams
Owens-Cockerill
Davies-Cecere
Barry-Day
Fiorentino-Schechter
On to the offense. Obviously, we lose Roy and McMurtry right off the bat. ZAR has been confirmed to return for this upcoming year, so we won't have any early departures barring a surprise over the summer. Incoming we have:
Grant Jozefek. Comes in with two years of USHL experience in Lincoln, including a point-per-game 50 points in 51 games this year. Should make an immediate impact as a playmaker who can also put the puck home.
Liam Pecararo comes to us with a backstory. He put up 61 points in 54 games in Waterloo in 13-14 before joining Maine. He originally committed under Whitehead but stayed on when the change to Gendron was made, and evidently regretted it and didn't like how the coach and program were treating him. He left, spending another year with Waterloo in the meantime, and now will come to us as the next Jim Madigan second-chance-transfer
Biagio Lerario is a former Brown commit. He has 70 points over his last two years as an overage USHLer, which is impressive simply because he somehow found the ice time to score 70 points despite spending nearly 300 minutes in the penalty box. Can't imagine him taking a spot anywhere besides a grind-line, but unless he manages to do that without taking penalties every shift, he can sit in the stands next to Will Messa.
John Picking comes from the Boston Junior Bruins of the USPHL where he's posted 99 points in 89 games and 59 in 40 this season. Those are nice numbers, but for a 21 year old playing in the USPHL, I'm not going to peg them as something that's likely to transfer to the NCAA level. Maybe I'm wrong, some others seem to have higher opinions of him than I do, but considering the mitigating factors, I don't see it. Another guy that, like Fiorentino, I'm going to start wth zero expectations and if he happens to be better than that, good for us and for the coaching staff.
Finally, the star of the class is Matt Filipe. He will likely be the highest player from Northeastern chosen in the draft snce Kevin Roy and is the highest regarded forward from New England in the upcoming class. Expect him to land somewhere in Round 3-4. A Malden Catholic star who spent a year in the USHL gaining experience, he's the real deal, plain and simple.
Projected lines:
Nolan-John-AstonReese
Griffin-Gaudette-Sikura
Jozefek-Filipe-Pecararo
Collier-Hedges-Kurker
Lerario-Pond-Schule
Jamieson-Picking-Rosenthal
Messa
So there we go. Happy offseason everyone! Only 189 days until the calendar turns to October. The hockey banquet will be held Thursday, April 14th, at Matthews if anybody is interested in going to that.
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