RPI Recruit Thread 2025-2026

[rpi82]

Yeah I believe Brampton is in a rebuild right now after losing a ton of high quality plyers in the past few years (Rehkopf, Misa, Martone and Ivankovic come to mind), but maybe @cinnamoroll can confirm that for us Hopefully they'll improve next year

Not exactly RPI recruting news, but Brampton absolutely is rebuilding. The reason Witkowski was their leading scorer was because they threw in the towel and traded their top mid-season scorers to contenders for boatloads of draft picks over the remainder of the decade. After the top handful of players junior drafts are largely a shot in the dark, but some of those deals were amazing. They traded one forward for 8 future draft picks. I guess the RPI recruiting angle is they probably want to keep Witkowski for an overage year.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Not exactly RPI recruting news, but Brampton absolutely is rebuilding. The reason Witkowski was their leading scorer was because they threw in the towel and traded their top mid-season scorers to contenders for boatloads of draft picks over the remainder of the decade. After the top handful of players junior drafts are largely a shot in the dark, but some of those deals were amazing. They traded one forward for 8 future draft picks. I guess the RPI recruiting angle is they probably want to keep Witkowski for an overage year.

which would be 2027-28.

Hopefully, the reason that they still have him is that they want him for rebuilding, not that no one else wanted him.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Yeah I believe Brampton is in a rebuild right now after losing a ton of high quality plyers in the past few years (Rehkopf, Misa, Martone and Ivankovic come to mind), but maybe @cinnamoroll can confirm that for us Hopefully they'll improve next year

that’s correct, lost all those guys (to clarify that’s Luke Misa who went to Penn State, older brother of the Sharks Michael). sold off a lot a the deadline too. Mason Zebeski is still 3rd in scoring, and Gabriel Chiarot, Parker von Richter, and Jakub Fibigr were all on pace to surpass that. that was their entire leadership group, who would’ve all left (Zebeski is overage, he and von Richter are committed to UNH, Chiarot signed his ELC, Fibigr is an import heading to OSU). Chiarot went to Kitchener, Zebeski and von Richter went to Barrie, and Fibigr went to Windsor, so at least one gets a championship and all of them had deep runs to end their OHL career. Brampton is getting a new GM/HC though and those trades got them a haul

Brampton is also always dealing with attendance issues

 

[Ralph Baer]

Free Neutral Zone post entitled "NCAA Commitments: May 4 – May 10". https://neutralzone.com/2026/05/11/ncaa-commitments-may-4-may-10/

Extract:

Shane Smith (F, L, 6’1”, 202, Kelowna Rockets, 01/14/2005, RPI)

Having split time between the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes and Kelowna Rockets this season, Smith collected 33 goals and 68 points. He will play at RPI next season.

Smith is an impactful two-way player.

“Shane Smith is a well-rounded forward with a strong offensive skill set, excelling in various aspects of his game. He possesses good puck skills, allowing him to create opportunities through his shot-first mentality and excellent wrist shot. A skilled skater with above-average top-end speed, he’s effective on the rush and can create for teammates. Defensively, Smith needs to commit more to playing a stop-and-start manner, but his vision and playmaking abilities are consistently on display. He competes physically, engaging in forechecks, finishing checks, and delivering intensity in board battles.”

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[Engineers]

Free Neutral Zone post entitled "NCAA Commitments: May 4 – May 10". https://neutralzone.com/2026/05/11/ncaa-commitments-may-4-may-10/

Extract:

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Can’t complain about that! That sounds exactly like the type of player we need. Hard skill