UNH Hockey Off Season Thread 2026

[Chuck Murray]

I do not believe Mr. Raffio actually attended the flagship.

I believe you are correct. Harvard/Babson with an honorary degree at NEC, but long-time resident of NH.

 

[C-H-C]

"UNH Bolsters 2026-27 Roster With 13 New Players" (Link)​

 

[Felger]

Apologies if this is behind a paywall. But I believe the current environment of Burlington was discussed on this thread not too long ago.

A campaign for Vermont prosecutor has become a referendum on the safety of its largest city - The Boston Globe

Not everyone agrees that "Burlington is back," as the mayor declared earlier this summer.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[Chuck Murray]

Apologies if this is behind a paywall. But I believe the current environment of Burlington was discussed on this thread not too long ago.

A campaign for Vermont prosecutor has become a referendum on the safety of its largest city - The Boston Globe

Not everyone agrees that "Burlington is back," as the mayor declared earlier this summer.

www.bostonglobe.com

Couldn't get at the article due to paywall restrictions Felgie, but some local business acquaintances have recently told me how the Chittenden County DA race (Democrat primary) between the "progressive" incumbent and a more by-the-book challenger from a neighboring county has seen VT's Republican governor - apparently without a GOP candidate to be found - take the unusual step of endorsing the Democrat challenger in their primary. Polling apparently has shown lots of public concern over safety trends and practices in Vermont's largest city, which we did indeed discuss on here not all that long ago this offseason.

With the help of some AI research, it turns out that Burlington VT is a more dangerous place than Manchester NH ...

Burlington, VT currently experiences higher per capita crime indices and higher rates of property crime relative to its size compared to Manchester, NH, although both cities have recently seen distinct downward trends in violent offenses. [1, 2, 3]
Because Manchester is roughly 2.5 times larger than Burlington, raw numbers can be misleading; local crime tracking dashboards assess the risk using per capita rates and national baselines. [1, 2]

Current Crime Index and Safety Metrics

Metric	Burlington, VT	Manchester, NH
City-Data Crime Index	303 (1.3x higher than U.S. avg)	177 (1.3x lower than U.S. avg)
Total Crime vs. National Avg	33% Higher	24.8% Higher
Violent Crime Trend	Decreasing (Down to 2021 levels)	Decreasing (Multi-year decline)
Property Crime Trend	High/Slightly Decreasing (Driven by larceny)	Steadily Declining
Chance of Being a Victim	1 in 20	1 in 51

If you told me even 10-15 years ago that things would look like this, I would not have believed it. In terms of generalities and reputations, Burlington VT has always enjoyed positive reviews among folks from away (including yours truly), while Manchester NH has always been viewed far less favorably. Kudos to Mayor Jay Ruais (R) who has driven a ton of improvements to his city since succeeding Joyce Craig (D). Manchester still has a lot of work to do, no doubt, but things are clearly trending in the right direction ... as opposed to the decay setting in on the banks of Lake Champlain, and the deep rot of rural poverty in large swaths of the rest of that state.

Food for thought. Thanks for revisiting this topic, Felgie. Only two months 'til the start of the college hockey season in earnest!

 

[Potluck]

Bruins goalie prospect Leo Henriquez has traveled a long way to play at Boston College - The Boston Globe

How did a 19-year-old from Bratislava end up on the Bruins draft radar, and land a scholarship from one of the best NCAA powers? It's good story to tell.

www.bostonglobe.com

From Kevin Paul Dupont's story today in the Globe re: Henriquez:

"Henriquez initially signed on with the University of New Hampshire, but withdrew his commitment, he said, when learning the Wildcats wanted him to wait until 2027-28 to arrive in Durham."

BC and Miami Ohio offered Henriquez after UNH deferred. He's headed to BC. Must say, looks a like a shaky decision for UNH to defer a player BC is ready to take immediately.

 

[C-H-C]

Bruins goalie prospect Leo Henriquez has traveled a long way to play at Boston College - The Boston Globe

How did a 19-year-old from Bratislava end up on the Bruins draft radar, and land a scholarship from one of the best NCAA powers? It's good story to tell.

www.bostonglobe.com

From Kevin Paul Dupont's story today in the Globe re: Henriquez:

"Henriquez initially signed on with the University of New Hampshire, but withdrew his commitment, he said, when learning the Wildcats wanted him to wait until 2027-28 to arrive in Durham."

BC and Miami Ohio offered Henriquez after UNH deferred. He's headed to BC. Must say, looks a like a shaky decision for UNH to defer a player BC is ready to take immediately.

Excerpt from "UNH Bolsters 2026-27 Roster With 13 New Players" (LINK):
"Accomplished Goaltenders
UNH's top 2 goalies last season, Kyle Chauvette and Jared Whale, graduated and have signed professional contracts for 2026-27. They've been replaced by 2 goalies who've had success at multiple levels of hockey in recent seasons.

Michael Simpson
~ 2022-23 OHL Playoffs MVP (Wayne Gretzky 99 Award)
~ 2023-24 CHL Memorial Cup Most Outstanding Goalie
~ Combined AHL/ECHL record 10W 9L 1T
~ 2025-26 Providence College freshman* goalie - 2GP, 2W 0L 0T, 1.52GAA, .936SV%
Teagan Kendrick
~ 2024-25 BCHL Top Goaltender
~ 2025-26 Sacred Heart freshman goalie - 20GP, 10W 7L 2T, 2.42GAA, .920SV%"
*Simpson will be a senior this season.

Apparently, UNH chose 2 goalies with proven success in NCAA DI competition, in addition to notable success in junior hockey. Henriquez, an incoming freshman with an impressive, 2025-26 season in the USHL and Bruins draftee, understandably chose to move on.

 

[Dan]

Interesting...

Cross off Henriquez. Greg Brown flipped him.

This was done before the two transfers were coming in. The transfers were a response. Chestnut Hill money talks.

easy choice- probably wasn't previiously recruited by high end teams
money not only factor
Chance to win on successful program
much bigger exposure
much better academics(if it matters)
nationally known program-play brand name teams

So, I guess he wasn't flipped, bought, or enticed by the bright lights of Chestnut Hill - despite so many being SO sure and 'IN the know'. A lesson for many fans, posters and media members...

For every Gavin McKenna making 750k - or, apparently, Landon Dupont making 1MM - there are still hundreds of players (even very good ones) making their decision based on the school and program they like, who offers first, or where they see a path to playing/development.

UNH has plenty to offer prospects (even very good ones) in a vacuum. Money and facilities are not a prohibiting factor for building a winning team in Durham, or elsewhere. Good coaches, good recruiters. That's the secret sauce. Denver, for example, has always been far more the latter than the former...

--

This feels like an urgent choice, from someone who feels pressure to win NOW.

Passing on Henriquez for not just one season of Simpson, or AHA transfer Kendrick, but BOTH. I'd venture decent odds this turns out to be a questionable decision; maybe not this season but certainly beyond...

 

[Dan]

At the time of Henriquez' switched commitment, RENCEB raised the Vecchione deferral as potentially similar choice. The decision gets superficially rehashed every off-season. For the first time (in a while, at least), I went back to see what freshman were brought in instead and how it may have effected UNH that season (and beyond)...

Vecchione was supposed to arrive at UNH as a freshman ahead of the 2012-2013. UNH finished that season 20-12-7 (13-8-6) and tied for 3rd during the HE regular season (just three points shy of winning the regular season title outright). They lost a three-game quarterfinal to Providence in the HE Tournament and fell to Lowell in the NCAA Regional Final (without Downing & Goumas). If Vecchione has 'only' a similar impact as fellow freshman Brett Pesce, does UNH win a regular season title? Reach the HE Final Four? The Frozen Four?

The forwards that pushed Vecchione out of the 2012 recruiting class? Dan Correale, Max Gaudreault, Colin MacDonald, Jamie Hill, Kyle Smith - joined by defenseman Pesce and Harry Quast, and goaltender Jamie Regan. Even with Pesce, this has to be one of the least impactful recruiting classes in program history. Its not just deferring Vecchione, its who they chose...

Moving forward imagine the impact Vecchione could have made playing alongside Goumas, Downing, Willows, Kelleher & Poturalski (along with any other recruits who would have wanted to join a potential 2013 HE Champion & Frozen Four participant).

In 2013-14, UNH finished three points out of second place and lost in the Hockey East Championship game. In 2014-15, they finished .500. In 2015-16, they were 11-20-6.

At the very least, we were robbed of a Vecchione-Poturalski-Kelleher line in 2015-16. Does one of them win a Hobey playing together? Its certainly the best line in college hockey and they win more than 11 games...

 

[FlagUp17]

Interesting...





So, I guess he wasn't flipped, bought, or enticed by the bright lights of Chestnut Hill - despite so many being SO sure and 'IN the know'. A lesson for many fans, posters and media members...

For every Gavin McKenna making 750k - or, apparently, Landon Dupont making 1MM - there are still hundreds of players (even very good ones) making their decision based on the school and program they like, who offers first, or where they see a path to playing/development.

UNH has plenty to offer prospects (even very good ones) in a vacuum. Money and facilities are not a prohibiting factor for building a winning team in Durham, or elsewhere. Good coaches, good recruiters. That's the secret sauce. Denver, for example, has always been far more the latter than the former...

--

This feels like an urgent choice, from someone who feels pressure to win NOW.

Passing on Henriquez for not just one season of Simpson, or AHA transfer Kendrick, but BOTH. I'd venture decent odds this turns out to be a questionable decision; maybe not this season but certainly beyond...

Great post here and I agree with everything you’ve written here. I remember when the transfers happened and Henriquez decommitted, and I explicitly remember asking where these posters got their information. It seems it was all rumors based on what came directly from Henriquez’s mouth.

I also wonder if Henriquez would have gotten drafted by the Bruins if he stayed with UNH. The B’s always seem to target BC prospects in the draft, and I wonder how much that impacted Henriquez being a late round pick, as I recall he initially wasnt expected to be drafted as high as he was.

Anyways, I agree I think Souza took the short sighted approach of trying to win more this year at the potential expense of 2-3 years from now. I think Simpson and Kendrick will likely be better than Henriquez this year, but perhaps in 2-3 years Henriquez may be better overall after developing his game a bit more.

Souza may not be here in 2-3 years though if he doesn’t win this year…

Perhaps too it’s a bit of a refined strategy by UNH, realizing that with NIL and the transfer portal everyone is basically on 1 year deals. Who’s to say UNH can’t find another Simpson/Kendrick next year?

 

[Chuck Murray]

The forwards that pushed Vecchione out of the 2012 recruiting class? Dan Correale, Max Gaudreault, Colin MacDonald, Jamie Hill, Kyle Smith - joined by defenseman Pesce and Harry Quast, and goaltender Jamie Regan. Even with Pesce, this has to be one of the least impactful recruiting classes in program history. Its not just deferring Vecchione, its who they chose...

The vaunted "senior first line/checking line" strikes again, complete with awarding the C to an injury-riddled fourth line type with a sympathetic backstory.

The exact moment when the Umile Era "jumped the shark" into freefall. There were two more years to follow, but this was the beginning of the end.

(Maybe not so?) Coincidentally, their senior season was the first of the three seasons where MS7 was getting on-the-job training ...

 

[Jellsville USA]

Any thoughts on captains?
My thought is Lavins-C, JP Turner/Fitzy- A

I think Ring and Newcombe have an outside chance at a 3rd A

 

[2013hockeyfan]

I'll be the first to admit being wrong about the Henriquez sequence of events. Assumed a coming Henriquez departure begot Simpson, not vice versa. Pretty surprised but I guess the desperation for Souza and company is very real. At least the alternative is a bona fide D1 goaltender? Pressure gonna be high this season.

Methinks the problem will remain putting the puck in the other net.

In related news...Leaman may be wishing he'd kept Simpson around for his last year. Prov goalie academically ineligible.

 

[JB]

What worries me....

Goalie	USHL Team	Season	USHL Sv %	College Team	1st Year NCAA Record	1st Year NCAA SV%
Leonardo Henriquez	Green Bay	2025–26	.920	Boston College	TBD (2026–27)	TBD
Hampton Slukynsky	Fargo	2023–24	.923	Western Michigan	19–5–1	.922
Jacob Fowler	Youngstown	2022–23	.921	Boston College	32–6–1	.926
Akira Schmid	Sioux City	2020–21	.921	N/A (Signed Pro)	0–4–0 (NHL)	.833 (NHL)

.920 save percentage is not common in USHL. Here is Henriquez company the last 5 years. (according to AI, I didn't double check)

Both Fowler and Slukynsky played in the championship game. Slukynsky got to play Denver on an "other" year...

 

[FlagUp17]

Any thoughts on captains?
My thought is Lavins-C, JP Turner/Fitzy- A

I think Ring and Newcombe have an outside chance at a 3rd A

I agree with Lavins, Turner, and Fitzgerald.

I’d think the third A (if they give one out) will go to an underclassmen. I wouldn’t be surprised with either Philbrick or Carr.

All 3 of Lavins, Turner, and Fitzgerald are seniors and may be gone next year (new rule notwithstanding). I’d think they may want an underclassmen to “groom” to be the next captain, or at least provide a solid leadership opportunity. UNH has very few juniors on the roster this year (new guys Johnson and Carney, and then Plandowski and MacDonald) so they may look to the deeper sophomore class.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Interesting article from Alex Hall in today's Union Leader. Link below should go to an alternate site where there are no paywall issues ...

New UNH athletic director Colton committed to community, generating revenue for department

DURHAM — Ryan Colton wanted to learn what makes University of New Hampshire athletics special, so he turned to some of the school’s legendary former head coaches. Colton, who was named UNH’s new athletic director on July 27 and introduced to the university on Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium, said he...

sports.yahoo.com

Few comments in there from MS7, and Hall references about how Colton has already spoken with Umile and other former coaches to get a better grip on what makes UNH Athletics tick. UNH Hockey is seen as the driver of the department's success, and the article also points out that MS7 and Coach Witt are both on expiring contracts. It is going to be a VERY interesting next 7-8 months for UNH Hockey in Titletown, that's for sure ...

 

[FlagUp17]

Interesting article from Alex Hall in today's Union Leader. Link below should go to an alternate site where there are no paywall issues ...

New UNH athletic director Colton committed to community, generating revenue for department

DURHAM — Ryan Colton wanted to learn what makes University of New Hampshire athletics special, so he turned to some of the school’s legendary former head coaches. Colton, who was named UNH’s new athletic director on July 27 and introduced to the university on Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium, said he...

sports.yahoo.com

Few comments in there from MS7, and Hall references about how Colton has already spoken with Umile and other former coaches to get a better grip on what makes UNH Athletics tick. UNH Hockey is seen as the driver of the department's success, and the article also points out that MS7 and Coach Witt are both on expiring contracts. It is going to be a VERY interesting next 7-8 months for UNH Hockey in Titletown, that's for sure ...

Simply put - it’s time to put up or shut up for MS7. Hopefully Colton can light a fire under his butt and get this ship turned around in a hurry.

I agree it will be a very interesting next 7-8 months…The Hockey East Semifinals begin on Friday March 19. Will UNH be playing in Boston that night?

 

[Potluck]

Interesting article from Alex Hall in today's Union Leader. Link below should go to an alternate site where there are no paywall issues ...

New UNH athletic director Colton committed to community, generating revenue for department

DURHAM — Ryan Colton wanted to learn what makes University of New Hampshire athletics special, so he turned to some of the school’s legendary former head coaches. Colton, who was named UNH’s new athletic director on July 27 and introduced to the university on Tuesday at Wildcat Stadium, said he...

sports.yahoo.com

Few comments in there from MS7, and Hall references about how Colton has already spoken with Umile and other former coaches to get a better grip on what makes UNH Athletics tick. UNH Hockey is seen as the driver of the department's success, and the article also points out that MS7 and Coach Witt are both on expiring contracts. It is going to be a VERY interesting next 7-8 months for UNH Hockey in Titletown, that's for sure ...

It's interesting how no reporter has the courage to inquire about the salary of the AD. If not in the story regarding the AD's introductory press conference, the AD's contract details should be reported because it's public information and a key part of the reason an AD accepts a job.

Nice to see that Colton seems to see hockey as being the engine that drives the athletic department:

"In his research and conversations with people, Colton said he has learned that the men's hockey team's success is critically important to UNH athletics. Giving the men's and women's hockey programs the resources to compete within their conference, Hockey East, is high on Colton's to-do list, he said."

Of course, the key question is what Colton believes constitutes "success" and "compete"? Seems like he's well aware there's a lack of resources. That's a beginning.

 

[Potluck]

Money and facilities are not a prohibiting factor for building a winning team in Durham, or elsewhere. Good coaches, good recruiters. That's the secret sauce. Denver, for example, has always been far more the latter than the former...

Based on what the Union Leader reported, even the new AD Ryan Colton may disagree with you regarding money and facilities. Shoe shine and happy talk is not enough. Facilities and financial investment say most of how committed a school is to success in support of a program. Student athletes are visual. If they don't see it, they're unlikely to believe it. If you show me what a person does with their money, I'll tell you their priorities.

 

[Chuck Murray]

It's interesting how no reporter has the courage to inquire about the salary of the AD. If not in the story regarding the AD's introductory press conference, the AD's contract details should be reported because it's public information and a key part of the reason an AD accepts a job.

Are you inquiring specifically about Colton, or are you talking in a more general sense? I don't recall there being much public discussion or disclosure about what his two most recent predecessors were making at UNH (i.e. Rich and Blue Skies). As far as I am concerned, more information is always better, and I've become very critical of what reporters ask in settings like these, as "courage" in their questioning has become a rare occurrence, almost a lost art in modern media.

I guess what I'm driving at here is, why the curiosity on this point? Are we shooting fish in a barrel to point out UNH pays its AD less than BU and BC??

And if it is public information - and I'm 99.9% sure you are correct on that - then why not look it up and share what you find out?

 

[Chuck Murray]

Shoe shine and happy talk is not enough.

Looks like another unwitting victim of autocorrect lol