Who Won the College Hockey Transfer Portal? A Team-by-Team Breakdown and Rankings

The transfer portal in college hockey closes on Monday after being open for 15 days, but that's a bit of a misnomer. The portal only "closes" in that players may no longer enter their names and be eligible to play at a new school for the 2026-27 season. Any undergraduate already in the portal may sign with a new school at any time, along with .graduate players.

So the process isn't over. There may be some final submissions, players from the national championship or having gone through a coaching change may have a little more time. Plus, there are some really good players available like Maine's leading goal scorer last season with 18 as a freshman, Justin Poirier, a fifth-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2024 NHL Draft. He only submitted his name on Thursday.

Regardless, most of the moves have already happened. Of the 300-plus players who entered the portal (along with the entire Mercyhurst team after the program was cut), roughly half have signed the necessary paperwork to move on.

The following lists each team and conference by how they've fared, whether it by overhauling a good part of their roster, or simply by making some tweaks. It's an effort to gauge which teams and leagues improved the most, however, please keep in mind that the departures figure into the analysis as well.

A good example is with Arizona State. If only the additions were considered the Sun Devils would be included with our top teams, however they also lost a lot of production. Coming off a 14-21-1 season we're curious to see how things gel in the desert, especially with the numerous incoming additions in recruiting.

Something else that needs to be pointed out is that there's been little movement among Ivy League schools, which is pretty normal, but Yale stands out for not losing anyone — at least not yet — after having a coaching change. Granted, it makes sense that they'd have less activity due to the stringent academics, but Brown had a coaching change as well and subsequently lost a goalie and pair of significant contributors.

Overall, to the surprise of no one the rich got richer as the smaller schools and independents got raided by the bigger conferences and name programs. Regardless, these five programs stood out in terms of how they handled the transfer portal:

1) Minnesota: The Gophers lost numerous players after the coaching change, including a part of seventh-round draft selections in Jimmy Clark and Alexis Cournoyer, but Minnesota added a lot on the plus side including three proven players who followed new head coach Brett Larson from St. Cloud State, underrated defenseman Evan Murr from Minnesota State, and Michigan State backup goaltender Melvin Strahl (a 2023 fifth-round draft pick). However, the player we're really curious to see at UM is Ontario Hockey League forward Christian Humphrey, who had previously committed to Michigan State and Michigan, and is coming off a huge 81-point season with the Kitchener Rangers.

2) Wisconsin: Adding forward JJ Wiebusch out of Penn State, who had 16 goals and 20 assists last season, might be huge for the Badgers. They also secured Alexis Cournoyer from Cornell, a fifth-round selection by Montreal in the 2025 NHL Draft, to compete for the starting job with Daniel Hauser, who only led UW to the national title game as a freshman. Cournoyer is 18-10 with a 2.05 goal against average and .915 save selection so itll be interesting to see how that works out.

3) Notre Dame: Yep, another Big Ten school. The Fighting Irish lost three players who had combined to score just one goal in 24 combined games, yet had four solid additions with forwards Hagen Burrows and David Klee, and defensemen Leo Gruba and Michael Quinn, who together had 48 points at Denver, North Dakota, Minnesota and Miami, respectively.

4) New Hampshire: The Wildcats have had 11 departures, including two goaltenders, but the list includes five players who didn't notch a goal last season. Outside of Connor MacPherson (who is heading to the QMJHL), only one player had more than three assists. Instead, UNH added Rasmus Svartstrom, who had 17 goals from St. Lawrence, two players who had 10-plus assists, and Swedish defenseman Malte Vass from Boston University.

5) North Dakota: The Fighting Hawks lost seven players, including three drafted players, but three of the departures were defensemen like Andrew Strathmann. Don't be surprised if UND adds at least another defenseman out of the portal. The four additions all produced for their former teams, including Kasper Magnussen, who had 31 points for Bemidji State.

Just out of the top 5: Michigan State, Western Michigan, Quinnipiac, St. Thomas

The conferences are ranked in order, and the teams within each conference based on transfer portal moves so far (through April 26). Note that the players listed include graduate transfers. Also, * means there was a recent coaching change. This story still will be updated with additional moves.

Big Ten

1) Minnesota*
Entered Portal: G Nathan Airey; F August Falloon; F Jimmy Clark (Michigan State); D Leo Gruba (Notre Dame); D Finn McLaughlin (St. Cloud State); Erik Påhlsson (Ohio State); D Max Rud (Alaska)
Incoming: F Austin Burnevik (St. Cloud State); D Tanner Hendricks (St. Cloud State); F Christian Humphreys (Michigan); D Finn Loftus (St. Cloud State); D Evan Murr (Minnesota State); G Melvin Strahl (Michigan State)

2) Wisconsin
Entered Portal: G Eli Pulver
Incoming: D Dylan Compton (Northeastern); G Alexis Cournoyer (Cornell); F JJ Wiebusch (Penn State)

3) Notre Dame
Entered Portal: Caeden Carlisle; F Jake Larrigan (Holy Cross); F Charles Pardue (Lake Superior)
Incoming: F Hagen Burrows (Denver); D Leo Gruba (Minnesota); F David Klee (North Dakota); D Michael Quinn (Miami)

4) Michigan State
Entered Portal: F Austin Baker (Miami); G Dolan Gilbert; F Nathan Mackie (Ferris State); Melvin Strahl (Minnesota)
Incoming: F Jimmy Clark (Minnesota); F Cullen Potter (Arizona State); G Quentin Sigurdson (Northeastern)

5) Ohio State
Entered Portal: F Landen Gunderson (Sacred Heart); G Sam Hillebrandt (Arizona State); G Dawson Labre (Clarkson); D Chris Romaine (Maine); F Jake Rozzi (St. Lawrence); D Ethan Straky
Incoming: D Sascha Boumedienne (Boston University); F Erik Påhlsson (Minnesota)

5) Michigan
Entered Portal: D Hunter Hady (Arizona State); F Christian Humphreys (Minnesota); D Mattew Mania (RIT); F Teddy Spitznagel
Incoming: None

6) Penn State
Entered Portal: D Cade Christenson (Providence); F Nic Chin-Degraves (Arizona State); JJ Wiebusch (Wisconsin)
Incoming: D Caeden Herrington (Vermont)

NCHC

1) North Dakota
Entered Portal: F Dalton Andrew (Long Island); D Ian Engel (Northern Michigan); G Gibson Homer; D Jayden Jubenvill (Omaha); F David Klee (Notre Dame); F Cade Littler (Arizona State); D Andrew Strathmann (Quinnipiac)
Incoming: D Brasen Boser (Arizona State); F Gavin Lindberg (Colorado College); F Kasper Magnussen (Bemidji State); Hudson Malinoski (Providence)

2) Western Michigan
Entered Portal: F Zach Bade (Ferris State); F Connor Brown (Alaska-Anchorage); D Grady Gallatin (Alaska); F Ryan Humphrey (Niagara); Ryan Kusler (Ferris State); F Jamison Sluys (St. Coud State)
Incoming: G Quentin Miller (Denver); D Michael Neumeier (Colgate); Michael Polston (Long Island)

3) St. Thomas
Entered Portal: F Joshua Giuliani (Bentley); D Colton Jamieson (Ferris State); F Casy Laylin; F Sam Ranallo
Incoming: F Kevin Anderson (Princeton); F Jakub Altrichter (Northern Michigan); D Samuel Groebner (Army); D Justin Kipkie (Arizona State); F Winter Wallace (Cornell)

4) Minnesota Duluth
Entered Portal: F Daniel Shlaine (Arizona State)
Incoming: F Barrett Hall (St. Cloud State); F Peyton Platter (Alaska)

5) Arizona State
Entered Portal: F Sam Alfano (Maine); D Brasen Boser (North Dakota); D Sam Court (Minnesota State); F Carmelo Crandell (Colorado College); D Anthony Dowd (UMass Lowell); D Joel Kjellberg (Northeastern); D Justin Kipkie (St. Thomas); F Ty Nash; F Cullen Potter (Michigan State); D Austin Zemlak (Ferris State)
Incoming: D Rylan Brown (Michigan Tech); F Nic Chin-Degraves (Penn State); G Sam Hillebrandt (Ohio State); D Hunter Hady (Michigan); F Olivier Houde (Lindenwood); F Cade Littler (North Dakota); D Matthew Mayich (Clarkson); F Benjamin Muthersbaugh (Union); D Filip Nordberg (Merrimack); F Daniel Shlaine (Minnesota Duluth)

6) Omaha
Entered Portal: D Joe Gramer; F Jérémy Loranger (Connecticut)
Incoming: D Jayden Jubenvill (North Dakota)

7) Colorado College
Entered Portal: F Shane Kozlina; F Gavin Lindberg (North Dakota); Matteo Mann (Lake Superior); Merrill Steenari (Lake Superior)
Incoming: F Carmelo Crandell (Arizona State)

8) Miami
Entered Portal: G Mathis Langevin (Augustana); F David Grosek; D Charlie Michaud; D Casper Nässén (Lake Superior); D Michael Quinn (Notre Dame); F Justin Stupka (Ferris State);
Incoming: F Austin Baker (Michigan State); D David Helledy (Bentley)

9) Denver
Entered Portal: F Hagen Burrows (Notre Dame); G Quentin Miller (Western Michigan)
Incoming: G Tyler Krivtsov (Alaska Anchorage)

10) St. Cloud State*
Entered Portal: F Austin Bernevik (Minnesota); F Daimon Gardner (Minnesota State); G James Gray (DIII Neumann University); F Barrett Hall (Minnesota Duluth); D Finn Loftus (Minnesota); D Tanner Henricks (Minnesota); F Jack Rogers (Alaska); F Ocean Wallace
Incoming: D William Ahlrik (Lake Superior); D Finn McLaughlin (Minnesota); Jacob Napier (Colgate); F Jamison Sluys (Western Michigan)

Hockey East

1) New Hampshire
Entered Portal: D Reid Conn (Canisius); G Kristian Coombs; D Nickolas De Angeles (RIT); F Connor Deturris; D Zach Hahn; F Ryan MacPherson ( Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL); D Josh Player (Bentley); F Kristaps Skrastins; F Ronan Walsh; G Jared Whale
Incoming: F Ryan Johnson (Alaska-Anchorage); G Teagan Kendrick (Sacred Heart); G Michael Simpson (Providence); F Rasmus Svartstrom (St. Lawrence); F Nick Van Tassell (Massachusetts); D Malte Vass (Boston University)

2) Vermont
Entered Portal: G Cullen Deyoung; D Carden Herrington (Penn State); D Charlie Kinsman (Robert Morris); G Axel Mangbo; D Jax Wismer (Boston University)
Incoming: D Michael Hagens (Boston College); D David Jesus (Alaska Anchorage); F Cameron Garvey (Robert Morris)

3) Northeastern
Entered Portal: D Dylan Compton (Wisconsin); D Griffin Erdman (Brown); F James Fisher (St. Lawrence); F Ethan Fredericks; D Jack Henry (Union); Quentin Sigurdson (Michigan State)
Incoming: D Joel Kjellberg (Arizona State); F Miguel Marques (Maine); D Alex Pineau (Brown)

4) Boston College
Entered Portal: F Gavin Cornforth (Massachusetts); G Alex Musielak; D Michael Hagens (Vermont); D Will Shahan (Minnesota State)
Incoming: D Teddy Mallgrave (St. Lawrence)

5) Connecticut
Entered Portal: D Kevin Fitzgerald
Incoming: F Jérémy Loranger (Omaha)

6) Maine
Entered Portal: F Anthony Calafiore (Long Island); D Luke Coughlin (Maine); F Miguel Marques (Northeastern); D Simon Motew (RPI); F Justin Poirer; D Bodie Nobes; F Nick Peluso (RIT); G Mathis Rousseau (Cornell); G Gage Stewart
Incoming: F Sam Alfano (Arizona State); D Alexander Bales (Providence); F Tanner Klimpke (Robert Morris); F Judah Makway (Alaska Anchorage); F Lee Parks (Mass Lowell); D Chris Romaine (Ohio State); G Petter Wickstrom Stumer (Canisius)

7) Mass Lowell
Entered Portal: F Diego Buttazzoni (Sacred Heart); F Mirko Buttazzoni (Sacred Heart); D August Classon; D James Johnson; F Lee Parks (Maine); D Luke Shipley (Michigan Tech)
Incoming: D Anthony Dowd (Arizona State); G Cole Moore (Bowling Green); F Tobias Pitka (Northern Michigan)

8) Providence
Entered Portal: D Alexander Bales (Maine); F Braiden Clark (Colgate); F Geno McEnery; Hudson Malinoski (North Dakota); Brendan Ross (RPI); G Michael Simpson (New Hampshire)
Incoming: D Cade Christenson (Penn State)

9) Massachusetts
Entered Portal: F Bo Cosman; F James Duerr (Bentley); F AJ Lacroix (Hole Cross); F Owen Mehlenbacher (Ferris State); G James Norton; F Nick Van Tassell (New Hampshire); Matthew Wilde (RIT); Elias Zimmerman (Colgate)
Incoming: F Gavin Cornforth (Boston College);John McNelis (Boston University)

10) Boston University
Entered Portal: D Sascha Boumedienne (Ohio State); Kyle Kim (Colgate); F John McNeils (Massachusetts); D Malte Vass (New Hampshire)
Incoming: D Adam Barone (Lake Superior); D Jax Wismer (Vermont)

11) Merrimack
Entered Portal: D Trent Ballentyne; F Riley Bassen; D Matthew Campbell (Canisius); F Joseph Henneberry; D Filip Nordberg (Arizona State); F Jack Richard (Niagara); G Nile Wallstrom; F Ben Yurchuk (RPI)
Incoming: None

CCHA

1A) Michigan Tech
Entered Portal: F Ryan Abraham; F Brayden Boehm (Niagara); D Rylan Brown (Arizona State); F Ryder Matter; D Braden Pietila
Incoming: F Giovanni Morneau (Lindenwood); D Luke Shipley (Mass Lowell)

1B) Augustana
Entered Portal: F Garrett Drotts; G Kolby Hay; Quinn F Rudrud; D Will Svenddal; F Ben Troumbly
Incoming: F Jacob Fletcher (Lindenwood); G Mathis Langevin (Miami)

3) Bemidji State
Entered Portal: D Ryan Henderson; F Vincent Labelle; F Kasper Magnussen (North Dakota); D Isa Parekh; F Noah Quinn (Canisius);
Incoming: F Will Dawson (Air Force); F Carter Rapalje (Ferris State)

4) Bowling Green
Entered Portal: D Brian Lonergan (Brown); G Cole Moore (U Mass Lowell); F Tanner Scott; Rihards Simanovics
Incoming: D Evan Bushy (Lake Superior)

5) Minnesota State
Entered Portal: G Maxwell Beckford; F Jacob Bronkowski; F Charles Lurie; D Evan Murr (Minnesota)
Incoming: D Sam Court (Arizona State); F Daimon Gardner (St. Cloud State); G Lassi Lehti (Alaska); D Will Skahan (Boston College)

6) Ferris State
Entered Portal: F Jacob Badal; D Conner Brown (Long Island); F Max Dukovac; D Logan Heroux; F Carter Rapalje (Bemidji State); F Tanner Rowe; F Jack Silich; D Kade Turner
Incoming: F Zach Bade (Western Michigan); D Luke Coughlin (Maine); D Colton Jamieson (St. Thomas); Ryan Kusler (Western Michigan); F Nathan Mackie (Michigan State); D Owen Mehlenbacher (Massachusetts); F Justin Stupka (Miami); D Autin Zemlak (Arizona State)

7) Lake Superior
Entered Portal: F William Ahlrik (St. Could State); G Rorke Applebee (Quinnipiac); D Adam Barone (Boston University); D Evan Bushy (Bowling Green); D John Driuskinis; F Luke Levandowski; G Adam Manji; F Reagan Milburn; F Everett Pietila; F Brandon Piku (Northern Michigan); D Max Ranstrom
Incoming: D Mattero Mann (Colorado College); D Casper Nässén (Miami); D Charles Pardue (Notre Dame); D Joey Potter (Alaska Anchorage); F Charls Savoie (Lindenwood)

8) Northern Michigan
Entered Portal: Jakub Altrighter (St. Thomas); D Anthoy Cliché; G William Gramme; F Aidyn Hutchinson; D Evan Johnson; D Landon Macdonald; F Tobias Pitka (UMass Lowell); D Tyler Stern
Incoming: D Ian Engel (North Dakota); D Noah Houle (Clarkson); F Branden Piku (Lake Superior); F Merril Steenari (Colorado College)

ECAC

1) Quinnipiac
Entered Portal: D Drew Hockley; Matej Marinov; F Ben Richie (Holy Cross); D Logan McCutcheon; G Dylan Silverstein; F Alex Power
Incoming: G Rorke Applebee (Lake Superior); F Jack Stockfish (Holy Cross); D Andrew Strathmann (North Dakota)

2) Clarkson
Entered Portal: G Nick Avakyan; D William Bishop (St. Lawrence); D Noah Houle (Northern Michigan); D Matthew Mayich (Arizona State); F Luke Pakulak (Colgate)
Incoming: D Michael Craig (Robert Morris); G Dawson Labre (Ohio State); F Tyler Wallace (RPI)

3) Dartmouth
Entered Portal: None
Incoming; D Matthew Desiderio (Brown)

T4) Harvard
Entered Portal: None
Incoming: None

T4) Yale*
Entered Portal: None
Incoming: None

6) Cornell
Entered Portal: G Alexis Cournover (Wisconsin); F Winter Wallace (St. Thomas)
Incoming: G Mathis Rousseau, (Maine); F Ivan Zadvernyuk (Brown)

7) Union
Entered Portal: F Benjamin Muthersbaugh (Arizona State)
Incoming: F Tommy Cronin (Alaska); D Jack Henry (Northeastern)

8) Princeton
Entered Portal: F Kevin Anderson (St. Thomas); F Jaxson Ezman; D Tyler Rubin; D Jayden Sison
Incoming: None

9) St. Lawrence
Entered Portal: F Spencer Bell; D Teddy Mallgrave (Boston College); D Evan Orloff; F Rasmus Svartstrom (New Hampshire)
Incoming: D William Bishop (Clarkson); F James Fisher (Northeastern); Jake Rozzi (Ohio State)

10) Colgate
Entered Portal: D Jacob Napier (St. Cloud State); D Michael Neumeier (Western Michigan)
Incoming: F Braiden Clark (Providence); D Kyle Kim (Boston University); F Like Pakulak (Clarkson); F Elias Zimmerman (Massachusetts)

11) RPI
Entered Portal: G Bruno Breuveris; D James Goffredo (Canisius); F Cole Gordon (Canisius); F Jack Gorton (Stonehill); D Matthew Jovanovic; F Jackson Kyrkostas; D Lucas Lemieux (Long Island); D Gustavs Ozolins; Gunnar Vandamme (Robert Morris); F Tyler Wallace (Clarkson)
Incoming: D Simon Motew (Maine); F Brendan Ross (Providence); F Ben Yurchuk (Merrimack)

12) Brown*
Entered: D Matthew Desiderio (Dartmouth); D Alex Pineau (Northeastern); G Tyler Shea (Alaska); F Ivan Zadvernyuk (Cornell)
Incoming: F Griffin Erdman (Northeastern); D Brian Lonergan (Bowling Green)

AHA

1A) Canisius
Entered Portal: F Ryan Gillespie; G Petter Wickstrom Stumer (Maine)
Incoming: D Matthew Campbell (Merrimack); D Reid Conn (New Hampshire); D James Goffredo (RPI); F Cole Gordon (RPI); F Noah Quinn (Bemidji State); F Ethan Wolthers (Sacred Heart)

1B) Niagara
Entered Portal: G Mitchell Day; F Aidan Litke; F Drew VVieten
Incoming: F Brayden Boehm (Michigan Tech); Charles-Edward Gravel (Mercyhurst); F Ryan Humphrey (Western Michigan); F Jack Richard (Merrimack)

3) Sacred Heart
Entered Portal: D David Brandes; G Teagan Kendrick (New Hampshire); F Paul Minnehan; F Jeremi Tremblay; D Noah Van Viet; F Charles-Edward Tardiff; F Ethan Wolthers (Canisius)
Incoming: D Nicholas Bernardo (Long Island); F Diego Buttazzoni (UMass Lowell); F Mirko Buttazzoni (UMass Lowell); F Landen Gunderson (Ohio State); F Devin Phillips (Holy Cross)

4) RIT
Entered Portal: F Mathieu Cobetto-Roy; F Boris Skalos; F Ty Wyhte
Incoming: D Nicholas De Angelis (New Hampshire); D Matthew Mania (Michigan); F Nick Peluso (Maine); F Matthew Wilde (Massachusetts)

5) Bentley
Entered Portal: G Jack Erickson; D David Helledy (Miami)
Incoming: F James Duerr (Massachusetts); F Joshua Giuliani (St. Thomas); D Josh Player (New Hampshire)

T6) Army
Entered Portal: D Samuel Groebner (St. Thomas); Kareem El-Bashir
Incoming: None

T6) Air Force
Entered Portal: D Nate Ferrell; D Will Dawson (Bemidji State); G Zane Spaniol; G Toby Hopp
Incoming: None

8) Holy Cross
Entered Portal: F Jack Stockfish (Quinnipiac); F Devin Phillips (Sacred Heart)
Incoming: F AJ Lacroix (Massachusetts); F Jack Larrigan (Notre Dame); Ben Riche (Quinnipiac)

9) Robert Morris
Entered Portal: D JR Ashmead; F Zeke Nickolson; D Michael Craig (Clarkson); F Tanner Klimpke (Maine); D Rasmus Larsson; F Cameron Garvey
Incoming: D Charlie Kinsman (Vermont); F Ryan McPherson (New Hampshire); D Gunnar Vandamme (RPI)

00) Mercyhurst
Entered Portal: F Dominik Bartecko (Alaska); G Simon Bucheler; D Tyler Desrochers; F Alexander Dimitriadis; F Matteo Disipio; F Riley Fitzgerald; G Charles-Edward Gravel (Niagara); G Henry Hunt; D Francesco Iasenza; F Sean James; D Lukas Klemm (Alaska); D Christian Kocsis; F Brendan Lamb; F Andrew Leblanc (Lindenwood); D Jacob Leblanc (Lindenwood); D Kaden Muir; F Connor Pelc; D Trent Sambrook; F Will Schumacher (Lindenwood); F Joseph Serpa; F Spencer Smith; D Jaryd Sych
Incoming: None, program folded

Independent

1A) Long Island
Entered Portal: D Nicholas Bernardo (Sacred Heart); G Carter Bickle; D Jack Darby; F Onni Leppanen; F Chad Muller; G Michael Polston (Western Michigan)
Incoming: F Dalton Andrew (North Dakota); D Conner Brown (Ferris State); F Anthony Calafiore (Maine); Lucas Lemieux (RPI)

1B) Stonehill
Entered Portal: F Jake Gutwirth; F Joel Lehtinnen (Alaska); F Justin Mexico; F Zach Nicolas
Incoming: Jack Gorton (RPI); Demitry Kebreau (Alaska Anchorage)

3) Alaska
Entered Portal: D Adan Cardona; D Tommy Cronin; D Caelum Dick; D Haden Kruse; G Lassi Lehti; D Hugo Marcil; D Kyle Miller; F Fiodar Nikalayenia; F Trenton Penner (Grand Canyon, ACHA); F Peyton Platter (Minnesota Duluth); F Lucas Sorace
Incoming: F Dominik Bartecko (Mercyhurst); D Grady Gallatin (from Western Michigan); D Lukas Klemm (Mercyhurst); F Joel Lehtinen (Stonehill); F Jack Rogers (St. Cloud State); D Max Rud (Minnesota); G Tyler Shea (Brown)

4) Lindenwood
Entered Portal: F Jacob Fletcher (Augustana); F Philippe Fontaine; F Ty Hipkin; F Olivier Houde (Arizona State); F Giovanni Morneau (Michigan Tech); G Colin Ronan; F Charles Savoie (Lake Superior); D Bikan Seed; F Jake Southgate; D Brady Yakesh
Incoming: D Andrew Leblanc (Mercyhurst); D Jacob Leblanc (Mercyhurst); F Will Schumacher (Mercyhurst)

5) Alaska Anchorage*
Entered Portal: F Henry Bartle; D Pavol Funtek; D Nolan Gagnon; D David Jesus (Vermont); F Ryan Johnson (New Hampshire); F Dimitry Kebreau (Stonehill); G Tyler Krivtsov (Denver); F Judah Makway (Maine); D Issac Menard; G Greg Orosz; D Joey Potter (Lake Superior); D Camden Shasby
Incoming: F Connor Brown (Western Michigan)

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