Looking at Men’s Hockey Recruits and Projecting a 2020-21 Lineup

It won't be last season's historic class, but Boston College has a quality crop of freshmen coming in.

Author:
JD Biagioni
Publish date:
May 19, 2020 8:13 AM EDT

Figuring out a college hockey recruiting class is a bit like assembling a puzzle. Unless you are a paid subscriber on college hockey recruiting websites, it’s a piecemeal effort that involves cross-referencing many free websites and Twitter. And that is just what I’ve done to offer a look at Boston College’s potential 2020 recruiting class.

My list includes 13 players I’ve seen mentioned by some source as attending BC in the fall. The number figures to be closer to 10 or 11, since the Eagles lost 10 seniors and Aapeli Rasanen. My list includes nine definites, three maybes and one unknown. Expect all nine of the definites, as well as one or two from the remaining groups to be at BC in the fall.

Here are the names I’ve seen and a brief description of each of the players.

Group 1 - Definitely Coming to BC in the Fall

Colby Ambrosio - Ranked No. 71 is the latest NHL Central Scouting. Played last season with Tri-City of the USHL and finished with 50 points, good for No. 11 in the league.
Eamon Powell - Ranked No. 51 by NHL Central Scouting. Spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team. Had 21 points in 56 games for the U17 team and 14 points for the U18 team. Undersized at just 165 pounds, but a great skater and quick decision-maker.

Danny Weight - Ranked No. 142 by NHL Central Scouting. Son of former NHL-er Doug Weight. Like Powell, a former member of the U.S. National Team, but spent last season with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. Showed an improved offensive game with the Vees, finishing no. 10 in scoring with 60 points.
Nikita Nesterenko - Drafted in the 6th round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. Formerly committed to Brown. Played in the BCHL with the Chilliwack Chiefs last season. Scored 56 points in 56 games. Has a good combination of speed and size.

Gentry Shamburger - The most recent addition to BC’s recruiting class. Forward from Atlanta. Comes straight from prep, having spent the last two seasons as captain of Avon Old Farms.
Michael Posma - Had moderate scoring success last season in the USHL with 11 points in 43 games for the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. Hard-nosed forward with enough offensive upside to crack the lineup. Could be a nice fit on the fourth line next season.
Jack Agnew - Teammate of Nesterenko with the Chiefs last season. Playmaking defender who had 19 assists during the 2019-20 season. Described as a high-IQ offensive defenseman.
Jason Siedem - played three seasons of prep hockey at Avon Old Farms. Had a career-high 22 points during his first season with the school. Recorded five points in nine games this past season.
Henry Wilder - Goalie who spent last season in prep school at Hotchkiss. Appeared in 20 games and posted a 1.69 goals against average and a .942 save percentage. Needham, MA native projects as the backup to Knight, but has the ability to start once Knight signs with Florida. Reporter Jeff Cox named Wilder one of the top 10 New England prospects eligible for the 2020 Draft, but Wilder is currently unranked by NHL Central Scouting.

Group 2 - Will be at BC this Year or Next

Harrison Roy - Spent the last three seasons in the USHL, playing for four different teams. Had a season-high 24 points in 2018. Two-way forward with some playmaking upside. Will either come this fall or next fall, but it is believed he will be with BC for the upcoming season. Originally committed to Maine.
Stephen Davis - Will be coming to BC, just a matter of when. Listed by College Hockey News as a 2021-22 arrival, but others list him as coming to BC in the fall. Not much of an offensive game, but a physical blue-liner who was suspended multiple times during the 2019-20 season for hits to the head. Will add toughness to the defense.
Connor Joyce - College Hockey News listed Joyce as coming to BC next season. Elite Prospects has him spending next season in the BCHL with the West Kelowna Warriors. Had 33 points in 28 games as captain of St. Sebastian’s last season. Increased his point totals each of his three seasons with St. Sebastian’s.

Group 3 - Will be at Some School this Year or Next

Tim Lovell - Ranked No. 182 by NHL Central Scouting, despite standing only 5-foot-6, 134 pounds. Still listed as an Ohio State commit by Elite Prospects and CHN, but articles indicate he de-committed from OSU and committed to BC in 2019. Also a candidate to arrive on campus (some campus) in 2021 instead of 2020. Speedy defenseman with solid vision and stick-handling skills. As of now, BC only has six definite members of the defense for 2020-21, so Davis and Lovell would be welcome additions.

As you can tell, there is a considerable amount of uncertainty regarding the complexion of next year’s roster. Last summer I wrote one of these articles and it included Jacques Bouquot. A few months later I’m up in Burlington and he’s skating for the University of Vermont. What I’m trying to say is this is sort of an inexact science. I wish as much information was available for college hockey as is for basketball and football, but this is my best crack at next fall’s recruits.

To the best of my knowledge, there shouldn’t be anyone not on this list joining the team as a freshman in the fall, but there is likely a name or two on here that won’t be with BC until the fall of 2021.

That said, I can’t make exact line projections for next season, but I’ll offer my take on what lines the Eagles could roll out assuming all of these players are at BC for the 2020-21 season.

The middle six is where I see the biggest uncertainty. Hutsko is left without Julius Mattila and David Cotton, his line mates for the past two seasons. Nesterenko and Ambrosio should vie for the 2C spot, but Ambrosio is described as a shooter, and I feel it’d be best to pair Hutsko with a playmaking center. Weight could challenge McBain for the 2LW spot, but I put McBain there for now to give a little more collegiate experience to the line.

The forward group isn’t as deep as it was last year, but it maintains its star power, with Boldy, Newhook and Hardman all returning for their sophomore seasons. With the success they had together, it’s hard to imagine Coach York breaking the line up, although it could happen if the lines become too top heavy.

On defense, I really want to pair Warren and Helleson. Realistically, they should be BC’s top defensive pairing, but there are just so many holes that will need to be filled by freshmen that I put Warren, Helleson and Karow all on separate pairings to space out the experience.

In net, Knight is back so there are no worries there. With Ryan Edquist hurt most of last year, Knight played all but one game. With Wilder in the fold, Knight should be able to get an extra few games of rest.

Now the lineup I just outlined is assuming everyone is there. But if I had to put money on it, I’d say there will be 11 new Eagles, with Davis and Joyce being the two exceptions. If that’s the case, BC can plug in either Agnew or Andres for Davis.