Oct. 3—GRAND FORKS — For the first time in more than 40 years, players from the three Canadian major junior hockey leagues are eligible to play college hockey.
This year’s freshman class includes 174 CHL players and 40 USports transfers.
The massive increase in the player pool has led to a deep group of college hockey teams. There might be more parity than ever before this season.
Here’s the Grand Forks Herald’s preseason top 20 for 2025-26.
The Spartans have it all. They’ve got the high-end players — nine taken in the top two rounds of the draft, including four first-rounders (No. 4 pick Cayden Lindstrom, No. 6 pick Porter Martone, No. 21 pick Charlie Stramel and No. 26 pick Ryker Lee). They’ve also mixed in some toughness and older players, which have been critical to successful college hockey teams. They’ve got arguably the best goaltender in the country in Trey Augustine, who has big-game pedigree. The Spartans are the last Big Ten team to win an NCAA title (2007). Eighteen years later, they’ve got a great opportunity to end the drought.
The Broncos were the country’s dominant team from start to finish last season, becoming the first team since 2014 Union to win their league’s regular-season title, postseason title and the NCAA national title. Western Michigan lost star forward Alex Bump. That seems like a big hit, but the Broncos won the NCAA tournament without a point from him. They also reloaded in the transfer portal with Zaccharya Wisdom from Colorado College and Will Whitelaw from Michigan. Western Michigan has a terrific defensive corps of elite skaters who take time and space away — Joona Vaisanen, Sam Sjolund, Zack Sharp and Zach Bookman from Merrimack. Behind them, they have a championship goalie in Warroad’s Hampton Slukynsky. He’s won a USHL title and an NCAA title the last two seasons. The Broncos aren’t going anywhere.
Boston University has one of the top collections of talent in the country. The Terriers have a whopping 19 NHL Draft picks on their roster. Cole Eiserman and Sacha Boisvert are arguably the two most natural goal-scorers in the country. Cole Hutson is the nation’s most dynamic defenseman. Goalie Mikhail Yegorov, a second-round pick added at midseason last year, has been outstanding in net. The biggest question mark with the Terriers is their youth. They have just one senior on the roster — UND transfer Owen McLaughlin.
Denver forward Sam Harris and defenseman Eric Pohlkamp are bound to put up big numbers this season, but the Pioneers’ depth is what sets them apart. Coach David Carle will be able move players up and down the lineup as needed. Denver will need a few players like Rieger Lorenz, Jake Fisher and Hagen Burrows to take steps to help fill some of the offense lost by departed forwards Jack Devine, Aidan Thompson and Carter King. But the Pioneers have a number of players with a history of scoring. They’ll also need Quentin Miller, Johnny Hicks or Paxton Geisel to effectively replace Matt Davis in net.
Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings finished with a sub-.500 record last season for the first time in his coaching career. Don’t expect a repeat. The Badgers received a huge boost when Hobey Baker Award candidate Quinn Finley decided to return for his junior season and they’ve got a great mix around him. They’ve got young talent. They’ve got older players in key spots. And the Badgers have a sneaky good defensive corps. There are questions in net without Tommy Scarfone, but Eli Pulver (Minnesota State transfer), Daniel Hauser and Anton Castro all had impressive junior careers.
Penn State finished No. 7 nationally in goals per game last season. The Nittany Lions bring back six of their top seven forwards, including Hobey Baker Award finalist Aidan Fink. They won the nation’s fiercest recruiting battle this summer, landing superstar forward Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s NHL Draft. They added a first-round pick on the back end in Jackson Smith and picked up Hobey Baker Award finalist Mac Gadowsky from the transfer portal. The Nittany Lions historically shoot and score a lot. This team will do that. But they also give up a lot. They rode a sensational second half by goalie Arsenii Sergeev to get to the Frozen Four. He’s gone and they’re turning to unproven Omaha transfer Kevin Reidler, an Ottawa Senators pick.
All-American goaltender Albin Boija is back and he has a strong supporting cast. The Black Bears return most of their defensive corps from last season, led by Grand Forks native and captain Brandon Holt. Up front, Maine added several players from the CHL who could give the team a boost, including NHL draft picks Miguel Marques, Jaden Lipinski and Justin Poirier. Point-per-game forward Josh Nadeau is back for his junior season.
This is a much different Quinnipiac team than usual. In recent years, the Bobcats have used the transfer portal to load up on older defensemen to anchor the team. They’ve had at least four upperclassmen on the back end the last five years, including seven on their 2023 NCAA title team. This is an uncharacteristically young back end with just two upperclassmen. On the flip side, Quinnipiac is loaded up front with scorers, led by Mason Marcellus, Chris Pelosi, Andon Cerbone, Aaron Schwartz and a good recruiting class.
North Dakota was the only team in the country using a defensive corps made up entirely of underclassmen last season. Now, that group is a little bit older and ready to make a difference. Up front, the Fighting Hawks have a good mix of skill and tenacity. They brought in a few superstars from the CHL in forward Cole Reschny and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff of the Victoria Royals. The Fighting Hawks have 15 new players this season, and there may be some bumps along the road, but the talent is there.
Minnesota may have some growing pains after losing six players early to NHL contracts, including Hobey Baker Award finalist Jimmy Snuggerud. But the freshman class is strong — L.J. Mooney will pack a scoring punch early — and former Omaha forward Tanner Ludtke figures to be one of the country’s most impactful transfers. On the back end, Luke Mittelstadt has patiently waited for his turn to play a starring role, while sitting behind Ryan Chesley, Sam Rinzel and Mike Koster.
Michigan brings back loads of skill up front, including first-round picks Michael Hage and Will Horcoff. T.J. Hughes returned for his senior year and the Wolverines added skill with UND transfer Jayden Perron and Aidan Park, who had a big year with Green Bay in the United States Hockey League. The Wolverines are carrying a whopping 11 defensemen, so they’ll have choices to make on the back end, and they’ll turn to rookie Jack Ivankovic (a second-round pick) in net.
Offense may dry up on some nights for UMass, which lost six of its top seven forwards from last year’s team. But the Minutemen have one of the strongest defensive corps in the country and one of the nation’s elite goaltenders in 6-foot-7 Michael Hrabel. The older, veteran defensive corps can do a little bit of everything — score, defend and physically wear opponents. That style will allow UMass to beat higher-skilled teams this season.
Boston College lost explosive forwards Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault to the NHL, but keeping preseason Hobey Baker Award frontrunner James Hagens is key. The Eagles will get Oscar Jellvik back after his season-ending injury a year ago and have added New Hampshire’s leading scorer, Ryan Conmy, to the mix. Boston College has a good blend of skill and physicality on the back end, but goaltending is a major wild card after losing Jacob Fowler to the NHL.
St. Cloud State is flying under the radar this season because of its eighth-place National Collegiate Hockey Conference finish last year. But the Huskies are poised for a big bounce-back year. They’re deep up front and added to that group with Nolan Roed. Daimon Gardner and Gavyn Thoreson are ready for breakout seasons. And USHL Goaltender of the Year Yan Shostak should provide a sturdy presence behind a solid-but-not-flashy defensive corps.
Minnesota Duluth gave up the second-most goals in the NCHC last season. That should change in a big way as the anchors to its defensive corps get older. Aaron Pionk, Ty Hanson and Adam Kleber give the Bulldogs a strong top three. Detroit Red Wings second-rounder Brady Cleveland gives them added size and sandpaper. Goaltender Adam Gajan played well to end last season. If Minnesota Duluth’s transfers — Kyler Kovich, Kyle Gaffney and Scout Truman — can provide secondary scoring behind superstar Max Plante, Zam Plante and Jayson Shaugabay, the Bulldogs could be in line for a big jump.
Colorado College added more NHL draft picks from the CHL than anyone in the country — six. The Tigers have nine total NHL picks on the roster, matching last season. The question is whether the Tigers are too young. Their freshmen class of 12 players is tied for second nationally. Only Michigan Tech (13) has a larger rookie class. Former All-American goaltender Kaidan Mbereko went through ups and downs last season. If he’s in top form, it’s a game-changer for Colorado College.
The Mavericks had major losses up front in the offense, but they’re not going to allow much this season. Their top four defensemen are back. Mike Richter Award candidate Alex Tracy is, too. There will be nights when offense is a challenge for the Mavericks, but they’re not going to need much of it to win games.
The Tommies have their best team to date, anchored by a strong defensive corps and a 1-2 combination in net with Utah Mammoth draft pick Carsen Musser and returner Aaron Trotter. Captain Lucas Wahlin is the top forward in the CCHA and could attract NHL interest this season. Lucas Van Vliet will be an instant impact forward for the Tommies, who are in their final season in the CCHA.
All-American Joey Muldowney, Jake Richard and Ryan Tattle are back for UConn after productive 2024-25 seasons and will lead an explosive offensive attack. Goaltender Callum Tung’s sensational stretch run brought the Huskies within a goal of the Frozen Four. He signed with the New York Rangers, turning the starting job back to Ty Muszelik.
The Friars have a group of productive forwards up front — Hudson Malinoski, Graham Gamache, Tanner Adams, John Mustard, Logan Sawyer and Will Elger. They’ve added first-round pick Roger McQueen to that group. But the Friars are extremely young on the back end, where they have six underclassmen. The faster they adapt, the higher Providence will finish.
