With the mid-year break in Division 1 men’s college hockey nearing, top teams are starting to separate themselves and players all across New England have enjoyed breakout starts.
The most important games will take place down the stretch after the turn of the calendar to 2024. But these first months we've seen many improved players who have been stars for their teams thus far.
They'll hope to continue that trend during the back half of the winter.
Here are seven college players who have shown breakout ability with improved play during the first semester.
Oskar Jellvik, Boston College
While future Philadelphia Flyers star Cutter Gauthier and the all-freshman “USA Line” of Gabe Perreault, Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) have garnered much of the hype, the breakout of Jellvik as a sophomore cannot be understated following an inconsistent freshman year.
The 2021 fifth-round pick of the Boston Bruins has been a force while slotting on Gauthier’s left wing of late, running his season line to 7-8–15 with points in five of his last six games. He had just four goals and 17 points through all of last season.
Zach Bookman, Merrimack
The Warriors have been without a pair of top defenders in Mike Brown (Belmont, Mass.) and Ivan Zivlak for the majority of the season to date, but Bookman’s emergence as a sophomore has helped to stabilize the group.
A high-scoring blueliner with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits — the same junior program that produced former UMass and now-Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar — before arriving at Merrimack, Bookman has shown off his dynamic playmaking abilities with 14 assists in 15 games to lead all Hockey East defensemen. His 16 points are second only to Boston University’s Lane Hutson among the league’s defenders.
Jaroslav Chmelar, Providence
As a freshman, Chmelar posted 13 points in 15 games. It hasn't taken very long for the now-sophomore to surpass that total, notching 14 points before the semester break. Those 14 points lead Providence, who rank No. 9 in the nation.
The 6-foot-5, 221-pound sophomore who is property of the New York Rangers started the season on a six-game point streak with goals in four of those games, while assists have fueled his recent run of offense in three of the last five games.
Jakob Hellsten, New Hampshire
While the Wildcats’ early-season successes have largely come thanks to forming a deeper lineup than they have had in the recent past, Hellsten has earned the net for seven of UNH’s first 12 games and boasts some of the best numbers in Hockey East even despite a loss to Maine this past weekend.
The North Dakota transfer, who got his first action with touted sophomore Tyler Muszelik sidelined in October and November, leads the circuit with a 1.83 goals against average and has a .918 save percentage that ranks fourth so far during his first year at UNH. He already has a shutout to his name against Northeastern and allowed no more than two goals in any of his first five starts.
Brandon Chabrier, Maine
A potent top line featuring freshman brothers Bradly and Josh Nadeau with senior Lynden Breen at center has been a key to Maine’s rapid Hockey East rise, but a huge weekend to begin the month of December has propelled Chabrier among the top-scoring blueliners in the league.
The Bayville, N.Y., native has maintained consistency throughout the season before busting out for a goal and four assists across the Black Bears’ wins over New Hampshire and Connecticut this past weekend, with four of those points coming Sunday against the Huskies. His three goals and nine points on the season are both career-high marks for the sophomore who has also posted a plus-7 rating.
Christophe Tellier, Quinnipiac
It is hard to consider any returnee from the Bobcats’ national championship-winning team as a true breakout star. And even though he scored twice during the NCAA tournament run and plays as a top-six forward, Tellier still fits well in that category. Flying under the radar with the likes of Jacob Quillan, Collin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) and Sam Lipkin could be a reason why.
The junior from Quebec has carried last year’s momentum over to the new season and is already poised to blow past his career-high totals from a season ago with 17 points in 16 games. Three of his five goals — two shy of his total from all of last season — have come within the last five games.
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TJ Walsh, Sacred Heart
The Shrewsbury, Mass., native who began his career at Northeastern before transferring to RPI has returned to New England this season and found a new level as a Sacred Heart graduate student. Walsh has already scored a career-high eight goals and has 17 points in 14 games, ranking second in Atlantic Hockey.
While skating in the top six for coach C.J. Marottolo and the Pioneers, Walsh finished the conference portion of the 2023 schedule on a six-game point streak and lit the lamp three times during that span. All of his eight goals this season have come against conference foes, and three have been game-winners.
