There was no national champion crowned in NCAA Division 1 hockey this past winter due to the coronavirus, which has left a couple of teams chomping at the bit to get back and conquer college hockey in 2020-21.
Cornell and North Dakota were atop the polls and Pairwise Rankings when the season was unfortunately cut short. Both the Big Red and Fighting Hawks are primed to be at the top again next season.
The top national contender in New England will be 2019-20 Hockey East regular-season champion Boston College. The Eagles are expected to return a star-studded group of underclassmen in hopes of giving Jerry York his sixth title.
Here’s my way-too-early predicted top 10 for how things will shake out in the 2020-21 college hockey season:
1. North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks have gotten a lot of good news since the season ended. All but one of their talented underclassmen have said they are coming back. The offense will be led by Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick Finalist Jordan Kawaguchi and Selects Academy product Shane Pinto. The defense will be led by Matt Kierstad and Jacob Bernard-Docker. Adam Scheel and Peter Thome will provide the necessary stability in net. NTDP defensemen Jake Sanderson and Tyler Kleven lead a star-studded recruiting class coming to Grand Forks.
2. Cornell
The status of Morgan Barron obviously could change this positioning some. If he opts to sign with the New York Rangers, the going will be a little tougher in Ithaca. Still, Mike Schafer and his staff have built a great program and Cornell should be a top 10 team regardless. Yanni Kaldis’ graduation hurts, but the defense will be solid, led by Alex Green. The goaltending will be a strength as usual with Matthew Galajda returning for his senior season. Forward Jack O’Leary is one of the gems of the recruiting class.
3. Boston College
When Alex Newhook, Logan Hutsko, Matt Boldy and Spencer Knight all decided to come back, that solidified the Eagles’ grip on a likely top seed in next year’s NCAA regionals. Knight will give BC an advantage in goaltending in every game. In addition to the aforementioned trio of forwards, Mike Hardman, Marc McLaughlin and Jack McBain will provide secondary scoring punch. I worry about how young BC will be, especially on defense. The team is reportedly bringing in four ’02 freshmen. The recruiting class is led by forward Colby Ambrosio and defenseman Eamon Powell.
4. Minnesota
As of now, it looks like the Gophers aren’t losing any key pieces to the NHL. That means the return of forwards Sammy Walker, Brannon McManus, Blake McLaughlin, Scott Reedy and Sampo Ranta. On defense, the team lost two key seniors, but Jackson Lacombe, Robbie Stucker and Ryan Johnson are back. Jack LaFontaine and Jared Moe helped give Minnesota a serviceable goaltending tandem in 2019-20. Michael Koster, Jake Boltman and Brock Faber are three very good defensemen in the recruiting class. Up front, incoming freshman Rhett Pitlick is notable.
5. Michigan
The Wolverines will be dynamite in goal next season with Strauss Mann coming off a season in which he was a Richter Award finalist and highly regarded Erik Portillo coming into Ann Arbor. Michigan lost its top three scorers, but Boston Bruins draft pick John Beecher will look to take a step as a sophomore. Cam York is a key returnee on defense. The recruiting class is in the top three nationally. Forwards Kent John Johnson, Brendan Brisson and Thomas Bordeleau, and defensemen Owen Power and Jacob Truscott, are impressive rookies to be for Michigan.
6. Harvard
The Crimson return all top eight leading scorers, including Nick Abruzzese and Jack Drury. The defense will be led by Jack Rathbone and Reilly Walsh. Ted Donato and his staff have a star-studded recruiting class, highlighted by local products Matt Beniers and Sean Farrell. Other big-time freshmen are defenseman Jack Bar and forwards Alex Laferriere and Trevor Kuntar. Dexter alum Derek Mullahy will join the goaltending mix after a year in the USHL. Mitchell Gibson is the incumbent.
7. Denver
The loss of forward Emilio Pettersen and defenseman Ian Mitchell hurt, but the Pioneers have a good enough program to rebound and be in a position to have a second or third seed in the NCAA regionals. Brett Stapley, Cole Guttman and Bobby Brink are ready to take the next step in their development and lead the offense. Magnus Chrona is expected back for his sophomore season after being one of the better freshmen goalies in the nation in 2019-20. Incoming forwards McKade Webster, Connor Caponi and Carter Savoie should provide a spark. Josh Luedtke is the top incoming defenseman.
8. Minnesota State
The Mavericks lose three top scorers and a key defenseman in Connor Mackey who signed a pro deal after his junior season. Mike Hastings has proven he’s one of the best coaches in the country and his staff does a great job of bringing in older freshmen who can play and compete right away. Defenseman Dylan Abbott and forward Tanner Edwards are two potential impact rookies. There’s still plenty in the cupboard and goaltender Dryden McKay is back for his junior season.
9. Minnesota Duluth
Speaking of good coaches, there isn’t a better one in the college game than UMD’s Scott Sandelin. If there’s any program that can reload from losing three key defensemen, including Hobey winner Scott Perunovich, to the NHL, it’s the Bulldogs. The team also will have to deal with losing goaltender Hunter Shepard, who helped UMD win two NCAA championships, and forward Justin Richards. The goaltending should be in good hands with incoming freshman Zach Stejskal out of Wilkes-Barre in the NAHL. Blake Biondi and Devlin McCabe are two freshmen forwards who could help offensively. Bruins pick Quinn Olson, Noah Cates and Cole Koepke are a few underclassmen ready to make a jump.
10. UMass Amherst
The Minutemen lost their top two scorers in Mitchell Chaffee and John Leonard. Both signed early after terrific three-year careers in Amherst. Offense might be hard to come by, but this team is built from the net out and will be more than capable of winning low-scoring games. Filip Lindberg is back for his junior season as one of the more underrated goaltenders in the country. On defense, Zac Jones, Marc Del Gaizo, Ty Farmer and Matt Kessell provide a top four who can all skate and move pucks up ice. Recruit Aaron Bohlinger will add to that, while junior Colin Felix and incoming freshman Linden Alger can play a more shutdown role. Up front, look for Bobby Trivigno, Cal Kiefiuk, Reed Lebster and Oliver Chau to take more of an impact role. Three freshmen forwards out of the USHL for UMass to be excited about are Oliver MacDonald, Josh Lopina and Ryan Sullivan.
