Any time news breaks that a player is no longer committed to a certain school, it becomes inevitable that media and fans will admonish the cutthroat nature of the business or bemoan a lack of loyalty.
Decommits in college hockey works both ways. There are examples of players decommitting from a school in order to find a better program. Sometimes players choose to decommit because another program is willing to take them in earlier or give them more scholarship money. Then, there are times when programs cut a player loose for not developing the way they had projected or for not adhering to academic standards.
Starting with the 1998 birth year, 53 New England players have decommitted or been decommitted. Between the ’98s and ’02s, the birth year with the most decommits is the ’00s with 19. There is a lot to be gleaned from a deeper dive into the decommits in this time period and what it means.
Please note, for the purposes of this story, only players from New England are analyzed. There are, of course, players from outside the region who have decommitted or been decommitted by college programs within New England.
Decommits by birth year
As mentioned above, the ’00s lead the way with 19 decommits. The 2000 birth year is right around the time it became common to commit at a very young age. For example, Oliver Wahlstrom (Yarmouth, Maine) made his initial commitment to Maine as a seventh-grader. His first switch was to Harvard before eventually settling in at Boston College.
The ’01s and ’02s each have only five decommits currently, but it’s easy to look at the list of players in those birth years and find ones who likely will end up at a college program other than the one currently listed next to their names.
’98s - 10
’99s - 14
’00s - 19
’01s - 5
’02s - 5
What programs are involved the most?
Boston College has been heavily involved in the game of flipping commitments. Just in terms of New England players born between 1998 and 2002, the Eagles have added five commits who originally were committed elsewhere and had four players switch commitments to another program.
Boston College, Harvard, Northeastern and Providence all have gained solid recruitments after a decommit. All four schools also can be accused of dumping their unwanted recruits on other schools.
Schools such as Holy Cross and Sacred Heart have been burned by players decommitting for perceived greener pastures, but both schools have benefited, as well. Both the Crusaders and Pioneers have picked up recruits who were once headed to Hockey East and ECAC Hockey schools.
Programs with most gained recruits via decommitment
BC - 5
Northeastern - 5
Sacred Heart - 3
Providence - 3
BU - 2
Ohio State - 2
Princeton - 2
Vermont - 2
Yale - 2
Programs with most recruits lost to decommitment
Maine - 5
BC - 4
Brown - 4
Harvard - 4
Providence - 3
UNH - 3
UConn - 3
BU - 3
Northeastern - 2
Dartmouth - 2
Army - 2
UMass - 2
Holy Cross - 2
Union - 2
Merrimack - 2
* Both only take into consideration New England players born between 1998 and 2002
Why is there a decommitment?
As mentioned earlier, there are a variety of different reasons for why a player could switch his commitment or for why a player is no longer committed to a certain program.
Analyzing the 53 New England born players from ’98s to ’02s who have decommitted, there is proof in the numbers that it’s not all on schools nor all on the recruits.
By my count, 21 players initiated the decommit in order to play for better programs. Obviously, it’s up for interpretation and debate whether or not the coaches at the better programs put out feelers or encouraged the switch.
Fifteen players were decommitted by the program they had originally committed to, due to not being a good enough hockey player. Six more were pushed to decommitments based on not meeting academic or behavioral standards. Three went elsewhere after being deferred. A couple of the decommits were due to a coaching change. Four players appeared to choose a different program in order to be at a better academic school. One notable decommit was due to unforeseen circumstances surrounding the coronavirus. There were more than just one reason for a couple of the decommits.
Analysis: Much to do about nothing
There has been plenty of outcry on social media and fan forums over the past few years when it comes to the issue of recruiting and decommitments. A lot of it is overblown and unnecessary criticism of players and coaches.
In life everyday, people make decisions to benefit their lives and their families. Companies cut ties with underperforming employees and schools renege on acceptances of ordinary students due to academic or behavioral issues.
Players switching commitments to better schools or programs cutting ties with recruits is pretty much the same thing. The only difference is it is done under a greater microscope, due to fanatical fans and media frenzy that comes with sports.
There will be a good amount of decommits from the ’01s, ’02s and ’03s, due to early recruiting still being a factor for those birth years. An additional issue will be the fifth year of eligibility and one-time transfer waiver all current student-athletes were granted due to the coronavirus. That will lead programs around the country to gas or defer recruits.
Starting with the ’04s and ’05s, the amount of decommits should start to dwindle. Players are no longer allowed to commit to a school before Aug. 1 entering their junior year. Players know more of what they want at that age and coaches will have a better idea of just how good a player is. Projecting out how good a junior or senior is difficult, but it’s not as challenging as trying to guess how an eighth-grader or freshman will develop.
