Harvard has a good track record of developing defensemen. They likely have their next one in Myles Brosnan.
The Dexter Southfield commit announced his commitment to Harvard on Wednesday. Brosnan was a sophomore last season at Dexter, and normally would have had to wait until Aug. 1 to commit. But the late '07 accelerated and became a senior.
He is slated to be back with Dexter this coming season.
Brosnan was one of the best defensemen in prep this past winter, scoring nine goals and 36 points in 28 games. He was a beast in the postseason, scoring once and assisting twice on Dexter's goals to come back and beat Salisbury, 3-2, in the Elite 8 quarterfinals. He assisted on three more goals in the win over Rivers and the championship loss to Cushing.
The Sioux City Musketeers picked him in the fourth round of the USHL Phase 2 Draft this spring.
The Winchester, Mass., native is a breakout machine. He's confident with the puck and has high levels of patience. He can run a power play and always finds ways to create offense. In his own zone, he's responsible and can be tasked with shutting down top opposing players. He has good size at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds.
Brosnan joins Salisbury's Colin Feeley, Taft's JT Rothstein, Brunswick's Joe Salandra and Kent's Ryan Poirier (Salem, N.H.) and Jacoby Weiner (Riverside, Conn.) as Harvard commits who were in prep this past winter.
Brosnan also projects as a 2026 NHL Draft prospect. In our opening rankings, he placed fifth among 18.
Harvard also scored a big commitment in June, getting Chicoutimi Saguenéens defenseman Alex Huang. The 6-foot, 170-pound defenseman was just drafted in the fourth round (122nd overall) by the Nashville Predators.
He had 40 points in 64 games for Chicoutimi this past season.
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Boston University has been busy
Since former Harvard commit Ben Merrill (Hingham, Mass.) switched his commitment to BU, the Terriers have committed three more players.
In early June, head coach Jay Pandolfo got commitments from Niagara IceDogs (OHL) forward Braidy Wassilyn and Swedish defenseman Malte Vass.
Vass was a third-round pick (76th overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets last week. At 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, the '07 posted two goals and 11 points in 40 games in the J20 Nationell for Färjestad BK.
Wassilyn is the youngest. The '08 had eight goals and 39 points in 62 games for Niagara. It was his first season in the OHL, and he's a 2026 NHL Draft prospect.
There had been reports that Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) forward Ryder Ritchie had committed to Boston University. But the '06 told the Pioneer Press he's "still kind of looking at [his] options."
"I just haven't made up my mind yet," Ritchie said.
Ritchie was picked 45th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2024 NHL Draft. He had 29 goals and 61 points in 53 games for Medicine Hat this past season.
Maine lands four more CHL commits
The CHL commitments don't stop with BU. Maine has been active as well.
In June, the Black Bears landed Baie-Comeau Brakkar (QMJHL) forward Justin Poirier, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) forward Luke Mistelbacher, Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) forward Miguel Marques and Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) goalie Mathis Rousseau.
Poirier, a 5-foot-9, 183-pound '06, had 58 goals and 80 points in 58 games for Baie-Comeau this past season. It was his second-straight season with 80 or more points in the QMJHL. The Carolina Hurricanes picked him in the fifth round (156th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft. He is slated to begin at Maine this fall.
Mistelbacher is slated to play for Brandon next season, but was a force for the Swift Current Broncos (WHL) this past season with 42 goals and 93 points in 67 games. He's an '05 who stands at 6 feet and 194 pounds.
Marques was picked in the third round by the Nashville Predators last June. The '06 had 14 goals and 38 points in 29 games this past season.
Rousseau is a 5-foot-11, 172-pound '04 who has logged a lot of games in the QMJHL over the last four years. Since 2021, he's played 155 games for Halifax before playing 15 games for Moncton after a midseason switch. He had a 3.16 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage for Halifax before posting a 2.33 GAA and a .903 save percentage for Moncton this past season.
READ MORE: Our first 2026 NHL Draft rankings
Other notable commitments
- A common theme here is CHL commitments. Providence notched one in late June, getting Moncton forward Julius Sumpf. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound German forward was picked in the fourth round of last week's NHL Draft. He scored 26 goals and posted 65 points in 58 games for the Wildcats this past season.
- UConn got a commitment from Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) forward Alexandre Blais. The '05 had 73 points in 60 QMJHL games this year and was a fourth-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2024 NHL Draft.
- Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) defenseman Mathieu Taillefer committed to UMass. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound defender is an early '06 and split time this past season between Halifax and the BCHL's Brooks Bandits. The Minutemen also scored a commitment from '05 forward Lukas Klecka. He played for Södertälje SK 20 in the J20 Nationell this past season, posting 11 goals and 33 points in 40 games.
- Vermont scored a commitment from Oshawa Generals (OHL) goalie Jacob Oster. The '04 has been a goalie in the OHL since 2021, playing for both Oshawa and the Guelph Storm. This season, he posted a 2.81 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 53 games.
