Boston University received a mix of good news and bad news this week with a key player announcing his return and another opting to forgo his senior year of collegiate eligibility.
Hobey Baker award finalist David Farrance penned a letter to Terrier fans that expressed his intentions to play his senior season at Boston University.
“It was an honor to be a Hobey top-10 finalist this year, but it left me wanting more for my team,” said Farrance in the letter posted Thursday. “I want one more chance to win a Beanpot, one more chance to win a Hockey East title, one more year my class and teammates.”
Farrance, from Victor, N.Y., led all of college hockey in goals and points by a defenseman this past season. He finished with 14 goals and 29 assists for 43 points in 34 games. His goal scoring total was twice as much as his first two college seasons combined. He’s seen his point total double in each of the last two seasons.
The NTDP alum is a 2017 third-round pick of the Nashville Predators. While Farrance is publicly saying he’s returning for all the right reasons, it’s safe to assume he’s looking to pursue free agency in August 2021. If Nashville really wanted to sign him or he wanted to play for the Predators’ organization, he’d have turned pro this offseason.
Regardless of Farrance’s true intentions, it’s always a good thing for college hockey when a star player returns for his senior season. BU has often been criticized for not keeping its star players around long enough, so Albie O’Connell and his staff deserve credit in this situation.
Although Farrance will be back on the Terrier blue line in 2020-21, a fellow defenseman and classmate will not be joining him. Cam Crotty has signed a NHL entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes, the organization that drafted him in 2017.
The Greely, Ontario, native served as an alternate captain for BU in 2019-20. He finishes his career in scarlet and white with 10 goals and 17 assists in 102 games.
Crotty’s loss will likely mean that a defenseman originally slated to join the program in 2021-22 will come in a year early. There was thought that Cade Webber, Carolina’s 2019 fourth-round pick, would stay in the BCHL for another season after an injury-shortened 2019-20.
However, I’d expect him to come in this fall alongside Braden Doyle, the Lynnfield, Mass., native and former Lawrence Academy Star. Doyle, a sixth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, had a terrific season in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
Harris returning for junior season
Northeastern defenseman Jordan Harris will be returning to the Huskies for his junior season, as first reported by David Willis of the Lawrence Eagle Tribune. Harris, from Haverhill, Mass., is a third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens.
In 33 games this season as a sophomore, Harris had three goals and 18 assists. That’s not including the game-winning goal he scored in double overtime of the 2020 Beanpot final that helped solidify his spot in Northeastern lore.
Elsewhere on the team, Northeastern senior defenseman and captain Ryan Shea of Milton, Mass., and his representation have told the Chicago Blackhawks he will not be singing with that organization. Instead, he’ll opt to go to the route of free agency on Aug. 15, as allowed in the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA.
