Hockey East struggled last winter. Only three teams made the NCAA tournament, and Providence, UConn, and Merrimack were each eliminated in the regional semifinal. Teams at the bottom of the league routinely beat the top teams last season—but that says more about the struggles of Hockey East’s best teams than the league's overall depth. The...
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Hockey East struggled last winter. Only three teams made the NCAA tournament, and Providence, UConn, and Merrimack were each eliminated in the regional semifinal.
Teams at the bottom of the league routinely beat the top teams last season—but that says more about the struggles of Hockey East’s best teams than the league's overall depth.
The conference should rebound nicely this season, with at least two dark horse national championship contenders. But with the top teams incredibly strong, the bottom of Hockey East is likely to be far weaker by comparison.
Here’s our preseason rankings of Hockey East men’s teams.
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1. Providence
2025-26: 23-11-2
The Friars won 23 games last season, waltzed to the Hockey East regular-season title and made the NCAA tournament, and unfortunately for the rest of the conference, the top four scorers are back. John Mustard and Logan Sawyer are the headliners up front. But it’s not just the two juniors either — Providence is loaded from top to bottom with players who’ve been around the block in Hockey East. Freshmen Ryder Cali and Blake Zielinski can contribute from the jump too, and goaltender Jack Parsons has proved he can steal games. The Friars aren’t a tier above the rest, but they’re an easy No. 1 entering the season.
2. UMass
2025-26: 22-13-1
The Minutemen steamrolled through the back half of last season before losing in the Hockey East semifinals, falling short of an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. Head coach Greg Carvel isn’t messing around this year. UMass has high-end players at every position and is returning its top five scorers. It’s senior Jack Musa’s team, but right behind him are Vaclav Nestrasil and Francesco Dell’Elce. While the veteran core is strong, this might just be Carvel’s best freshman class ever. Led by last season’s QMJHL top scorer, Maxim Masse, and reigning USHL goaltender of the year, Tobias Trejbal, expect the Minutemen’s crop of rookies to contribute early and often. UMass is a dark horse national championship contender.
The Terriers were shockingly mediocre last season, done in by youth and carelessness. Head coach Jay Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.) and his staff addressed the need for veteran blueliners in the transfer portal, bringing in Adam Barone from Lake Superior State and Jax Wismer from Vermont. These moves aren’t sexy, but they fill a necessary void. As usual, BU’s freshman class is loaded with high-end talent: Caleb Malhotra (the third pick in June’s NHL Draft), Xavier Villeneuve and Niklas Aaram-Olsen should all contribute, and the ceiling is high for all three. Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov will look for a bounce-back season, and Tynan Lawrence has a real chance to be one of the best players in Hockey East. As always for the Terriers, it'll be about the little things.
4. Boston College
2025-26: 20-15-1
The Eagles lack the ultra-high-end names they’ve possessed in recent seasons, but head coach Greg Brown (Hartford, Conn.) has the players to make the NCAA tournament. Dean Letourneau broke out in a major way last season, and he could still find another level. Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) will need to make more of a regular impact, and netminder Louka Cloutier will have to be more consistent. BC’s freshman class isn't a headline-grabbing group, but it’s led by Norwell, Mass. natives and brothers, Casey Mutryn and Teddy Mutryn. This isn’t going to be the typical Eagles team — they’ll have to grind games out more than they’re used to.
5. UConn
2025-26: 20-13-5
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Getting Joey Muldowney back for his senior season is critical, but the departures of Ryan Tattle and Jake Richard are major losses. The Huskies will have to find new ways to score, and the best bet to inherit some extra points is junior Mike Murtagh, who was a regular in the lineup last season after seeing limited playing time as a freshman. The ceiling of this UConn team is likely lower than in recent years, but head coach Mike Cavanaugh has proven he can win with whoever he has, so the Huskies should still be competitive in Hockey East.
6. Maine
2025-26: 18-14-3
The Black Bears lost their top three scorers from last season, with the biggest loss coming with Justin Poirier entering the transfer portal. The likes of Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.), Charlie Russell and Max Scott will need to pick up the offensive slack. Bemidji State transfer Isa Parekh should produce from the blueline regularly, but the player who will be watched most closely is goaltender Albin Boija, who looks to regain his place as one of the best netminders in the conference. This team has a wide range of plausible outcomes this season.
It’ll be fascinating to see how the Huskies play without a true home arena. Goaltender Lawton Zacher is the star and a true threat to win the Mike Richter Award. Jacob Mathieu is Northeastern’s top returning scorer. He’ll have to take another step to lead the way for the Huskies. Joe Connor (Nottingham, N.H.) is a capable player himself, and Notre Dame transfer Charlie Pardue is an intriguing addition. This roster doesn’t scream NCAA tournament, though.
8. Merrimack
2025-26: 21-16-2
Head coach Scott Borek (Swampscott, Mass.) can never be counted out, but this isn’t the strongest Warriors team of his tenure. Justin Gill and Trevor Hoskin were excellent last season and should both be again. Merrimack has intriguing freshmen in 2026 Vancouver Canucks fourth-round pick forward Yaroslav Bryzgalov and goaltender Linards Feldbergs. Bryzgalov contributed for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL last season. The loss of netminder Max Lundgren — who was excellent last season — is a major one, and there isn’t a clear shoo-in goaltender, but Feldbergs could make some noise as he did at the World Juniors two years ago.
9. New Hampshire
2025-26: 14-20-1
The Wildcats struggled to score last season, and this season looks to be much the same. Nick Ring (Hingham, Mass.) and Brendan Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) are New Hampshire’s top returning scorers. The team’s strength is its tandem of transfer goaltenders. Teagan Kendrick was excellent for Sacred Heart last season, and Michael Simpson has 16 ECHL games to his name. Head coach Mike Souza (Wakefield, Mass.) will have more success coaching at The Spengler Cup than he will in Durham, N.H., this season.
10. Vermont
2025-26: 13-21-1
Colin Kessler was the Catamount’s only true offensive producer last season. Vermont’s offensive struggles look to be a repeat. On the back end, the Catamounts lost two key players to the transfer portal: Caeden Herrington (Manchester, V.T.) and Wismer. Vermont has 12 newcomers, with eight freshmen and four transfers — it’s going to be hard for the Catamounts to compete in the current landscape of college hockey.
The River Hawks won just 13 games last season and graduated their best player and leading scorer. UMass Lowell will struggle to score, and Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.) will need to rediscover his scoring touch as the team looks for players to step up offensively. Given their size and experience, a strong defense must be their backbone again.
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