Thirty-three players born in 2004 are committed to college hockey programs.
While I don’t have concrete numbers, it is certainly less than the ’01s through ’03s at the same period of time. That is due to the NCAA recruiting legislation that was enacted last May to prevent communications and offers to younger prospects in all sports. While not all ’04s are entering their junior year of high school, many are. Those players in this birth year will be able to commit to college hockey programs again starting on Aug. 1.
While it’s a small sample size, I wanted to take a look at the trends and analyze the ’04s already committed to college hockey programs, similarly to what I did recently with the ’03s. It’s interesting to look across the landscape and see what programs have the makings of a good class at this birth year and what other tendencies there might be.
What programs are active in recruiting ’04s?
Notre Dame and Ohio State have the most ’04s committed of any program in the country. Both the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes have four players committed in the birth year. Notre Dame’s class stands out with three expected to compete for USA Hockey’s NTDP. Forwards Rutger McGroarty and Logan Cooley and defenseman Tyler Duke made the NTDP U-17 roster for the 2020-21 season. The other commit, Jack Larrigan, was a first-round pick in the USHL Phase 1 draft. Led by the recruiting efforts of associate head coach Andy Slaggert, Notre Dame’s recruiting has been very good for a while. This class is no exception.
All three of Michigan’s commits — forward Frank Nazar and defensemen Hunter Brzustewicz and Seamus Casey — will play for the NTDP before joining the Wolverines. While Michigan has one less commit than Notre Dame, Mel Pearson’s program is heading toward a dynamite recruiting class for this birth year.
In New England, Boston University is leading the way in terms of recruiting ’04s. The Terriers have two players who are both headed to the NTDP. They are North Jersey Avalanche products, forward Devin Kaplan and defenseman Lane Hutson.
Nearly half of the committed players in this birth year have Big Ten logos next to their names. Fifteen players across six Big Ten teams have 15 commits. The only Big Ten school without an ’04 currently committed is Michigan State. The Spartans had two, but both were lost to the Ontario Hockey League.
After the Big Ten, the NCHC is next with nine commits, including three headed for North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks have Cole Spicer, headed for the NTDP, plus Trey Ausmus and Jaksen Panzer, both top-three-round picks in the USHL.
Hockey East has seven commits in the ’04 birth year. As mentioned above, the Terriers have two good ones in Kaplan and Hutson. Boston College’s lone ’04 commit is Mid Fairfield Junior Rangers product Charlie Leddy, a defenseman who made the NTDP. Providence has two commits, including center Brady Berard of East Greenwich, R.I., who also made the NTDP. Northeastern has only one commit, but it’s a good one, defenseman Vinny Borgesi, who is tendered to play in the USHL with the Tri-City Storm.
ECAC Hockey only has two ’04s committed and both are slated to play for Harvard. Boston Advantage defenseman Ryan Healey and Dexter Southfield center Bobby Landry are bound for the Crimson. Not surprisingly, Atlantic Hockey and the WCHA are both without an ’04 commit.
’04 college commits by program
Notre Dame - 4
Ohio State - 4
Michigan - 3
North Dakota - 3
Boston University - 2
Colorado College - 2
Harvard - 2
Nebraska Omaha - 2
Providence - 2
Wisconsin - 2
Top ’04 classes
1. Michigan
2. Notre Dame
3. North Dakota
4. Boston University
Where are the committed ’04s coming from geographically?
Six of the 33 players committed in this birth year hail from New England. Four are from Massachusetts while Connecticut and Rhode Island have one each.
While New England has some talented ’04s, committed and uncommitted, the strength of this birth year in the United States lies outside of our region. Minnesota and Michigan definitely were the leaders at last summer’s USA Hockey Select 15 Player Development Camp.
This birth year highlights the continued growth of hockey with Florida having quite a few talented players. Arizona also has an uncommitted player tendered for a USHL team.
’04 commits by state/province
Minnesota - 7
Massachusetts - 4
Michigan - 3
Illinois - 2
New York - 2
Ohio - 2
Pennsylvania - 2
Alaska - 1
Connecticut - 1
Florida - 1
Missouri - 1
Nebraska - 1
New Jersey - 1
North Dakota - 1
Ontario - 1
Quebec - 1
Rhode Island - 1
Wisconsin - 1
Who are the best committed ’04s?
Michigan has the two best committed ’04s in forward Frank Nazar and defenseman Seamus Casey. There are other really good players in this birth year, but those two stand out for me from multiple viewings.
For New England colleges, there’s a tough choice to be made when it comes to best committed ’04 defenseman. Hutson is obviously a really good offensive defenseman, but I really like Borgesi, who is committed to Northeastern. He was the best all-around defender for the U.S. at the Youth Olympic Games. He’s on the smaller side and might or might not be a pro prospect down the line. However, he’s going to be an elite college defenseman. Healey (Harvard) and Leddy (Boston College) would be third and fourth on my list, respectively.
At forward, there’s not much to choose from. Right now, I’d take Berard, the Mount Saint Charles 15-U first-line center headed to the NTDP. BU commit Kaplan missed much of the 2019-20 season with an injury, but he’s a well-regarded power forward for the Terriers.
