RinkWise podcast: Takeaways from August college recruiting

Kent and Mid Fairfield goalie Jacoby Weiner is a big pickup for Harvard. (Mark Sorgaard/FatCat Studios)

With fall hockey upon us, it’s a perfect time to look back at what went down in men’s college hockey recruiting to close the summer.

August was a busy month on the recruiting trail with a plethora of local prospects landing commitments as well as plenty of area schools scoring high-quality recruits.

Whether it was former St. Sebastian’s star Casey Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) committing to Boston College, Kent defenseman Ryan Poirier (Salem, NH) opting to commit to Harvard, Rivers’ Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) choosing Merrimack and more, there was a lot to get to in the latest RinkWise podcast.

New England Hockey Journal editor Evan Marinofsky and writer Patrick Donnelly got into all of it and broke down some of the biggest takeaways.

RinkWise podcast: Takeaways from August’s college hockey recruiting

Harvard lands several key locals

Marinofsky: “Harvard historically is always in on those New England guys. This year was no different. They get probably the top goalie prospect in Jacoby Weiner, who was a national evaluation camp invite. He’s a long-time Mid Fairfield goalie and already huge. He actually catches with his right hand. So it’s a little different than than a lot of the top goalie prospects that come up. … When we do our prep previews, Kent is going to be high on the list because of him as well as Ryan Poirier on defense. A really good, mobile defenseman. He’s been a great skater, playing with the Yale junior Bulldogs U16 team. That’s a good pickup for them. He’s going to be a solid Division 1 defenseman who’s reliable and you can use in pretty much any situation. They also got Joseph Salandra, who was one of the top forward prospects in the country, according to PuckPreps. I was watching him play this past weekend with Mid Fairfield. Just so crafty, so offensively gifted. He’s a high end player that they got. He’s going to be at Brunswick this year. … So, again, Harvard’s a big player for local kids, and that’s how it played out.”

What could happen moving forward?

Marinofsky: “There’s still a lot of guys left. Kaiden Donia is someone I wonder about, a 6-5 defenseman from Groton. Max Donatelli from St. George’s put up over 40 points last year. There are certainly many others that I think are going to commit in the next couple of months. I think the big one forward-wise is Rian Chudzinski. I’ve heard he has interest from a lot of places. I think his options are going to be very open. I think he is a high-end forward. He’s going to be a guy that continues to ascend and get better each year. Any college that gets him is very lucky. … I think when we sit down to do this next year, there are going to be a lot of big local prospects. … Another smart pickup would be Gavin Callahan. I loved him last year with the 15 Mount team. I loved him this summer at Foxboro. He’s a one-man breakout machine and he’s got the size to excite scouts.”