While it’s still early, dubbing this season as “the year of the freshman” for New England programs in Division 1 men’s college hockey may not be too far-fetched.
Rookies are leading the way from both ends of Commonwealth Avenue to Orono and plenty of other points around.
First-year players are a major reason why Boston has been an epicenter of the hockey prospect world this season, as Boston College and Boston University are the home of highly touted NHL draft prospects from this past summer and next year.
Here’s our look at some top performers among first-year players around the region so far:
Macklin Celebrini, Boston University
He's the nation’s youngest player and the potential No. 1 draft pick next year, and now Celebrini has claimed October’s Hockey East Player of the Month and national Rookie of the Month honors. North Dakota held Celebrini without a goal in back-to-back games for the first time this weekend He logged three assists in the series, which pushed his point total to 14 in eight games. That leads all Hockey East skaters and freshmen nationwide.
Celebrini scored in all but one of BU’s first six games, with three multi-goal efforts and a three-point night against Massachusetts. His 41 shots on goal (5.13 per game) rank third in Hockey East. He also assisted on sophomore star Lane Hutson’s season-opening overtime winner at Bentley.
“He’s just always going to be a factor because of how hard he competes, his skill level, his play away from the puck, just all the things that he does,” second-year BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “He never takes a shift off. He’s working all the time. If you work and have that type of talent, you’re gonna have pretty good success. He’s a young kid, so it's impressive what he’s doing.”
The Vancouver native has been productive outside of the offensive end, too. He had been a plus player in every game prior to the North Dakota series and still remains above 50 percent in the faceoff circle, a mark he has met in five of the first eight games.
Gabriel Perreault-Will Smith-Ryan Leonard, Boston College
If it weren’t for these three freshmen, BC might not be the No. 1 team in the country. Relying on first-year players to play major roles can often be troublesome in Division 1, but the Eagles have had no such trouble with the former star forward trio of the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Perreault and Smith — the highest drafted player in BC history at No. 4 overall to the San Jose Sharks this summer — are leading the Eagles with 11 points apiece, with Smith’s five goals trailing only star sophomore Cutter Gauthier for the team lead. While fellow top-10 pick Leonard has seven points in eight games, he scored in three of the last four and ripped off seven shots in Friday’s first of two weekend wins over UMass Lowell.
“When they get the tempo, their passes are really moving quickly in the zone, which you might not expect from freshmen,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “Guys who have played together that long, they have a great feel and they’re outstanding at generating space.”
After being tested on different lines in the preseason, Brown opted not to fix what wasn’t broken. And that decision has certainly paid off.
Bradly and Josh Nadeau, Maine
The stars of Ben Barr’s three-year recruiting efforts so far, the Nadeau brothers have lived up to the hype while leading the Black Bears to a 5-1-0 start that allowed them to surge up the national ranks. The duo — who previously starred for BCHL championship teams with the Penticton Vees — makes up two-thirds of Maine’s productive top line alongside senior center Lynden Breen.
Bradly Nadeau ➡️ Beats the Blocker
💻: https://t.co/N8GID8OLmi pic.twitter.com/fTDQc06rSG
— Maine Men’s Ice Hockey (@MaineIceHockey) November 4, 2023
Bradly Nadeau has the team-high eight points and logged his second career two-goal game Saturday to lift Maine to a series sweep at Merrimack. But he also gives the squad prestige as a first-round (No. 30 overall) draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes. Josh has tallied seven points over the six games, including three assists in the most recent series.
Michael Hrabal, Massachusetts
Every coach looks for a difference-making goaltender. Even with returnee Cole Brady back in the fold at UMass, it didn’t take long for coach Greg Carvel to find that guy this season in Hrabal, who was the second netminder drafted this year when the Arizona Coyotes selected him in the second round.
Opponents have had a tough time solving the 6-foot-7 Czech native, who moved to 4-1-1 following a 26-save effort in Friday’s 2-1 overtime win over Northeastern and sports a .923 save percentage through six outings. He also has wins over Michigan and Minnesota State so far this season.
Jacob Fowler, Boston College
The last three freshmen to carry BC’s goaltending load were named Knight, Woll and Demko. Those are big shoes to fill for Fowler as a college newcomer, but he has impressed in the early going in his efforts to stabilize the position after the Eagles had multiple years of inconsistent play from incoming one-year transfers.
The Florida native and NTDP product is second nationally with seven victories and sports a .923 save percentage and 2.12 GAA. He made a season-high 43 saves Oct. 27 against a ranked Michigan State squad before running his win streak to four games with this past weekend’s pair of 3-2 wins.
Tanner Adams, Providence
Behind only Celebrini, the 18-year-old Adams is the second-youngest Division 1 player in the region and has been thrust into a top-line spot playing the left wing alongside senior captain Chase Yoder and Bruins prospect Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.).
The Northport, N.Y., native, who participated in the Vegas Golden Knights’ development camp last summer, had an October to remember as he posted a pair of goals and eight points across his first six games. His best night of the season so far was a three-point effort contributing to an Oct. 20 win over ranked Denver.
Mason Marcellus, Quinnipiac
While injury has sidelined standout junior Collin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) for the last couple of weeks, Marcellus and classmate Andon Cerbone (Stamford, Conn.) are two newcomers who have helped to fill the void for the Bobcats.
Marcellus' four goals and four assists through nine games make him the second-leading point scorer on the team, a total which includes three assists during the opening weekend of ECAC Hockey play against Dartmouth and Harvard.
Jack Stockfish, Holy Cross
Atlantic Hockey’s Rookie of the Month for October, Stockfish was a key cog in helping the Crusaders to a 4-3-2 start that included a home-and-home sweep of Hockey East opponent UConn. The Ontario native netted the game-winning goal to complete the sweep against the Huskies before adding a power-play tally against RIT. In addition to five points, he has won a team-high 75 faceoffs.
