Brad Boarman

The 2023-24 NCAA College hockey season ended with the University of Denver knocking off Boston College in the National Championship game, but despite the loss Boston College drew a lot of attention to the Hockey East Association. Boston College was among six Hockey East programs that made the top 20 rankings according to USCHO. Having over half of the conference within the top 20 programs across the country, does that launch the Hockey East into the conversation as the best conference in college hockey?

Here are some important facts to note throughout Hockey East this season:

Influx of Talent

Hockey East has had some of the most impressive talent in college hockey recently, especially having last year’s Hobey Baker winner Macklin Celebrini (2024 1st overall pick), and the top four scorers in the nation last season.

There’s no shortage of talent coming in to replace the departures of the top talent, as Boston

College was able to land top recruits James Hagens (Projected 1st overall pick in 2025) and Dean

Letourneau (Bruins 1st Round pick). The talent doesn’t stop there as Boston University landed Cole Eiserman (Islanders 1st Round pick), and younger brother of former BU defenseman Lane Hutson, Cole Hutson.

The top two teams are loaded up with young talent to add to their already impressive roster, but we also see teams like Maine and Northeastern make some splashes with some veterans out of the transfer portal.

Surprise Teams

Even though Boston College and Boston University are two of the top teams in the country, Maine and Providence should be considered in the Hockey East Champion conversation. With the additions in the transfer portal and their depth at each position, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these two teams making appearances in the National Tournament in the spring.

Another team that is seemingly making noise in the college hockey world is Northeastern. The Huskies have silently been building up another solid team to compete in Hockey East, highlighted by bringing in talented forward Christopher Tellier from Quinnipiac.

Marcus Antonelli, Merrimack student and Everything College Hockey Intern, also mentioned that Northeastern could surprise some people.

“They’re a well coached team that has lots of talent on the front and back end,” Antonelli explained.

Outlook for Merrimack

After what the average student would deem a disappointing season last year, Merrimack looks to bounce back this season. With some top talent leaving in Matt Copponi (Transfer to BU), Alex Jefferies (Signed to Islanders), and Hugo Ollas (Signed to Rangers), there was a lot of room for additions this season.

Nils Wallstrom was the big splash Coach Scott Borek was able to land out of the transfer portal, as Wallstrom was considered one of the top goalies in the portal. A few key additions that will look to contribute to the Warriors lineup this season include: Caden Cranston (Surrey, BCHL) and Boston College transfer, Seamus Powell.

A few key returners for the Warriors include Zach Bookman, as he had a solid sophomore season and looks to solidify himself as a top defenseman in Hockey East. Ty Daneault is looking to build off of a strong freshman year, and take on a larger role that Borek seems to have placed him in through the first few non-conference games.

Merrimack’s season got off to a rocky start, as they lost the first game of the season to Stonehill, as they were forced to use team manager, Spencer Marquis, in that game due to ineligibilities and injuries. They quickly bounced back with a series split with #19 Minnesota State. After watching the early parts of this season, I asked Merrimack Senior Ethan Letendre for his thoughts on this team, as a hockey fan, compared to prior seasons.

“To be completely honest, I was skeptical coming into the season with the amount of key players they lost, but after watching them play I have confidence in them and I think it will be a fun team to watch,” Letendre responded.

After my in depth analysis of the offseason moves these Hockey East teams made, below are my final preseason rankings before the Hockey East play gets into full swing. I am confident in saying that the Hockey East Association is the most complete conference in college hockey, and the overall best in the nation.

My Preseason Rankings: