Linkorama--UPDATED

2014 BU recruit Jonathan MacLeod has officially been added to the 2012-13 NTDP U17 roster, following a strong performance at NTDP Evaluation Camp. Amateur Hockey Report’s scout reported that the 6-2 blueliner “has good size and is a physical shut-down defenseman.  Tough and loves to hit.  Has a mean streak and he clears the crease area well.  Made a decent first pass.  Just needs to work on his footwork a bit.”

MacLeod played for Kimball Union Academy last season, helping to anchor the Wildcats’ blueline with 2013 recruit Doyle Somerby. He  assisted on two goals as Kimball Union defeated Holderness 3-2 in overtime to capture the NEPSAC Piatelli/Simmons Division tournament championship.

Some further information on 2014 recruit Jack Eichel, who will be MacLeod’s teammate on the U17s next season:

►USHR reports that approximately 20 NCAA schools approached Eichel, but that BU and BC were his finalists.  The 6’1, 175 right-shot center will be a junior in high school this season, arriving on Comm. Ave. in 2014 as a 17 year old with close friend MacLeod. His NHL draft year is 2015.

He was USHR’s pick as “the best player in camp” at last summer’s Select 15 Festival in Rochester, NY, despite a broken toe. He earned the same ranking two months ago in the spring Beantown Classic  Pre-Draft Division.

USHR goes on to quote Eichel’s Junior Bruins coach Chris Masters who reported that Eichel’s game took off during the latter part of  his initial Empire League season (2010-11), noting his overtime goal in the Tier III Junior B national semis against the Long Island Royals, who skated mostly  ’92s and ‘93s.  Masters added:

“In my opinion, of all the players who have been through the Junior Bruins organization, he has the potential to be the best of all. He does everything so well. He shoots it better than everyone. He thinks it better than everyone. He’s an effortless skater who seems to get up and down the ice in three strides. He’s tall, lanky, and plays long – he’s just so good at protecting the puck with players on him. He holds it away from defenders so well, and always with his feet moving.

“He also scores great goals. He has a great release. And he beats you 1-on-1. He’s great in the locker room, too. He was our captain – as a 14 year old. He’s a big time player who is mature beyond his years. The sky’s the limit. I’d be very surprised if he’s not a first round NHL pick.”

Commenting on his choice, Eichel told The Lowell Sun: 

"I really like the coaches over there. I really like coach (Jack) Parker and I really like both assistant coaches, coach (Mike) Bavis and coach (Buddy) Powers. The facilities over at BU are incredible."

► Eichel was named to the Team USA roster that played in the World Youth Olympics (photo below) in Innsbruck this past January. Eichel co-led the team in scoring.

► He led the Boston Junior Bruins Empire League team to the 2011 Tier III Junior B National Championship in Marlborough, Mass. Eichel scored a team-leading 9 goals and 6 assists in six games, including a goal and an assist in the 3-2 OT championship game victory against the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs.

Ohio Website Vindy.com, wrapping up the Youngstown Phantoms season offered kudos to 2012 recruit Matt O’Connor, the 6-5 goalie who will compete for the BU goaltending job.

No one excelled as much as O’Connor, the Toronto native who will play for Boston University this fall.

"It was a good offseason for me, trying to get my weight up,” said O’Connor, who wanted extra strength to offset fatigue from being a workhorse. “To recover after a Friday night game — that was the biggest turnaround for me.”

O’Connor finished 28-16-5, with a goals-against average of 3.04. He started all six postseason games and held the Gamblers scoreless for 48 minutes of the Game 4 finale. (Green Bay scored two empty-netters.) 

“The team that we had this year [had] way more character, we could be down a goal and we’d just battle hard and have a lot more confidence and belief,” O’Connor said. “When we were following the game plan there wasn’t a team who could beat us.”

Pro-Am Hockey’s annual Pre-draft Showcase begins this Friday at sites in Foxboro, Canton and Walpole with four future Terriers rostered. 2012 recruit Brendan Collier skates for the East Coast Kings, while 2012 recruits Danny O’Regan and Marc Hetnik, Jr., and 2013 recruit Sam Kurker will play for the East Coast Militia.

Connolly signs to play in Finland

Chris Connolly, BU captain for the past two seasons, has signed a two-year contract to play for Tappara of the SM-Liiga in FinlandThe Duluth, MN, native scored 129 points in his four seasons as a Terrier. . Last month, his brother Jack, who won the Hobey Baker Award this season, signed on with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Elite League.

Looking back

Looking ahead to the Anaheim Ducks’ next season, the Orange Country Register profiled Nick Bonino.

Former Terrier Pete MacArthur scored a goal in the Las Vegas Wranglers’ 3-2 win against Alaska in the ECHL Western Conference finals. MacArthur, who scored 48 points for Las Vegas in the regular season and had a brief stint with AHL Lake Erie, playing for former BU Associate Head Coach David Quinn, has a 3-4-7 line in nine playoff games.

Joe Robillard, former Terrier goalie and coach at Methuen High School, will be inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame this Sunday. A member of BU’s 1972 national championship team, Robillard was the head coach at Methuen for 19 seasons, from 1984-1985 to 2002-2003.

► The Beanpot Forum reports on the just concluded NCAA hockey coaches gathering in Naples, Florida, where, among other topics, the use of half-shields was on the agenda.