Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Looking ahead to 2026-27: Bigger, older, experienced, skilled;

Despite advancing past Vermont, BU’s days are numbered   

                Photo credit: Marcus Antonellli, Daily Free Press 

The new Terriers: Bigger, older, experienced, skilled

Last September, BU began the season with over half of the roster—14 players—who were new to the program, either as freshmen or transfers, and only one senior on the roster (also a transfer).  While the talent-laden roster comprised 19 NHL draft picks--including two high-profile transfers--the 2025-26 squad featured twelve freshmen, was the youngest team in the country and experienced its share of growing pains.  The squad finished with a .500 record and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the Jay Pandolfo coaching era. 

With the 2026-27 roster appearing to be nearly complete (25 of 26 slots accounted for), the next edition of the Terriers will be older, bigger, better equipped for the grind of a long D1 season, and poised for a bounce-back season.  

Some manpower keys for the upcoming season:

▪Currently, there are 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies rostered.

▪Eighteen (!) returning players (including four seniors, six juniors and projected first round NHL draft pick, Tynan Lawrence) will provide more experience and size, along with a much deeper leadership group that will foster strong team chemistry.  Given the team’s subpar performance last year and the myriad of playing options available to players in the NCAA current climate, it is fair to conclude that the decision of so many players to return to BU for the 2026-27 campaign reflects not only confidence in the program and coaching staff, but also a high degree of optimism that the team will return to its winning ways. 

▪Only two players on the roster will be 18 or younger and, critically, none of the defensemen will be under the age of 19 (last year’s squad started the season with seven 18-year-olds, including four Ds).  The newcomers also include two older, experienced transfer defensemen, 22-year-old Adam Barone and 21-year-old Jax Wismer.  It is safe to say that BU will not once again be one of the youngest D1 teams. 

▪With just five incoming freshmen, this will be the smallest freshman class in the Pandolfo era.  It will also boast plenty of high-end, NHL caliber talent, including projected top five NHL draft pick, Caleb Malhotra, and super-skilled Canadian defenseman, Xavier Villenueve. 

▪Earlier in the off-season, the BU Department of Athletics announced that it has  opted in to the House v. NCAA settlement beginning with the 2026-27 season. This decision provides the potential for significant benefits to the program (the ability to grant more scholarships, share revenue with players, etc.) and, importantly, signals clearly the strong and continued commitment of the Athletic Director and administration to provide the support necessary to maintain the competitive strength and stability of BU’s hockey and other athletic programs.  

Let’s take a closer look at the newcomers.

Three freshman forwards are rostered. The first, whom we’ve covered extensively, is 5-star center Malhotra. The 6’2” left shot increasingly is projected to be taken at #3 in the NHL Entry Draft by Vancouver--who just hired his father, Manny, as head coach. Following a standout regular season at Brantford (29-55-84), the 200-ft. center, who plays in all situations, led his team to the OHL championship game. Very likely he’ll center one of the two top lines for BU.  Malhotra draft profile

The most recent forward recruit is 6’1” Norwegian left-shot wing Niklas Aaram-Olsen (commitment post). A prolific scorer at every level, he had a 20-20-49 line in 29 games in Sweden J20 Nationell while also seeing action in the SHL. He was a top scorer for Team Norway at both U20 and U18 tournaments. He’s been ranked as high as #29 for the draft.  NOA draft profile. One prospect evaluator wrote:

“One of, if not the best, pure shooters at the draft. Has a bomb of a1-timer and a super quick release on his snapshot. Can score from far but also in tight. Also has a deceptively smooth hands and while he prefers to shoot, he has ability to dangle opposing defenders one on one."     

The third forward is 6’4” Swedish right-wing Viktor Nörringer, a fourth-round pick by Nashville in 2024 who will turn 20 this summer. After growing up in the Frolunda HC organization, the power forward moved to the USHL with Muskegon who drafted him tenth overall a year ago. He produced a 24-25-49 line in 48 games (tied for best among first-year players) with another 12 points in the playoffs. Nörringer also skated for Sweden in last season’s World Junior A Challenge. He’ll bring toughness and an NHL-caliber shot to the BU lineup.

While not a newcomer, Lawrence will be in Scarlet for a full season with the advantage of going through preseason training. He showed flashes of brilliance down the stretch last season and Coach Pandolfo asserted that he was arguably the team’s best forward in those final weeks. Lawrence is projected to be drafted in the first half of the first round in June, possibly as the second center picked after Malhotra. He appears poised to have a breakout season for the Terriers.

With the infusion of talent, BU will be extremely strong at center with Malhotra, Lawrence, Kamil Bednarik and Jonathan Morello. Along with newcomers Olsen and Norringer, there’s significant returning talent on the wings. Rising sophomores Ryder Ritchie, Jack Murtagh and Conrad Fondrk, with a D1 season under their belts, should be ready to take the next step and produce more consistently. Another sophomore, Ben Merrill, was the pleasant surprise of last season with scoring, strong skating and plenty of grit. Senior Jack Harvey is the top returning goalscorer with 13. Rising juniors Bednarik and Brandon Svoboda, both excellent penalty killers and strong on face-offs, will be asked to up their offensive contributions as will classmate Nick Roukounakis.  

Defense:

BU’s blueline corps will feature rising seniors Aiden Celebrini and Mick Frechette, rising soph Charlie Trethewey, Carter Amico (discussed below), two transfers and two freshmen.

22-year-old right-shot Barone—6’1” 209—was Lake Superior State’s top-scoring blueliner last season producing a 4-15-19 line in what was called a breakout season. He quarterbacked LSSU’s power play and blocked 27 shots while taking just 12 penalties. Barone was an OHL first-round draft pick by Sudbury but elected to play his junior hockey in the BCHL. A rising junior, he’ll have two seasons of eligibility. Barone garnered strong interest from D1 teams when he entered the transfer portal and the Terriers were fortunate to secure his commitment.

 (Commitment post)

● Video First collegiate goal, Overtime game-winner  

Terrier fans should be familiar with left-shot Wismer from the past two seasons’ games with Vermont. The 6’0” rising junior skated on the Catamounts’ top defensive pairing most of last season with standout Philip Tournqvist, posting a 2-5-7 scoring line with 27 blocks and just two minor penalties. 

Vermont hockey broadcaster Owen Gund told THFB “In terms of his game, he skates really well that’s what jumps out immediately. Good puck mover who can get up and down the ice in a hurry and is great at facilitating clean entries. I like his offensive upside because he’s always been great at getting shots through from the point.”

LD Haoxi Wang, 6’5”, 223, brings size and elite skating to the Terrier blueline. A high second-round pick by San Jose in the 2025 draft, he spent the past season and a half in OHL. This past season he posted a 6-20-26 line in 57 games, playing for Oshawa and then after a trade, for Niagara. Last month he skated for Team China in the IIHF Men’s Championships, Div. D1B, posting 2 goals and 2 assists in five games and being named the tournament’s best defenseman.

Wang has made considerable progress in developing his game after being a relative newcomer to higher level hockey in Canada.  He will attend his second Sharks’ development camp in July and turns 19 later in the month.

Wang will be the Terriers’ first China-born skater. Brandon Yip, who played for BU’s 2009 champions, had a long career in the NHL and KHL and captained Team China in the 2022 Winter Olympics, was born in Canada.

● Video Coast-to-coast shorthanded , power-play one-timer

● The Athletic (subscription) Inside Simon Wang’s journey to becoming the highest Chinese-born player selected in the NHL Draft

The most recent—and potentially high-impact—defensive recruit is Villeneuve, a top QMJHL defenseman, whose dynamic style has been likened to Montreal Canadiens Lane Hutson’s offensive game. The 5’11’ 164, left-shot, who turns 19 in September, has spent three seasons with the Blainville=Boisbriand Armada. Two seasons ago, he was rookie defenseman of the year with 43 points in 53 games; the following season he earned Defenseman of the Year honors with 62 points. While injuries shortened his 2025-26 campaign, XV produced 38 points in 37 regular-season games and then added 14 points in 17 playoff games. Look for him to compete right away for the quarterback position on the Terrier power play unit.

Villeneuve has acknowledged that one of the players he patterns his game after is Hutson. And, according to NHL Central Scouting senior eastern scout Jean-Francois Damphousse, there's a lot of similar traits between the two."

"For me, it's the elite offensive potential," Damphousse said. "You're talking maybe a Lane Hutson. We all watch the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs now and we all doubted that undersized defensemen could do what he's doing right now, at a high-pace, physical game. I think Villeneuve has that ability to create offense out of nothing. His feet are excellent, his puck game is excellent. He can transport the puck, he can move the puck. He can be a power-play specialist, running it from the top of the blue line."

While Villeneuve’s defensive game is still developing, evaluators have pointed out that he doesn’t shy away from physical play and has a good defensive stick. He’s projected to be a late first-round or early second-round draft pick.

● NHL.com Villeneuve likened to Hutson of Canadiens on 'NHL Draft Class' podcast

 

 

  

Amico, who missed considerable time with knee injuries in both NTDP season, saw limited ice time for BU in first semester and so went to Muskegon to work on his game. He quickly was installed on the Lumberjacks’ top D pair and established himself as a shutdown defenseman with 11 points in 27 games. In the playoffs he had 3-4-7 and, in Muskegon’s last Clark Cup finals win, Amico came up big on both offense (game-tying goal) and on defense. He undoubtedly attracted strong interest from many other D1 programs when he returned to juniors, but remained loyal to BU.

Goaltending

No changes to the Terrier goaltending room as all three return.

Jack Parker famously said “We should change the name of the game to ‘goalie.” That’s even more applicable in today’s era of large, mobile netminders and BU is fortunate to have one of the more talented “go large” goalies in rising junior Mikhail Yegorov.

Last season, Big Mike’s first half clearly didn’t match up to his dominant performances after arriving in January of 2025.  He rebounded during second semester with the kind of strong efforts that BU will need to compete in Hockey East and nationally this coming season.

Capable back-up Max Lacroix and Steve Luciano return as well.

Looking ahead—NHL Entry Draft edition

►Five Terriers—Malhotra, Lawrence, Villeneuve, Aaram Olsen and Luke Schairer (2027)--were among the 90 invitees to the recently completed NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo.

►In the fitness testing Aaram Olsen and Villeneuve turned in very strong efforts. NOA had two first-place finishes and two seconds, including the ultra-rigorous Wingate Cycle Ergometer Test.

● The Hockey News: Top finishers in each test category

►The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler issued his final top 100 rankings for the 2026 Entry Draft:  Malhotra #4, Lawrence #11, Villeneuve #22, Aaram Olsen #27, Schairer #66, Rian Chudzinski (2027) #78 and Braidy Wassilyn (2027) #95.

Chudzinski drew considerable attention with a strong performance in the QMJHL playoffs, producing a 6-11-17 scoring line in 21 games. A draft profile from TheHockeyWriters.com points out:

Rian Chudzinski is the type of player that NHL teams covet when the playoffs roll around. He has decent size, skates well, and will hit anything that moves. Chudzinski has enough skill for the NHL, a strong shot that he gets off well in many different contexts, and he’s more than happy to cause mayhem around the net. 

Looking ahead

Jack Eichel continues his quest to bring a second Stanley Cup to Vegas. Going into game four of the Cup Finals, he’s second in playoff scoring with 20 points. Lane Hutson, whose Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals, is tied for fifth overall and is first among defensemen.

Our friend BU Hockey Stats posted that” A Terrier is guaranteed to lift the Calder Cup with former teammates Cade Webber (TOR) and Dom Fensore (CHI) facing off.” Fensore, who made his NHL debut with Carolina in April, helped the Wolves get past Colorado to reach the championship round. Webber is in his second season with the Marlies.

Women's Team  

Terrier legend and Montréal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin was named the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP tonight after leading her team to its first-ever PWHL Walter Cup. Poulin tallied eight points (4G, 4A, with two GWGs) over the course of the playoffs, tying the record for most points in a playoff year.

Yesterday, Poulin was named to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026.

 

 

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