Monday, April 20, 2026

Catching up: Defense in flux; U18 Worlds set to begin

 


Two more Terrier defensemen have found new homes through the transfer portal: one expected and the other, a surprise to Terrier fans. Freshman Kyle Kim, who saw very limited action on defense and as a extra forward, is headed to the ECAC’s Colgate Red Raiders.

Sascha Boumedienne, a 2025 first-round draft pick by Winnipeg, has transferred to Ohio State. After a strong second half of his freshman season followed by a record-setting performance at the World U18s, the Swedish blueliner had a challenging sophomore season.

With the earlier transfer of Malte Vass to New Hampshire and pro signings of Cole Hutson and Gavin McCarthy, BU now expects just three blueline returnees on next season’s squad: seniors Aiden Celebrini and Mick Frechette and sophomore Charlie Trethewey.

A pair of Ds from the Niagara IceDogs, San Jose draft pick Haoxi Wang and Blake Barnes, will be coming aboard, while it’s anticipated that Carter Amico, who split last season between BU and USHL Muskegon will return to Comm Ave. That still leaves two slots still to be filled. Stay tuned.  

2026 IIHF World U18 Championships ... 

John McNelis, who entered the portal last week, has signed on with UMass.. 

IIHF U18 World Championships

Tynan Lawrence scored a hat trick and added an assist to power Canada past Czechia, 6-2, in a pre-tournament game at the IIHF U18 World Championships in Slovakia. Lawrence also tallied a goal in an earlier 5-2 win over Sweden.  Canada's first preliminary round game is on Wednesday against host team Slovakia.

2027 recruit Jamie Glance scored a goal and added three assists in Team USA’s 7-3 win over Finland in a pre-tournament match at the U18 World Championships in Slovakia.

Glance, who led the NTDP in goals with 21 and tied for the points lead with 46, also had four points in Team USA’s earlier exhibition win, a 10-0 rout of Norway. 2027 recruit Carter Meyer had a goal and an assist in the blowout win.

Team USA, which also includes Schairer and Knowling, begins preliminary round play on Wednesday against Czechia. The game will air on the NHL Network at 10 a.m ET. Full broadcast schedule. 

Looking ahead

NHL Central Scouting issued its final 2026 draft rankings, which included eight Terriers, seven skaters and one goalie.

Among North American skaters: #6 Caleb Malhotra, #7 Lawrence, #19 Egor Shilov, #45 Luke Schairer, #63 Rian Chudzinski and #105 Braidy Wassilyn. Brady Knowling is the #1 ranked North American goalie.

Malhotra and Chudzinski both continue their respective playoff series. Malhotra had 13 points in eight games to help Brantford sweep its first two playoff rounds. Chudzinski had nine points in eight games for Moncton, which also swept two playoff series

Shilov, whose Victoriaville team was eliminated in the first playoff round, was named the QMJHL’s Rookie of the Year after leading all first-year players with 82 points (32G,50A). He also was a finalist for the Michael Bossy Trophy for the league’s top professional prospect. 

 

2027 recruit James Scantlebury has been named to the USHL All-Rookie First Team. The Montreal native, a 5-⭐️prospect who is a finalist for the league’s Rookie of the Year Award, had 39 points for the Chicago Steel. 

Looking back 

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are under way with eight Terriers looking to put their name on the Stanley Cup: Jack Eichel (Vegas), Clayton Keller (Utah), Jake Oettinger (Dallas), Charlie McAvoy (Boston), Lane Hutson (Montreal), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), Trevor Zegras (Philadelphia) and Jordan Greenway (Buffalo).

Hutson assisted on the overtime game-winner in the Canadian's 4-3 win over Tampa Bay in their opening game of their playoff series. He finished the regular season with 78 points (12G,66A), fourth best among NHL defensemen. He was +36.

With a goal and two assists in his final game of the season, Macklin Celebrini established a new season points record for the San Jose franchise. His 115 points (45G, 70A) pushed past the 114 mark of Sharks' legend Joe Thornton--who also has been housing Celebrini for his first two seasons.  

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In the Panthers final game of the season, and 8-1 win, Wilmer Skoog assisted on a pair goals, gaining his first NHL points. He skated for Florida in their final three games.  

 

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Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Defenseman commits to BU; Vass, McNelis hit the portal; Another milestone for Macklin

BLAKE BARNES BURIES IT‼️ #DogCountry | #OHLPlayoffs 

Terriers have added a defenseman to the 2026-27 roster, not from the portal but from the OHL. Left-shot Blake Barnes, a 2006 who will be 20 when he arrives on Comm Ave., spent the 2025-26 season with the Niagara IceDogs. The 6'1", 192 native of Northville, Michigan, was a teammate of fellow recruit Haoxi Wang, who also is a left defenseman. 

For the IceDogs, Barnes had a 1-9-10 scoring line and took just four minor penalties in 46 games. He also had a goal and two assists in five playoff games. 

Prior to the OHL, Barnes played a season with USHL Omaha and previously played in the Honeybaked and Little Caesar's organizations.  

His father, Ryan Barnes, was a second round draft pick of the Red Wings in 1998. A longtime AHL forward, he skated briefly for Detroit.

Portal News 

A pair of freshmen, defenseman Malte Vass and forward John McNelis, have put their names in the transfer portal. Vass, who was a third round pick of Columbus last June, has already committed to New Hampshire. He dressed for 22 games, frequently as the seventh defenseman and seeing limited ice time. Vass recorded three assists. McNelis saw action in 19 games producing a 1-4-5 scoring line.  

More than 270 Division 1 players have entered the portal with about 30 having found new homes. We'll update when there are BU-related activities.

To check on those in the portal, here are a few links: Grand Forks Herald, College Hockey News and APX Hockey.


The IIHF World U18 Championships begin on April 22 in Slovakia. Team USA's roster has not yet been announced. Generally, most of the roster comes from the NTDP U18s with some additions from junior leagues. Terrier recruits on the NTDP U18s are Brady Knowling, Luke Schairer, Jamie Glance and Carter Meyer. Check back for updates. All Team USA games will air on NHL Network. 

Looking ahead

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2027 recruit James Scantlebury, a 5-⭐️rated forward, has been named a finalist for USHL Rookie of the Year honors.  USHL Media Relations reports:

Chicago’s tender made an immediate splash with 16 goals and 23 assists to rank fourth in rookie scoring. Scantlebury’s four game-winning goals tied for third-most among USHL rookies and he was among a group of only three first-year players to appear in all 62 regular-season games. The Boston University commit and Chateauguay, Quebec native had eight power play points, a shorthanded goal, and only eight penalty minutes.

Looking back

Despite a remarkably productive sophomore season, Macklin Celebrini fell short of dragging the Sharks into a playoff berth. However he did reach a BU milestone with his 43rd and 44th goals in San Jose's 3-2 win over Nashville.    

Cullen, the all-time Terriers points leader with 241 (98G, 143A) had scored 110 points in the 1990-91 season with Pittsburgh and Hartford.

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Wilmer Skoog became the 105th Terrier to reach the NHL when he was called up by Florida and made his debut in the Panthers' 6-2 win over Toronto. He was in the lineup again last night for a 3-2 win over the Rangers and saw more than 15 minutes of ice time in each game.  

To mark his debut, our friend BU Hockey Stats has compiled video of all four of Skoog's lacrosse goals.   

Trevor Zegras scored his 26th goal in the Flyers' 3-2 shootout win over Carolina. His 67 points are a new career best. Zegras, acquired in the off-season from Anaheim, will be making his first playoff appearance with Philadelphia.

Jake Oettinger blanked the Rangers, 2-0, turning aside 22 shots for his 34th win and fourth shutout of the season.

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