Monday, September 08, 2025

UPDATED McCarthy named 2025-26 captain; Harvey, Eiserman, Hutson get the A's; Season tickets sold out; #2-ranked recruiting class; kudos for Big Mike

 

For the second time in three seasons, a defenseman named McCarthy will wear the C for BU. Junior Gavin McCarthy, younger brother of 2023-24 captain Case McCarthy, will lead the 2025-26 Terriers. Joining him in the leadership group are classmate Jack Harvey and sophomores Cole Eiserman and Cole Hutson.

McCarthy had 16 points (3G,13A) last season playing on the first defenseman pair with Hutson and was named to the NCAA All-Regional team. The last time the brother of a prior captain wore the C was in 2002-23 when Mike Pandolfo, younger brother of Jay Pandolfo, was co-captain.

 ►NHL.com McCarthy at Buffalo Sabres development camp 

Harvey followed his strong second half as a freshman with solid numbers last season, notching 11 goals and 27 points. That included key goals in the NCAA tournament.

Eiserman led all D1 rookies with 25 goals and finished with 36 points, earning a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie team. Four of his goals came in the NCAA tournament and another was the icing on the cake in the Beanpot championship win.

Hutson, following in the footsteps of brother Lane Hutson, produced an All-American season as a freshman with 48 points (14G,34A)—tops for all rookies. He also led all blueliners in both points and points per game (1.23), en route to succeeding Macklin Celebrini as National Rookie of the Year.

● GoTerriers.com McCarthy Named Captain as Men's Ice Hockey Finalizes 2025-26 Leadership Group

 

Sikes points out: "This class ranks No. 2 nationally, trailing only the University of Michigan and ahead of Michigan State, rounding out the top three. The highly-regarded group will look to make an immediate impact as BU sets its sights on a return to the National Championship game." 

● PuckPreps  Breaking Down Boston University's No. 2-Ranked 2025 Recruiting Class (subscription) 


►Five Terriers are listed on College Puck NXT’s pre-season Hockey East All-Star teams. Eiserman and Hutson earned spots on the first team, while Sacha Boisvert, Sascha Boumedienn and Mikhail Yegorov are on the second team.

►Freshman Ryder Ritchie was interviewed, along with other college committed CHL players, for an NHL.com article, NCAA hockey could be major pathway to NHL after rule change.

For a player like Ryder Ritchie (6-foot, 175 pounds), the schedule was a selling point when it came to his choice to play at Boston University this season. Selected by the Minnesota Wild in the second round (No. 45) of the 2024 draft, the forward played three seasons in the WHL with Prince Albert and Medicine Hat. But getting stronger is something he feels is a necessity before he turns pro, and in his view it's a lot harder to get in the gym when you're taking 15-hour bus rides around the Canadian prairies.

"The college schedule with only playing on Fridays and Saturdays, it gives you more time for development, especially in the gym Monday through Wednesday," he said. "You're getting those hard lifts in and I think getting bigger and stronger in that scenario. That's where I really need improving."

 

Mikhail “Big Mike” Yegorov is one of the five most improved NHL prospects cited by Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis. Here’s what he wrote about the Devils second-round pick in the 2024 draft:

4. Mikhail Yegorov, 19 (New Jersey Devils)

                          Photo credit Jim Pierce

2024-25 Rank: New

Yegorov had an incredible glow-up last season. He was one of my favorite goalies in the 2024 NHL Draft but didn’t have the stats to back it up. That’s because he had to do so much heavy lifting for Omaha of the USHL, whom he eventually left halfway through the year. He then put up some outstanding performances at Boston University, with many crediting him for being one of the biggest reasons why BU advanced to the national title game.

Love goalies with size? Yegorov is 6-foot-5, and he moves exceptionally well for his size. Scouts also praise his mental toughness, something that allowed him to thrive despite getting shelled often during his junior career. Watch him shine next year in his first full year of college hockey – I see a guy with the potential to become a No. 1 goaltender one day. The Devils don’t have another high-end goaltending prospect, and I think Yegorov’s game looks more advanced than most would have expected at this point in his development. He’s quick, skilled and smart – and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s chasing starts in the AHL come 2026-27, assuming everything continues to go well at BU.

Editor’s note: Good write-up...until that last sentence.

Looking ahead

From the CHL.ca preview of the Brantford Bulldogs where 2026 recruit Caleb Malhotra will play this season:    

3. Who will the Bulldogs’ top NHL Draft prospect be by the end of the season? 

Caleb is very confident that the transition from the BCHL to the OHL will be fairly easy for him. Eyes have been on him for a number of years, and scouts will be lining the catwalk at the Civic Centre to watch him play.

In this year’s camp, he has stood out both on and off the ice. His professionalism reflects the influence of his father, former NHLer Manny Malhotra, who has clearly prepared him for what lies ahead  

 

2026 recruit Viktor Nörringer scored the game-winner for Muskegon in a 3-2 exhibition game win over Youngstown. The Lerkil, Sweden, native has joined fellow recruit Tynan Lawrence on the Lumberjacks' roster as they seek to repeat as Clark Cup champions. The 6’3” right wing was a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft by Nashville, whose assistant GM and Director of Scouting is former Terrier defenseman Jeff Kealty. 

  
 
 
This past Spring, Kealty served as GM of the U.S. National Men’s Team, which won the IIHF World Championship for the first time since 1933. The Team USA roster included Cole Hutson, Clayton Keller and Alex Vlasic. San Jose GM Mike Grier and Rangers President Chris Drury, Kealty’s teammates on the Terriers’ 1995 national champions, were in the U.S. Team’s Advisory Group.

Looking back

Chicago Blackhawks ... 

Vlasic, recently named to the U.S. Olympic team preliminary roster, received strong praise in The Daily Faceoff’s preview of the Chicago Blackhawks:

Vlasic is the most notable veteran blueliner, coming off a breakout 30-point season. He also averaged 23:16 of ice time last year – a whole two minutes better than his rookie season at 21:29. Vlasic was sixth in takeaways while also being among Chicago’s leaders in blocked shots. Vlasic seemed to get better as the season wore on, especially once Seth Jones was shipped out. It was still a learning experience, and Vlasic said he dealt with fatigue, too. Hopefully, with some offseason conditioning, we’ll see him at his best this year.

►Two skaters from last season's NCAA finalist squad will begin their pro careers in the ECHL and are likely to run into each other on the ice. 

Tristan Amonte has signed a contract with ECHL Savannah Ghost Pirates.

►Devils' rookie Shane Lachance is rostered for the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo beginning Friday, along with former Terrier Brian Carrabes.

►If there was to be a BU Hockey All-Opponents team, there would be dozens of standouts to consider. But for goalie, it’s a no-brainer: Cornell’s Ken Dryden.  

An All-American, a multiple Stanley Cup champion and later an NHL club president and Member of Canada’s Parliament, Dryden passed away Friday at 78, following a long battle with cancer. 

In 1966-67 Jack Kelley assembled one of the best-ever Terrier squads. Featuring BU Hockey legends Herb Wakabayashi, Serge Boily, Mike Hyndman, Fred Bassi and Brian Gilmour, the team produced a 25-5-1 record as one of the nation’s top teams. It was Dryden who stood between BU and both the ECAC and NCAA titles. The 6’5’ netminder was the difference in a 4-3 Cornell win in the ECAC championship game and, one week later, a 4-1 Big Red victory in the national championship game. 

Earlier that season, the teams—BU then ranked #1, Cornell #2— played what is often called the greatest college hockey game.  In the championship of the Boston Arena Tournament, the teams played to a 3-3 double overtime tie.  

BU had trailed 3-2 but pulled even when defenseman Darryl Abbott scored short-handed. That was followed by two scoreless overtime periods. [Note: Abbott holds the distinction of being both a Terrier skater and student body president.] 

In 2007 blog contributor Mark Hurlman authored this account of that game.

More recently... 

 

 

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Site Meter