Sunday, March 22, 2026

Defkit's Year-end Takeaway; Hats off for Merrimack, Dartmouth; Looking ahead

 

Congratulations to Merrimack on its Cinderella run to its first Hockey East championship, becoming the first #8 seed to win the conference tournament. The Warriors, goalie Max Lundgren in particular, withstood a furious third period by  UConn (50 shot attempts, 22 SOG) and 50 shots on goal overall.

Dartmouth claimed its first-ever ECAC Tournament championship, beating Princeton, 2-1 in overtime on a goal by one-time BU recruit Tim Busconi.

 

 Defkit's Year-end Takeaway

Listed numerically: 

-Gavin McCarthy - more offense than I expected and became more reliable in his own end (as he should); fell short as a captain.
-Nick Roukounakis - love his game - physical and tenacious, popped in a few goals too. Perfect 4th liner on an elite team.
-Brandon Svoboda - was hoping for more offense from him given some of the goals he scored last year; had one of the bigger goals of the season at Matthews; still a reliable two way player and face-off guy; should be a third line regular next season.
-Sacha Boisvert - hard to know how much the easy season injury affected him, but a big disappointment; his stupid fight showed me he wasn't committed to this team, or just isn't very smart.
-Jonathan Morello - very dependable for a freshman, good two-way game - on an elite team he is our 4th line center but will play meaningful minutes no matter where he is. Like Sam Stevens with more offense. Plays with an edge, needs to keep that in check going forward.
-Tynan Lawrence - the future is very bright. Likely C1 next season, unless Malholtra is just that good.
-Jack Harvey - typical slow start and quietly ended up one of the top scorers. I was hoping for more consistent offense.
-Mick Frechette - Solid season. Liked his enthusiasm. Has persevered to become a regular, but nothing is guaranteed for next season.
-Conrad Fondrk - Tough season primarily due to injury. D1 was an adjustment for him.
-Jack Murtagh - definitely expected more, a sign that the NTDP isn't what it was a few years ago. But has tremendous speed. I can still see him turning into a top-6 guy.
-Ryder Ritchie - NCAA was also a bigger adjustment for him than I expected. Started hot, cooled off, then seemed to start playing the right way and the offense started coming back.
-Aiden Celebrini - basically what I expected. Grew a little more dependable, but on an elite team he is a bottom-pairing guy at best.
Owen McLaughlin - Like Ritchie, started hot then sort of disappeared.
-Ben Merrill - far exceeded my expectations - I didn't know if he would even dress regularly. He is too skilled to be a 4th line guy even though his size and grit fits well there. I see him as a 3rd line guy with PP time.
-John McNelis - I was a little surprised that he didn't see more ice time in the second half, since I thought he looked good for a freshman. Is he a portal candidate? I hope he stays.
-Cole Eiserman - a little streakier than last season. Developed his overall game, though he is still not a possession guy, which is fine. Showed he cared with his hustle. Was hoping he would come back for one more season, as I think he will need at least one season in the AHL.
-Kamil Bednarik - Very reliable. Still struggled to bury his chances but his two way play will ensure he sees regular time. I expect him to be C3.
-Mikhail Yegorov - found his game in the second half. Had a rough start, though the terrible defense in front of him certainly didn't help.
-Cole Hutson - An enigma. Super-skilled but the complete opposite of Lane in terms of hustle. In the first half especially, he had way too many giveaways with very little effort to make up for them. I don't get why he couldn't play the rest of the season the way he did in the sweep of BC. And just seeing how he looks in his first two games with the Caps, I have to question how invested he was in the team's success. I know that sounds harsh, but I can only go by what I see with my eyes.
-Malte Vass - I expected to see more of him, I guess the coaches just felt he needed more development.
-Sascha Boumedienne - Regressed, somewhat surprisingly. I think having Tom Willander with him last season covered up a lot. He is still very young so I think he can still develop into a very good d-man for this team.
-Charlie Trethewey - good development as the year went on. Should be a regular next season. 

Looking ahead

2027 recruit Carter Meyer scored his 26th goal and added two assists as the NTDP U18s routed Waterloo, 8-4. 2027 recruit Jamie Glance scored his 18th goal shorthanded, assisted by Meyer while Luke Schairer assisted on Meyer's tally.  Since being moved up from the U17s, Meyer has a 9-5-14 line in 18 games.  

2026 recruit Caleb Malhotra assisted on three goals in Brantford's 6-5 win over North Bay, bringing his scoring line to 29-55-84 in 66 games. He's second in scoring on the Bulldogs and second among OHL rookies.  Brantford has clinched the league's regular-season title and begins the playoffs next week. 

2026 recruit Haoxi Wang's game-tying power-play goal was his 6th tally of the season, helping Niagara to a 3-2 win over Barrie. Wang has 26 points in 57 games, including 13 in 29 games since being acquired by the playoff-bound IceDogs in a midseason trade.

►The HockeyWriters substack includes new draft profiles of Malhotra and Egor Shilov. 

Looking back

Cole Eiserman made his professional debut in AHL Bridgeport's 4-3 shootout win against Hershey. Eiserman had one shot on goal in regulation and one shootout attempt that did not connect.

Drew Commesso stopped 36 of 38 shots in Rockford's 4-2 win against Chicago. Five of those shots came off the stick of Dom Fensore.  

 

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