First '18-'19 predictions; Looking ahead & Looking back--UPDATED

Jeff Cox takes an early crack at projecting Hockey East for the 2018-19 season. He has Providence in the top spot, followed by BC, BU and Northeastern.
● New England Hockey Journal report

Matt Dressens of TheBU Hockey Blog has prepared a highlight reel of the 2017-18 season


Looking ahead

Last Word on Hockey profiled 2018 recruit Joel Farabee for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. The left shot forward, who has 64 points this season for the NTDP U18s, has been ranked #8 by HockeyProspects, #12 by McKeen’s and #16 by Future Considerations and ISS.  The U18s will look to repeat as World U18 Champions beginning April 19 in Magnitogorsk, Russia. NHL Network will air all Team USA games.

● LastWordonHockey.com report

Through four days of the USA Hockey Tier 1 18U Championships, 2018 recruit Dominic Vidoli is tied for the tournament points lead with nine and tied for the assists lead with seven. Vidoli helped lead Culver Military to three straight wins in pool play before it was eliminated by the Eastern Mass Senators in the Quarterfinals.  With a 40-3-1 record, Culver was among the top-rated U18 programs in the U.S.

2020 recruit Josh Lawrence, playing in the 16U tournament, had a goal and two assists for CCYHA, which also was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

A pair of 2020 recruits, forwards Dylan Peterson and Luke Tuch were late-round picks in Saturday’s OHL Priority Draft. Peterson (#126) and Tuch (#257) had recently received invitations to join the 2018-19 NTDP U17s.  A third 2020 recruit, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, was a second-round pick (#40) of the Kitchener Rangers.

Looking back
Clayton Keller has been named Team MVP of the Arizona Coyotes. With a 23-42-65 scoring line, he also led the club in scoring. Keller won the NHL’s Rookie of the Month award twice.
● Arizona Sports report

Despite missing 15 games this season, Jack Eichel led the Sabres in scoring with a career-best 64 points. The former BU All-American met with the  media discussing his frustration with Buffalo's lack of progress and his continued commitment to the team.  Evan Rodrigues finished with 25 points in 48 games.

Captain's letter to BU; Draft profiles

The Daily Free Press has published a letter from Captain Brandon Hickey to BU and the BU Hockey Community about "the best four years of my life."

For June’s NHL entry draft, freshman Brady Tkachuk and 2020 recruit Joel Farabee (photo) are projected to be first-round picks, while Farabee’s NTDP linemate and fellow 2020 recruit Jake Wise could be selected in the second or third rounds. Profiles of all three:

● Tkachuk

● Farabee

● Wise

►Farabee and Wise (photo), along with 2018 recruits Tyler Weiss and Jack DeBoer, have been named to the U.S. U18 National Team roster for the IIHF World U18 Championships in Magnitogorsk, Russia beginning April 19. Farabee was called up to the U18s a year ago and helped Team USA win gold at the Worlds, scoring six points and two goals in the championship game.

● USA Hockey report and roster

The OHL Prospects blog has published profiles of the top ranked players from Ottawa who are eligible for the 2018 OHL draft. Among the highly-rated prospects are a pair of 2020 recruits who are teammates on the CIHA White: forward Dylan Peterson (a dual citizen who received an invitation to join the NTDP U17s) and defenseman Donovan Sebrango.  2020 recruit Luke Tuch, Jr. Sabres forward, also is eligible for the draft.  Excerpts of the Peterson and Sebrango profiles:

Dylan Peterson (C/RW - Canadian International Hockey Academy)

Peterson is a highly gifted player who has a special combination of speed, agility, and skill. He is 6'3" with an enviable frame, but has the lateral mobility of an undersized forward. It is remarkable to watch him weave through the neutral zone with power and masterful control of his edges. His first few strides are explosive and his top gear is effortless. Defenders instinctively retreat when he’s skating at them so as to not get burned wide or plowed over. There are not many forwards in the age group better at creating space for themselves. To make matters worse for opposing D, he has dazzling stick handling ability, which only seems to improve the faster he is moving. Combine that with his natural length, and you have an attacker who can essentially do what he pleases while in possession of the puck.

Donovan Sebrango (LD - Canadian International Hockey Academy)

Sebrango is a complete player who does everything you want from a defenceman. He excels at turning defence into offense. He disrupts oncoming attackers as early as he can, yielding very few controlled zone entries down his side of the ice. More often than not, attackers will dump the puck behind him, giving Sebrango a chance to showcase his smooth pivoting and puck retrieval skills to get to the puck first and start the breakout. His passes are firm and hit players in stride, which facilitates clean breakouts. He assesses his options very well and more often than not picks out the teammate in the best position to transition the puck up ice. Sebrango is also the league's top defenceman when it comes to the stretch pass. His puck distribution prowess is not limited to facilitating breakouts, though. He also shows great vision in the offensive zone, finding seams and hitting open teammates in dangerous areas. This skill makes him an effective powerplay quarterback.

Looking back

Alex Chiasson scored his ninth goal on a breakaway in Washington’s 4-2 win against St. Louis.

NHL.com recap and video highlights

WCHS-TV/Maine interviewed former BU captain and NHLer Doug Friedman who recently was named head coach of the new USPHL Twin City Thunder franchise.  

Looking ahead, looking back

► Daily Free Press: BU Hockey rebounds from lackluster start to reach NCAA Regional final

Looking ahead

NEHJ's Jeff Cox reviewed the recent NTDP Evaluation Camp participants, including three 2020 Terrier commits, who were invited to join next season's U17s: forwards Dylan Peterson (photo) and Luke Tuch and goalie Drew Commesso.

2018 recruit Hugo Blixt scored his 10^th goal in Tri-City’s 4-2 loss to Sioux Falls. The 6’4” defenseman from Vasteras, Sweden, has 26 points in 54 games.

2019 recruit Vinny Purpura stopped 28 of 30 shots to lead Omaha to a 3-2 win against Muskegon. Both goals allowed by the 6’3” goalie from Lemont, Illinois, came on Lumberjack power plays. Purpura improved his record to 12-4-0 and lowered his GAA to 2.47.

● Lancers.com report

Looking back

Jack Eichel recorded a career-best five assists in the Sabres’ 7-4 win against Western Conference leader Nashville on Saturday night. With 25 goals and 37 assists, Eichel has 62 points, best total of his three year career. Evan Rodrigues contributed his 14^th assist for Buffalo, while Nick Bonino had a goal and an assist for the Predators.

● NHL.com recap and video highlights

►SportingNews.com  Sabres’ Comm. Ave. connection

Clayton Keller has been named NHL Rookie of the Month for the second time this season. In 17 games in March, he led all rookies with 13 assists and 19 points.

● NHL.com video  

● Arizona Sports.com report

Former BU All-American Charlie McAvoy has been voted the winner of NESN’s 7^th Player Award, given to the Bruin who exceeded expectations of fans during the 2017-18 season. McAvoy, currently recuperating from knee surgery, has seven goals and 25 assists this season and leads all NHL rookie defensemen in ice time per game and plus/minus (+26).

● NHL.com report

►NHL.com Keller, McAvoy among NCAA players making pro impact

CPA/emergency goalie Scott Fosters’ heroics in the Blackhawks net last week recalls the experience of former BU goalie John Aiken, who was pulled from the Boston Garden stands on March 13, 1958 when Canadiens netminder Jacques Plante was injured. Aikens played nearly two periods, giving up six goals on 18 shots in a Bruins win. He became the first Terrier to play in the NHL. Last week Jordan Greenway became the 82^nd.

● SB Nation report