Freshmen arrive; Maguire to take medical red-shirt

According to reports in the Boston Hockey Blog and other media, junior netminder Sean Maguire (photo) will miss the entire 2014-15 season and will take a medical red-shirt. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.  With the recent commitment of Alberni Valley goalie Connor LaCouvee, BU will have three active goalies this season.  Junior Matt O’Connor and graduate student Anthony Moccia both return.

● Boston Hockey Blog report

Ten freshmen—nine skaters and goalie LaCouvee--are now enrolled and are working out with Terrier strength and conditioning coach Anthony Morando.

Five Terriers were named to the 2013-14 Hockey East All-Academic Team: seniors Patrick MacGregor, Anthony  Moccia and Matt Ronan, junior Evan Rodrigues and freshman Dillon Lawrence.

Looking ahead

2015 recruit Maxim Letunov, drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the second round of last weekend’s NHL Entry Draft, spoke to USHL Interactive about his first USHL season, his draft selection and his choice of BU. Letunov will spend another season at Youngstown, joined there by 2016 recruit Vas Kolias. Two seasons ago, the Moscow native played for the Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club

● Elite Prospect card

Shifting focus to the 2015 NHL draft, OverTheBoards.com identified 15 players with college connections to follow. Included were incoming freshman Jack Eichel (#1) and AJ Greer (#8), along with 2015 recruit Jordan Greenway (#7). Next season, Greenway will play for the NTDP U18s, who will play an exhibition game at BU on October 18. Fellow 2015 recruit Charles McAvoy also skates for the U18s.  

Looking back

Former Terrier MVP Alex Chiasson was traded this week from the Dallas Stars to the Ottawa Senators. The Quebec native talked with the Inside the Senate blog about the trade and an opportunity to play top-six minutes in Ottawa and mentioned his “welcome aboard” call from former BU teammate Eric Gryba, who recently re-signed with the Senators for $2.5 million for two years.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, Chiasson already has “the inside track to play on one of the Senators’ top two lines next year; but the 6-4 wing points out, “The opportunity is there for me to jump in, but at the same time I never take anything for granted.”
● Ottawa Sun interview 
 

Former Terrier standout David van der Gulik signed a free-agent contract with the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. Originally drafted by Calgary, he spent the past five seasons in the Avalanche organization and appeared in 48 NHL games.

Chris Bourque, MVP of the 2005 Beanpot, signed a free-agent contract with the New York Rangers.  Last season he played for Kazan Ak-Bars of the KHL.  A Washington Caps draft pick in 2004, Bourque has played 51 NHL games, including 18 with the Bruins in 2012-13. His younger brother, Ryan, was a Ranger draft pick and has spent the past three seasons with AHL Hartford.

Former BU blueliner Max Nicastro has signed a contract with HC Banska Bystrica in Slovakia. A Red Wings draft pick, he played for the ECHL Toledo Walleye last season.

Corey Trivino, who scored 43 points in 46 games for ECHL Stockton, has received a qualifying offer to remain with the Thunder, an affiliate of the Islanders, who had drafted Trivino #46 overall in 2008.

Women’s Team

Terrier Head Coach Brian Durocher announced a five-member recruit class for 2014, along with a transfer who will be eligible in 2015-16. Three of the six played in the gold-medal game of the 2014 IIHF World Women’s U18 Championships. Forwards Victoria Bach (left) and Rebecca Leslie, who were respectively the #1 and #6 scoring leaders last season in Ontario’s Provincial Women’s Hockey League, won gold medals for Canada, while goalie Erin O’Neil  (right), the top senior netminder in Minnesota last year, earned a silver medal for the U.S. Forward Anna Steifel and defenseman Savannah Newton round out the class. The transfer is blueliner Alexis Crossley who played two seasons for New Hampshire, earning All-Rookie honors as a freshman.

The defending Hockey East champions will be bolstered by the return of two players who were injured last season: 2012-13 first team Hockey East All-Star defenseman Shannon Doyle, who missed the entire season, and forward Kayla Tutino, who missed most of the season. Also returning is captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who spent the year with the Canadian Olympic team and whose heroics propelled Canada to another gold medal at the Sochi games.

● GoTerriers.com report with player thumbnails
●  2014-15 roster

Seven members of last year’s squad were named to the Hockey East All-Academic squad: Meghan Riggs (named all four years), Mia Becker, Victoria Hanson, Braly Hiller, Kerrin Sperry, Doyle and Tutino.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, TERRIER FANS
(bet you can't resist singing along)

 

Five future Terriers hear their names called at NHL Entry Draft--UPDATED

Three incoming BU freshmen and two recruits expected to arrive in 2015 were selected on the second day of the NHL Entry Draft held in Philadelphia. BU's total of five picks tied BC for the most draft selections this year by an NCAA school.   Twenty players currently at or committed to Hockey East schools were drafted, the most of any NCAA D1 conference.

 The Terriers chosen were:
● Maxim Letunov (2015)  #52 overall by St. Louis
● Johnathan MacLeod (2014)  #57 by Tampa Bay 
● Brandon Hickey (2014) #64 by Calgary
● JJ Piccinich (2014) #103 by Toronto
● Liam Coughlin (2015) #130 by Edmonton

Letunov (left) and Piccinich (right), teammates on the Youngstown Phantoms last season, both were picked considerably higher than their Central Scouting rankings had suggested. Letunov, a 6-2 center from Moscow, had been ranked #87 among North American skaters, while Piccinich, who led the USHL in power play goals with 13, was ranked #135 on that list.

● SBNation-St.Louis profile of Letunov
● Youngstown Phantoms report
● NHL.com video interview: Piccinich
● LeafsNation profile of Piccinich
● LeafsTV interview: Piccinich
● Vindy.com report on Phantoms selected in draft

RD MacLeod, ranked #44 among North American skaters, was the 37th player from Canada or the US to come off the board. Before spending the past two seasons with the US NTDP, he skated for Kimball Union where he was paired with current Terrier Doyle Somerby.
● BoltsTV post-draft interview
● Tampa Bay Times report

NHL Scout on MacLeod "He closes gaps quickly and is tough to play against. He's a good, mobile skater . . . '' more -->
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) June 28, 2014

Hickey, the first player drafted out of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, can look forward to returning to that province to play with Calgary. The 6-2 LD, who represented Canada in both the World Junior A Challenge and the World U17 tournament, brings strong skating skills and breakout ability. 
● Calgary Sun report
● SB Nation-Calgary report

Coughlin, after earning All-Scholastic honors while captaining Catholic Memorial HS in 2012-13, followed the footsteps of two other CM standouts--Garrett Noonan and Merrimack's Mike Collins--and spent last season in the BCHL with league power Vernon Vipers. The 6-3 left wing scored 45 points and became a fixture on the Vipers' power play. Vernon Morning Star Sports Editor Kevin Mitchell says Coughlin started the season slowly but,

"He bought in, started playing smarter and by Christmas, was a highly effective top-six forward used on the power play. By mid-January, NHL scouts were taking serious notes on Liam.The Terriers have recruited a beauty."

● Edmonton Journal report and video highlights

Liam Coughlin (Vernon Vipers), taken by the Edmonton Oilers, heading to Boston University next year, big power forward with a great shot.
— Jeff McCarthy (@McCarthyOTB) June 28, 2014

● GoTerriers.com draft recap
● Boston Hockey Blog draft recap
● OverTheBoards draft recap  
● Boston Herald draft recap
● HockeyEastOnline draft recap 

BU projects to have as many as three first-round picks in the 2015 draft: 2014 recruit Jack Eichel is a contender for the top overall spot; 2015 recruit Jordan Greenway (photo, NTDP U18s) has been ranked in the top 15; and 2014 recruit A.J. Greer's name is on some lists as a late first-rounder.

For BU's 2014 recruits, their college days begin tomorrow. Strength & Conditioning Anthony Morando tweeted: Frosh Arrive tomorrow. Workouts begin Monday #future #readytoroll Looking forward to it boys. 

►A pair of Terrier veterans, goalie Matt O'Connor (photo) and right wing Kevin Duane, are on the roster for New York Rangers development camp beginning June 30 and running through July 4 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Looking back
Former Terrier captain Nick Bonino talks about his trade to Vancouver, which came a week before his July 5 wedding to former BU women's hockey standout Lauren Cherewyk.

►Mike Grier, a Terrier All-American and member of the 1995 national championship team, will be an instructor at USA Hockey's Select 17 development camp in Amherst, N.Y., which began today. Grier discusses his post-playing days activities and how USA Hockey's American Development Model (ADM) aims to enhance the creativity of U.S. hockey players. 

►Another Terrier All-American, Tom Poti, who recently concluded a 14-year NHL career, talked with New England Hockey Journal about his decision to play at BU and his experiences as a Terrier, including reaching the 1997 national championship game.