NCAA Players with Eligibility Left Leave for NHL

More than 20 NCAA Division I players (listed alphabetically by first name) with college eligibility remaining have signed with professional hockey clubs since the start of March, following the conclusion of their respective 2022-23 seasons:

Aidan Fulp, D, Jr., Western Michigan (NY Islanders/NHL)

Akito Hirose, D, Jr., Minnesota State (Vancouver/NHL) 

Alex Laferriere, F, So., Harvard (Ontario/AHL)

Anton Malmstrom, D, Jr., Bowling Green (St. Louis/NHL)

Brett Berard, F, Jr., Providence (NY Rangers/NHL)

Carter Mazur, F, So., Denver (Detroit/NHL)

Corson Ceulemans, D, So., Wisconsin (Columbus/NHL)

Devon Levi, G, Jr., Northeastern (Buffalo/NHL) *

Hunter McKown, F, Jr., Colorado College (Columbus/NHL) *

Jake Livingstone, D, Jr., Minnesota State (Nashville/NHL)

Jakub Dobeš, G, So., Ohio State (Montreal/NHL)

Josh Doan, F, So., Arizona State (Arizona/NHL)

Mason Lohrei, D, So., Ohio State (Providence/AHL)

Matthew Coronato, F, So., Harvard (Calgary/NHL)

Max Sasson, F, So., Western Michigan (Vancouver/NHL)

Nikita Nesterenko, F, Jr., Boston College (Anaheim/NHL) *

Ondrej Pavel, F, Jr., Minnesota State (Colorado/NHL)

Ryan Tverberg, F, Jr., UConn (Toronto/NHL)  

Ryder Rolston, F, Jr., Notre Dame (Chicago/NHL)

Sean Farrell, F, Jr., Harvard (Montreal/NHL) *

Trevor Kuntar, F, Jr., Boston College (Boston/NHL)

Tyler Kleven, D, Jr., North Dakota (Ottawa/NHL) *

Wyatt Kaiser, D, Jr., Minnesota-Duluth (Chicago/NHL) *

* Indicates player has made his NHL playing debut

Rathbone Gets First NHL Goal

Jack Rathbone (Harvard) has his first NHL goal.

The former Crimson defenseman slapped home his first goal in pro hockey's top league in Vancouver's 6-3 win over Edmonton on Thursday night in Alberta. His goal 4:43 into the first period gave his Canucks a 2-0 lead at the time. He had made his NHL debut two days earlier, also in Edmonton

Rathbone, 21, a 5-foot-10 native of West Roxbury, Mass. was drafted 95th overall by Vancouver in 2017 after playing with both the Cape Cod Whalers and the Dexter Southfield School. In two seasons at Harvard (2018-19, 2019-20), he collected 14 goals and 39 assists for 53 points in 61 NCAA outings. As a sophomore, he registered seven goals and 31 points in 28 games, and earned First Team All-America accolades before later turning professional after the Ivy League canceled the 2020-21 campaign last fall.

The son of former Boston College forward and New York Islanders draft choice Jason Rathbone, Jack Rathbone made his pro debut earlier this season with Utica (AHL), where he recorded 2-7—9 points in eight appearances.

Three BC Freshmen Chosen in 2019 NHL First Round

Three incoming Boston College Eagles were selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft on Friday in Vancouver.

Matthew Boldy of Millis, Mass. was selected 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild. Last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program out of Michigan, the 6-foot-2 left wing tallied 33 goals and 48 assists for 81 points in 64 games. He more than doubled his output from the 2017-18 campaign, when he finished with 12 goals and 35 points with the NTDP.

Spencer Knight went 13th overall to the Florida Panthers. The 6-foot-3 goaltender from Darien, Conn. compiled a 15-1-0 record with a 2.21 goals-against average and .903 save percentage against USHL clubs, and finished 17-3-1 in exhibition contests against NCAA and similar competition. He is expected to step into the Eagles' starting goaltender slot with the departure of three-year starter Joe Woll to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization earlier this year.

The 16th NHL choice on Friday went to the Colorado Avalanche, who used it on Alex Newhook from St. John's, Newfoundland. The 5-foot-10 center collected 38-64—102 points in 53 outings last season with Victoria (BCHL), and added five goals and 10 points in five appearances with Canada's U-18 squad.

NTDP all-time leading scorer Jack Hughes, one of seven players from that organization chosen on Friday, went first overall to the New Jersey Devils, but he is not expected to play college hockey like his older brother Quinn Hughes (Michigan) and father Jim Hughes (Providence). The top player with NCAA ties chosen in the first round this year was forward Alex Turcotte, also from the NTDP, who will play at Wisconsin starting this fall.

A full list of this year's NHL's draft selections can be found here. Rounds 2-7 will be televised starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday (NHL Network).

U.S. Tops Russia, Advances to WJC Gold Medal Game

The United States will medal for the fourth consecutive year at the World Junior Championships. The only question now is if that medal will be silver or gold.

Team USA advanced to the championship game of the 2019 tournament in Vancouver with a 2-1 semifinal win over Russia on Friday. Oliver Wahlstrom (Boston College) and Sasha Chmelevski scored goals for the Americans, and Cayden Primeau (Northeastern) made 34 saves for the U.S., which will be seeking its second World Juniors gold in three years, and fifth WJC gold medal all-time.

The U.S. will face Finland, a 6-1 semifinal winner over Switzerland, on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, NHL Network) for the title. The Americans defeated the Finns, 2-1, on Dec. 26 in round-robin play to open this year's tournament.

U.S. Edges Czechs, Advances to WJC Semifinals

Noah Cates (Minnesota-Duluth) and Josh Norris (Michigan) staked the United States to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, and then Team USA held on for a 3-1 win over the Czech Republic in a quarterfinal match-up at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver.

Alexander Chmelevski secured the triumph with an empty-net goal late in the third period after the Czechs scored with around seven minutes remaining in regulation, and Cayden Primeau (Northeastern) finished with 18 saves to earn his second straight WJC win in the U.S. net. The Americans will now take on Russia in a semifinal game on Friday, with the winner to meet the
victor of Finland-Switzerland on Saturday in the WJC championship contest.

NCAA Grads Duel in NHL Line Brawl

I went to a boxing match and ... oh, never mind.

The Vancouver Canucks hosted the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, and their NHL contest broke out in a line brawl at the opening face-off at Rogers Arena. In all there were 152 penalty minutes whistled—and the pleasantries all began at center ice between a pair of NCAA graduates.

Calgary's Kevin Westgarth (Princeton) faced off with Vancouver's Kevin Bieksa (Bowling Green), who moved up from the blueline to take the inaugural draw after trading words with Westgarth prior to the puck drop. (Bieksa won the draw, by the way, according to the Vancouver Sun.)

Nine players were ejected when all was said and done. Vancouver ultimately won, 3-2, in a shootout.

Westgarth played at Princeton from 2003 to 2007, where he tallied 47 points and 76 PIM over his last two campaigns with the Tigers. Bieksa was at BGSU from 2000 to 2004 and accumulated 75 points and 316 PIM in four seasons with the Falcons, according to hockeydb.com.

 

Devils Come Up Short in B.C. Alum's Return to Vancouver, B.C.

Former Boston College goaltender Cory Schneider, who led the Eagles to two NCAA championship games in his three years at the Heights, came up short Tuesday night in his return to Vancouver, which selected him in the first round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Traded to New Jersey on draft day back in June, Schneider made 29 saves but couldn't prevent the Devils from falling for a third straight game in extra time, as the host Canucks rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory on Oct. 8. Full story can be found here.

Schneider, 27, from Marblehead, Mass., backstopped B.C. from 2004 to 2007, and majored in finance. He posted 65 total victories in his tenure with the Eagles, and also earned First Team All-America accolades as a junior.

B.C. opens its 2013-14 campaign Thursday night at Michigan

Quick Outduels Schneider as Kings Oust Canucks

They faced each other in New England high school hockey, and again right after in NCAA play when UMass did battle with Boston College.

They finally faced off in the NHL this past week with even higher stakes, and it was Jonathan Quick getting the best of Cory Schneider as the Los Angeles Kings eliminated the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks, four games to one, in the first round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Quick came out ahead in prep school when his Avon Old Farms team defeated Schneider and Phillips Andover Academy, and did so again in college during the 2006-07 season when his Minutemen took two of three head-to-head meetings with Schneider's Eagles.

Quick completed his trifecta/hat trick on Sunday night as eighth-seeded LA ousted host Vancouver, 2-1, in overtime. Jarrett Stoll's left-circle shot over Schneider's right shoulder put an end to another President's Trophy-winning campaign by the Canucks, and sent LA on to the second round for the first time since 2001 when the Kings defeated Detroit in six contests.

''To close out this series, for me personally, and a few guys in the room, it's something we've never done, so it's a great feeling,'' said Quick, from Milford, Conn., afterwards at yahoo.com.

He finished with 165 saves in the five games, allowing just eight goals while also recording one shutout. He went 35-21-3 during the regular season with a 1.95 goals-against average and a club-record 10 shutouts.

Schneider, of Marblehead, Mass., who will be an unrestricted free agent in the off-season, made 43 saves in a 3-1 win in Game Four in LA to keep the Canucks alive for one more game. He had 35 stops on Sunday, while Quick posted 27 saves and shut the door after Henrik Sedin scored just over 14 minutes into Game 5.

"Quick didn't miss on a single puck the whole series," said Schneider, who finished 20-8-1 in the regular season with a 1.96 GAA and three shutouts.

Canucks starter Roberto Luongo took a pair of 4-2 losses in Games 1 and 2 in Vancouver before giving way to Schneider, who made 97 saves on 101 shots in three-plus games, but couldn't extend the Canucks' season in what might have been his final appearance with the club.

The Kings will now face the second-seeded St. Louis Blues, a five-game winner over San Jose, in the second round. The Canucks will go back and try to pick up the pieces, one year after falling one win short of their first Stanley Cup championship.

One Last Game to Go

Several hours from now the 2010-11 NHL season will have come to a close, and either the Boston Bruins or the Vancouver Canucks will have won the Stanley Cup. The puck drops in just two hours time in British Columbia for Game Seven, but whatever ultimately occurs tonight will be remembered for all time.

Who'll win and who'll be the hero has yet to be determined in this back-and-forth, sometimes nasty best-of-seven series that has been dominated by the home-ice advantage. It may take one goal, it may take several, it may even take overtime to decide matters once and for all between the Bruins and Canucks. We'll all know soon enough.