UNH Commits Update 4-30-2021: Spotlight on Margel, Cronin, Gagne & Huard
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News & Notes
NCAA Division I Transfer Portal:~ On April 14, 2021, the NCAA Division I Council made the transformative decision to allow all Division I athletes the right to transfer to a different D-I program without sitting out a season or sacrificing a year of eligibility. Earlier this week, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors officially ratified the "one-time transfer rule". In anticipation of this legislative change, dozens of current college hockey players have entered the D-I transfer portal with the goal of playing for a different school in the 2021-22 season.
So far, two graduating UNH seniors have entered the portal and arranged a transfer to another school. Benton Maass (defenseman) is set to transfer to Minnesota State Univerity, Mankato and Kohei Sato (forward) will transfer to Bentley College. In addition, junior Ty Taylor (goalie) has entered the transfer portal but has not yet established a transfer.
In two seasons with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, Blaisdell played in 51 games scoring 2 goals, 14 assists and posting a +16 rating. He has three years of NCAA eligibility left. Blaisdell arrived at Grand Forks as a highly touted prospect who played two seasons of junior hockey with the Chilliwack Chiefs in the British Columbia Hockey League. As a 17-year-old in 2018-19, his last season with Chilliwack, Blaisdell scored 35 goals and 28 assists in 62 regular season games. He tied for 5th in BCHL goal-scoring and was T-5th in power play goals. He added 2 goals and 3 assists in Chilliwack's 11-game run to the quarterfinals of the BCHL Playoffs.
North American Hockey League:
~ The NAHL regular season will end on May 16th. The teams have from 5 to 8 games remaining. The NAHL Playoffs are scheduled to begin on June 18th with the Robertson Cup awarded on June 22nd.
~ WILL MARGEL is the leading scorer in the North American Hockey League. From the time he moved from the Lincoln Stars (USHL) to the Johnstown Tomahawks at the end of December, Margel has scored 21 goals and 23 assists in 32 games. Margel's 1.38 points per game is the best in the league and comfortably ahead of 2nd place Charlie Schoen (1.15 points per game), an Arizona State commit. Although Margel has played in up to 18 fewer games than most NAHL players, he is still tied for 7th in points, T-5th in goals, and T-4th in power play points (4 PPG + 12 PPA).
The addition of Margel helped boost Johnstown's record to 33-9-5 and the Tomahawks have clinched first place in the East Division. Since the beginning of March, Margel has been red hot. In the last 17 games, the 5'9", 170 lbs., left-shot center/winger has scored 16 goals, including 3 game-winners, distributed 13 assists and compiled a +12 rating. He was named the NAHL Forward of the Month for March.
This highlight reel shows Margel's overtime, game-winning goal against the Maryland Black Bears on March 13th, game-winners against the Northeast Generals on March 20th and New Jersey Titans on April 16th, plus the breakaway goal he scored in the Tomahawk's last game against the Maine Nordiques:
United States Hockey League:
~ The USHL completed it's regular season on April 24th. Four teams in the Eastern Conference and four in the Western Conference advanced to the USHL Playoffs. The best-of-3 Quarterfinal series begin on April 30th. Six UNH Commits playing in the USHL are on teams which qualified for the playoffs.
~ Last weekend, ROBERT CRONIN and the Dubuque Fighting Saints entered the final 2 games of the season needing to win one and probably both games to qualify for the USHL Playoffs. As the team's leading scorer and goal scorer, Cronin rose to the occasion. On Friday against the third-place Green Bay Gamblers, Cronin scored his 9th power play goal midway through the first period then tallied the game-winner late in the period. He also distributed 3 assists and earned the #1 Star. In the regular season finale on Saturday, the Fighting Saints nursed a 1-0 lead late into the second period. Once again, Cronin came through with his 10th power play goal of the season to secure the 2-0 victory and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Across the final two wins, Cronin registered 8 shots on goal, 3 goals, 4 assists and a +4 rating. Here are all three of his goals:
As a senior at The Gunnery two seasons ago, Cronin tallied the second most points (19G 35A 54Pts 31Gms) in New England Prep Hockey. Last season, his first for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL, Cronin's scoring tailed off to 2 goals and 6 assists in 44 games. In the 2020-21 regular season, Cronin became one of the elite scorers in the USHL. Cronin's 28 goals in 48 games ties him for 5th in USHL goal-scoring. The 10 power play goals are tied for 3rd in the league as are his 2 short-handed goals. His 52 points are the 11th most in the USHL.
Several high-scoring, former UNH stars were also top scorers in their final USHL season. Rob Cronin's scoring in his final USHL regular season compares favorably. Consider his 1.08 points per game (PtsPG) and .58 goals per game (GPG). These three All-Americans had similar averages in their USHL season just prior to enrolling at UNH: Andrew Poturalski (1.07 PtsPG/.45 GPG), Tyler Kelleher (.84 PtsPG/.47 GPG), and Trevor Smith (1.15 PtsPG/.49 GPG). Two members of the UNH Century Club (100 or more points at UNH) also had comparable offensive production in their final USHL season: Phil DeSimone (1.21 PtsPG/.43 GPG) and Jacob Micflikier (1.15 PtsPG/.51 GPG). It'll be interesting to see if Cronin's scoring touch will also carry over into D-I hockey.
~ ALEX GAGNE finished the USHL's regular season with a +/- rating of +35 - the best among all USHL defensemen and 2nd best in the league. Gagne, an 18-year-old from Bedford, NH, is a 6'3", 207 lbs., left-shot defenseman. He improved his offensive output from 2 goals, 6 assists in 38 games with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders last season, to 3 goals and 23 assists in 53 games this season. One of his offensive strengths is pinching down from the blueline and getting involved in the offensive play. This is illustrated in the video highlight from a game against the Youngstown Phantoms on April 16th:
The Muskegon Lumberjacks finished in second place in the Eastern Conference and will face the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL quarterfinals. Alex Gagne will compete against fellow UNH Commit Damien Carfagna, also a left-shot defenseman.
~ COLTON HUARD (DOB: 11/27/00) finished the USHL's regular season with a +/- rating of +34, just one point behind Alex Gagne. That's the second best rating among all USHL defensemen and 3rd overall. Like Gagne, Huard is a big, mobile defenseman at 6'4", 196 lbs. The addition of both of them next season should help improve UNH's defense which finished second worst in Hockey East (3.95 Goals Against per Game) last season.
Huard scored 3 goals and 18 assists in 53 games with the Chicago Steel. Like Gagne, Huard has some agility in the offensive zone and can help set up scoring plays. This video highlight from an April 3rd contest between Chicago and Dubuque shows Huard carrying the puck down to the faceoff circle and dishing a tape-to-tape pass to his teammate in the slot.
The Chicago Steel finished in first place in the Eastern Conference and will compete against UNH Commits Robert Cronin, John Evans and the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL quarterfinals.
~ LIAM DEVLIN (DOB: 1/7/01) and the Omaha Lancers finished the USHL's regular season in second place in the Western Conference. Throughout April, they jockeyed with Tri-City, Sioux City, Fargo and Des Moines for one of the four playoff berths. Devlin, a 5'11', 189 lbs., left-shot forward from Needham, MA, helped the Lancers win 6 of their last 7 games. Over that stretch, Devlin scored 3 goals and 3 assists with a +/- rating of +5.
Overall, in 48 games, Devlin scored 12 goals, 8 assists and posted a +1 rating. Last season, he registered 6 goals, 2 assists, and +5 in 36 games with the Chicago Steel. On May 1st, the Omaha Lancers will begin the USHL Quarterfinals series against the third place Sioux City Musketeers.
2020-21 Statistics
| Player | NZ** Stars | Team | League | GP | Goals | Asst | Pts | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Commits | |||||||||
| Harrison Blaisdell 3/18/01 (F) | 4.5 | North Dakota | NCHC | 19 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | +6 |
| Robert Cronin* 8/15/00 (F) | 4.0 | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | 48 | 28 | 24 | 52 | 54 | +10 |
| John Evans 4/8/02 (F) | 4.5 | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | 22 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | +4 |
| West Kelowna Warriors | BCHLPre | 13 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 | - | ||
| Alex Gagne* 8/12/02 (D) | 4.25 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | USHL | 53 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 24 | +35 |
| Colton Huard 11/27/00 (D) | 4.0 | Chicago Steel | USHL | 53 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 34 | +34 |
| Will Margel* 3/16/01 (F) | 3.75 | Johnstown Tomahawks | NAHL | 32 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 6 | +12 |
| Lincoln Stars | USHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | ||
| Jack Ring 12/18/00 (F) | 3.5 | New Jersey Titans | NAHL | 47 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 12 | -6 |
| Connor Sweeney* 5/5/00 (F) | 3.5 | Islanders Hockey Club | NCDC | 26 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 10 | - |
| Playoffs | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | |||
| Trail Smoke Eaters | BCHLPre | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 | - | ||
| 2021 or '22 Commits | |||||||||
| Nicolas Ardanaz* 5/30/02 (D) | 4.25 | West Kelowna Warriors | BCHL Pod | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | - |
| BCHLPre | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | - | |||
| Jed Baliotti 2/7/02 (G) | 3.75 | Northern Cyclones | NCDC | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3.82 | .879 |
| Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| Liam Devlin 1/7/01 (F) | 3.75 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 47 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 102 | +2 |
| Chicago Steel | USHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Cade Penney* 3/23/01 (D) | 3.5 | New Jersey Titans | NAHL | 24 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 18 | +5 |
| Omaha Lancers | USHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | +6 | ||
| David Sacco* 1/3/02 (F) | 3.75 | Islanders Hockey Club | NCDC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 39 | - |
| Playoffs | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | |||
| Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +1 | ||
| JP Turner* 1/31/03 (F) | 4.25 | Avon Old Farms | NE Prep | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - | - |
| Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | 21 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2022 Commits | |||||||||
| Damien Carfagna* 12/12/02 (D) | 3.75 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 50 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 18 | +13 |
| Cy LeClerc 8/17/02 (F) | 3.75 | Islanders Hockey Club | NCDC | 28 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 10 | - |
| Playoffs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | |||
| All Star Game | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | |||
| Wenatchee Wild | BCHLPre | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| Tyler Muszelik 7/1/04 (G) | 4.0 | US National U17 | USDP | 24 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 4.41 | .863 |
| USNTDP Juniors | USHL | 18 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 4.88 | .857 | ||
| Morgan Winters 12/8/01 (F) | 3.5 | Kenai River Brown Bears | NAHL | 28 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 29 | +4 |
| Tri-City Storm | USHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | ||
| 2022 or '23 Commits | |||||||||
| Brendan Fitzgerald 3/6/03 (D) | 4.25 | Governor's Academy | NE Prep | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nick Ring 10/26/03 (F) | 3.75 | Boston Advantage | NCDC | 43 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 10 | - |
| Playoffs | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | |||
| All Star Game | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - | |||
| * = Signed National Letter of Intent | |||||||||
| ** = Neutral Zone 5-Star Rating | |||||||||
The statistics for the commits, presented in the above table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2021 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2021. I have based these projections on the following factors:
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the commit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The commit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
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