UNH Roster Changes for 2022-23: Incoming Players

In "UNH Roster Changes for 2022-23: Outgoing Players", I explained how roster spots open up at the end of a season and why I think there is currently 13 open roster slots available for incoming players to fill for the 2022-23 season: One slot for a goalie, 4 for defensemen and 8 for forwards. This is based on the presumption the 2022-23 roster will have the same overall makeup as 2021-22 - 29 players overall, 3 goalies, 9 defensemen and 17 forwards.

There are two types of players who will earn a spot on next season's UNH men's hockey team. One type are transfer students, currently on the roster of other NCAA Division I or III teams, who have verbally committed to UNH through the transfer portal. The second is the traditional source of young prospects who have graduated from high school and have committed to study and play at UNH.

Historically, the UNH men's hockey roster for the coming season is announced by the UNH head coach sometime in the summer. For example, coach Mike Souza announced the 2021-22 incoming freshman class on July 6, 2021. On August 13, 2021 he announced the addition of one more freshman plus two transfer student-athletes which rounded out the final roster.

As I write this article on April 20th, it's important to remember that my projections on which transfer players and pre-college hockey commits will make the final 2022-23 roster is only a prediction based on currently available information. For each player I identify, I'll describe some of the circumstances which may arise between now and the official roster announcement that would result in the projected player not making the 2022-23 roster.

Transfer Players Committed to UNH

Any Division I or III hockey player with one or more years of athletic eligibility remaining has the option to utilize the one-time transfer exception. The "student-athlete" must meet the following criteria:
~ Transfering from a 4-year collegiate institution to an NCAA Division I school.
~ Leaving their current 4-year school academically eligible.
~ Have not transferred previously from another 4-year institution.
~ Certify in writing, along with their new head coach, they did not have direct or indirect communication with the new school’s athletics staff prior to entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Last week, three transfer players announced they had committed to play for UNH next season. They are:
Nico DeVita (5/24/2001, Freshman Defenseman/Ferris State)
Jack Babbage (8/3/2000, Freshman Defenseman/Quinnipiac)
Ryan Black (3/24/1999, Senior Forward/Babson College)

Back in February, forward Conor Lovett (DOB: 4/7/2001) committed to UNH. He entered the transfer portal last May at the end his freshman season with Merrimack College. This season, Lovett is back playing junior hockey with Cedar Rapids (USHL).

My understanding is a transferring hockey player and the school make a verbal commitment to each other. The commitment does not become official until the player enrolls at the receiving school and attends classes. In addition, either the player or the hockey coach can terminate the verbal commitment at any point up until the time of enrollment.

With those caveats in mind, I project that DeVita, Babbage, Black and Lovett will be on the 2022-23 UNH roster. That would mean 2 of the 4 projected, open slots for defensemen and 2 of the 8 projected slots for forwards would be filled.

Junior Players Committed to UNH

There's a pool of 10 junior players who I think are under consideration for roster spots at UNH next season. These 10 had verbally committed to UNH over the last few years and subsequently signed a National Letter of Intent.

The NLI is a written agreement in which the college or university commits an athletic scholarship for one academic year and the student-athlete agrees to attend the school full-time for that year. NCAA Division I ice hockey is an "equivalency sport" meaning an athletic scholarship can be either a full or partial one. Each DI program is allowed a total of 18 full athletic scholarships each season, to be divided and distributed as the coaching staff sees fit. It is my understanding that players who sign an NLI are not promised a roster spot for the following season.

Here's the list of 10 UNH commits who have signed an NLI:
GOALIE (1)
Tyler Muszelik (7/1/2004, Long Valley, NJ 6'3" 195 lbs.)

DEFENSEMEN (3)
Cade Penney (3/23/2001, West Chester, PA 6'0" 165 lbs.)
Damien Carfagna (12/12/2002, Wood Ridge, NJ 5'11" 175 lbs.)
Brendan Fitzgerald (10/26/2003, North Reading, MA 5'11" 195 lbs.)

FORWARDS (6)
Kristaps Skrastins (11/20/2001, Riga, Latvia 5'11" 180 lbs.)
Jake Dunlap (12/5/2001, Windham, NH 5'9" 170 lbs.)
Morgan Winters (12/8/2001, Osprey, FL 6'0" 174 lbs.)
Cy LeClerc (8/17/2002, Brentwood, NH 5'9" 175 lbs.)
JP Turner (1/31/2003, East Falmouth, MA 6'0" 195 lbs.)
Stiven Sardarian (2/7/2003, St. Petersburg, Russia 6'1" 157 lbs.)

Which NLI Commits Will Make the UNH 2022-23 Roster?

The 10 NLI Commits are at various stages of their junior hockey career. Junior hockey leagues in North American include players who range in age from 16 years old to 20. Players who are older than 20 years old as of the 31st day of December of the current season are ineligible to play junior hockey. That means any current junior player with a birthdate in 2001 will have no junior eligibility left at the end of this season. This is a major factor in projecting which UNH NLI commits will make the 2022-23 roster.

NLI Commits Who Will Age Out of Junior Hockey

There are 4 UNH NLI commits with 2001 birth years who will have no more years of junior eligibility at the end of the 2021-22 season. They are:
~ Cade Penney (Defenseman, Surrey Eagles/BCHL)
~ Kristaps Skrastins (Forward, Amarillo Wranglers/NAHL)
~ Jake Dunlap (Forward, Madison Capitols/USHL)
~ Morgan Winters (Forward, Omaho Lancers/USHL)

It is unusual for an NLI between a player and the school to be voided. Occasionally, a student-athlete will not meet the academic requirements of the NCAA Eligibility Center or the college/university. That can make the NLI null and void. Sometimes, the student-athlete will request a release from the NLI, due to extenuating circumstances, but the school has the authority to reject it. For example, if the school loses it's hockey head coach, the incoming player can request a release from the NLI but the school is not obliged to grant the release.

Since most NLI's are honored by the student-athlete and the college/university, I project Penney, Skrastins, Dunlap and Winters will be on the 2022-23 UNH roster. That would mean an increase in the number of filled defenseman slots from 2 to 3 (i.e., Babbage, Devita, & Penney) and an increase of filled forward slots from 2 to 5 (i.e., Black, Dunlap, Lovett, Skrastins & Winters).

If those projections turn out to be accurate, then there would be open roster slots available for 1 goalie, 1 defenseman, and 3 forwards. These openings would be available for the remaining UNH NLI commits who won't age out of junior hockey at the end of the current, 2021-22 season.

NLI Commits Who Have 1 or More Years of Junior Eligibility

The UNH NLI commits who were born in 2002, 2003, and 2004 will have 1, 2, and 3 years respectively of junior eligibilty remaining at the end of this season. If, for any reason, any one of them does not make the 2022-23 UNH roster, he would have the option of returning to junior hockey and enrolling into UNH for the 2023-24 season.

GOALIE:
I project the goalie slot will go to Tyler Muszelik. He is the highly-skilled goaltender for the elite USA Hockey National Team Development Program and the only committed goalie who has signed an NLI with UNH.

FORWARDS:
According to my current projections, there would be 3 remaining roster slots available to forwards on the 2022-23 UNH team. As it so happens, there would be 3 NLI committed forwards left to fill them:
~ Cy LeClerc (8/17/02, Janesville Jets/NAHL)
~ JP Turner (1/31/03, Fargo Force/USHL)
~ Stiven Sardarian (2/7/03, Youngstown Phantoms/USHL)

As I explained earlier, it is unusual for an NLI to be nullified. For that reason, I think it's unlikely to happen with these 3 forwards.

There is one possible event that would likely effect the availability of these 3 roster openings for forwards. If an additional transfer forward, beyond Conor Lovett and Ryan Black, commits to UNH for next season, then one of these forward slots could become unavailable to one of the NLI committed forwards. A 4th transfer forward could put another forward roster slot out of reach to the NLI commit.

DEFENSEMEN:
Finally, my projections would allow for 1 remaining roster slot available to a defenseman on the 2022-23 UNH team. There are 2 remaining NLI defensemen who could vie for it:
~ Damien Carfagna (12/12/02, Sioux City Musketeers/USHL, 2 years of junior hockey experience)
~ Brendan Fitzgerald (10/26/03, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders/USHL, 1 year of junior hockey experience)

The same factors (e.g., voided NLI; additional transfer players) could effect the availablity of open roster spots for defensemen.

SUMMARY

If nothing happens to alter the projected openings on the 2022-23 UNH men's hockey roster, between now and when the final roster is announced this summer, then I think the incoming players will be (in alphabetical order):

GOALIE
G1) Tyler Muszelik

FORWARDS
F1) Ryan Black (Transfer)
F2) Jake Dunlap (NLI Commit)
F3) Cy LeClerc (NLI Commit)
F4) Conor Lovett (Transfer)
F5) Stiven Sardarian (NLI Commit)
F6) Kristaps Skrastins (NLI Commit)
F7) JP Turner (NLI Commit)
F8) Morgan Winters (NLI Commit)

DEFENSEMEN
D1) Jack Babbage (Transfer)
D2) Nico DeVita (Transfer)
D3) Cade Penney (NLI Commit)
D4a) Damien Carfagna (NLI Commit)
OR
D4b) Brendan Fitzgerald (NLI Commit)

UNH Roster Changes for 2022-23: Outgoing Players

Changes in NCAA Eligibility & Transfer Rules

In seasons prior to 2020-21, player turnover from the end of one season and beginning of the next was straightforward. Graduating seniors plus underclassmen turning pro would leave and incoming freshmen would backfill the open roster spots. It got more complicated during the 2020-21 season when the NCAA implemented two new rules.

In the summer and fall 2020, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic was causing great uncertainty for college athletes. Many were trying to decide whether to use a year of eligibility to play and risk either catching the virus and/or playing an abbreviated season due to game cancellations. The NCAA provided relief in October, 2020 when it implemented the "one-time rule" for Division 1 athletes. It provided one extra year of eligibility to play college sports for all members of the 2020-21 teams. For example, a senior hockey player gained the option to play one extra season after graduation.

Then, in April, 2021, the NCAA implemented the "one-time transfer waiver rule". Players who want to transfer from one Division 1 hockey school to another no longer have to sit out a season. In effect, free agency was created in college athletics.

The administrative mechanism for processing a request to transfer to another Division 1 hockey program is the "transfer portal". It includes a database of all players seeking to transfer. Now, if a D1 hockey player wants to pursue a transfer to another college hockey program, he first needs to provide written notification of his request to enter the "transfer portal" to his current school's NCAA compliance administrator. That request must be submitted by May 1st.

There's a level of uncertainty facing a player considering entrance into the transfer portal. For example, he is not allowed to contact the coach of a program he might be interested in until after officially entering the portal. Another consideration is once he enters the portal, the coach of the program where he has played is not obliged to keep the roster slot open or maintain the athletic scholarship for the coming season.

Outgoing UNH Players from 2021-22 Roster

There are several ways a player on the 2021-22 roster becomes an outgoing player. One is a 5th-year player who has used up his 4 years of standard eligibility plus the extra year of eligibility provided by the one-time rule. Goalie Mike Robinson and forward Eric MacAdams meet this criterion.

Another criterion is a graduating senior who turned professional. Defensemen Will MacKinnon (Reading Royals/ECHL) and Ryan Verrier (Worcester Railers/ECHL), and forwards Filip Engaras (Bakersfield Condors/AHL) and Tyler Ward (Maine Mariners/Kansas City Mavericks/ECHL) are in this category. In addition, Joe Cipollone signed an amateur tryout contract (ATO) and played 4 games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) before being released. A graduating senior who chose to move on from hockey is also considered an outgoing player. Defenseman Drew Hickey plans to enter Law School.

Another category includes graduating seniors who entered the transfer portal and earned a verbal committment with another Division 1 hockey program. To date, forward Jackson Pierson has committed to Notre Dame and Eric Esposito has committed to Mercyhurst College.

The final group of 2021-22 players who are considered outgoing are those who have entered the transfer portal and not yet secured a verbal committment from another college hockey program. There are two forwards - Lucas Herrmann and Carsen Richels in this category. In addition, there is graduating senior Alec Semandel, a defenseman, who has not yet obtained a verbal committment from another college program. Hypothetically, any one of these players may be allowed to return to play at UNH next season but I think that is unlikely.

To summarize, here is the current list of outgoing players:
GOALIE (1)
Mike Robinson

DEFENSEMEN (4)
Will MacKinnon
Ryan Verrier
Drew Hickey
Alec Semandel

FORWARDS (8)
Eric MacAdams
Filip Engaras
Tyler Ward
Joe Cipollone
Jackson Pierson
Eric Esposito
Carsen Richels
Lucas Herrmann

Implications for Potential Incoming Players

The 2021-22 UNH men's hockey roster included 29 players - 3 goalies, 9 defensemen, and 17 forwards. Let's assume the coaching staff keeps the same overall number as well as the number for each category of player for the 2022-23 season. That would mean roster slots for 1 incoming goalie, 4 incoming defensemen, and 8 incoming forwards. As I explained earlier, there are two pools of potential incoming players - potential freshmen and transfers. In my next article, I'll make projections on who the incoming players are likely to be. Within that group, I have varying degrees of confidence about my projections. I will explain that as well. Stay tuned.

Game-Winners by Turner, Dunlap, Winters & Skrastins: UNH Commits Update 4-1-2022

JP Turner 2022 UNH Commit

Jake Dunlap 2022 UNH Commit

Morgan Winters 2022 UNH Commit

Kristaps Skrastins 2022 UNH Commit

Game-Winning Goals

The top 2 junior hockey leagues in the United States - United States Hockey League (Tier 1) and North American Hockey League (Tier 2) - are in the home stretch of their regular seasons. The 9 UNH commits playing in the USHL are battling for positions in the playoffs, which begin on April 25th. Same goes for the 3 commits in the NAHL (playoffs start 4/21). Scoring goals, in particular game-winning goals, has become that much more important for the players and their teams. This update features 4 UNH commits who have scored a game-winning goal in recent games.

~ JP Turner (DOB: 1/31/03), the 6'0", 195 lbs., right-shot center/forward from East Falmouth, Massachusetts, has scored 8 goals and 5 assists in 16 games since his trade from Sioux Falls to the Fargo Force in early February. Fargo is currently 5th place in the USHL Western Conference. The top 6 teams in each conference qualify for the USHL playoffs. A 4th or 5th place finish will earn home-ice in the best-of-3 opening round.

In the March 20th matchup between the Force and Stampede, Turner's former team, he scored the game-winner in the second period. Turner entered the offensive zone, charged down the slot, received a centering pass, and beat the Sioux Falls' goalie under the blocker arm. The goal stood as the winner as Fargo went on to win 3-1. Here's JP Turner's second game-winning goal since he joined the USHL last season:



~ Jake Dunlap (DOB: 12/5/01) the 5'9", 170 lbs., left-shot forward from Windham, New Hampshire, has scored 21 goals and 18 assists in 50 games with the Madison Capitols. He's been hot over the last 5 games scoring 5 goals and 3 assists. Madison is battling to maintain 5th place and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the USHL Western Conference playoffs.

On March 19th, Dunlap scored the game-winning goal early in the 2nd period as the Capitols downed the Green Bay Gamblers. It was his 3rd game-winner of the season which is tied for 8th in the USHL. The goal came on the power play as Dunlap initiated and finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play. It gave Madison a 4-0 lead and they went on to win 7-3. Here's his game-winning goal:



~ Morgan Winters (DOB: 12/8/01), the 6'0", 174 lbs., left-shot center/forward from Osprey, Florida, has tallied 12 goals and 20 assists in 47 games of his final season in junior hockey. In the 35 games since his trade from the Youngstown Phantoms to the Omaha Lancers, he's scored 9 goals and 15 assists. In recent weeks, Omaha clinched a USHL playoff berth and currently is in 4th place in the Western Conference. If the Lancers maintain that position, they'll earn a bye in the opening round.

On March 12th, Winters helped the Lancers clinch a playoff berth by scoring two goals, including the game-winner, in a 5-2 victory over the Waterloo Black Hawks. Midway through the 3rd period, the teams were tied 2-2. Winters won the faceoff in the offensive zone, skated to the slot, and redirected a shot from the point to beat the Black Hawks goalie. It was Winters second game-winning goal of the season. Here's his goal:



~ Kristaps Skrastins (DOB: 11/20/01), the 5'11", 180 lbs., right-shot center/forward from Riga, Latvia, has scored the 3rd most goals (33) and 4th most points (66) in the North American Hockey League. His 9 game-winning goals are the most in the NAHL. With only 6 games remaining in the regular season, Skrastins and the Amarillo Wranglers are fighting to move up to 4th place in the Southern Division and earn a slot in the NAHL playoffs. Currently in 6th place, Amarillo trails 4th place Shreveport Mudbugs by 10 points. If they don't move up to 4th place, their season will be over. Needless to say, the Wranglers have needed Skrastins to step up as the regular season draws to a close, and he has.

On March 19th, Skrastins lead Amarillo to a 5-3 win over the El Paso Rhinos by posting 2 goals and 3 assists. With a minute left in the 2nd period, he broke down the left wing on a 3-on-2 break, buried a cross-ice pass, and gave the Wranglers a 4-2 lead. It ended up being the game-winner. Late in the game, Krastins iced the game with a short-handed, empty net goal. Here's his game-winning goal:

2021-22 Statistics

Player	NZ Stars**	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM	+/-
2022 Commits
Damien Carfagna* 12/12/02 (D)	4.0	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL	11	0	4	4	3	+6
		Green Bay Gamblers	USHL	40	5	32	37	39	+8
Jake Dunlap* 12/5/01 (F)	3.75	Madison Capitols	USHL	50	21	18	39	38	+11
Brendan Fitzgerald* 3/6/03 (D)	4.0	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders	USHL	48	2	20	22	56	-3
Cy LeClerc* 8/17/02 (F)	3.75	Janesville Jets	NAHL	53	30	38	68	6	+23
Conor Lovett 4/7/01 (F)	3.75	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders	USHL	51	13	12	25	89	-7
Tyler Muszelik* 7/1/04 (G)	4.0	US National U18	Overall	30	20	5	2	3.09	.894
		Team USA U-18	USHL	15	9	3	2	3.26	.895
			NCAA Exh.	11	8	2	0	3.00	.896
			INTL	3	3	0	0	1.67	.942
Cade Penney* 3/23/01 (D)	3.75	Surrey Eagles	BCHL	36	1	6	7	14	-
		Madison Capitols	USHL	8	0	5	5	8	+3
Stiven Sardarian* 2/7/03 (F)	4.0	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	36	6	12	18	6	-4
Kristaps Skrastins* 11/20/01 (F)	3.75	Amarillo Wranglers	NAHL	53	33	33	66	69	+9
JP Turner* 1/31/03 (F)	3.75	Fargo Force	USHL	16	8	5	13	4	+8
		Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	31	3	2	5	24	-7
Morgan Winters* 12/8/01 (F)	3.5	Omaha Lancers	USHL	35	9	15	24	24	-2
		Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	12	3	5	8	16	-1
2022 or '23 Commits
Jed Baliotti 2/7/02 (G)	3.5	Nanaimo Clippers	BCHL	17	7	5	0	3.99	.888
		Northeast Generals	NAHL	3	1	1	0	2.76	.910
		Aberdeen Wings	NAHL	2	2	0	0	3.00	.872
2023 Commits
Nick Ring 10/26/03 (F)	3.75	New Jersey Titans	NAHL	49	7	23	30	10	+9
2023 or '24 Commits
Ryan Conmy 10/23/04 (F)	3.75	Bishop Kearney Selects 18U	18U AAA	33	27	23	50	0	-
Sam Court 1/7/04 (D)	3.75	NV River Rats U18	18U AAA	17	1	9	10	-	-
		Avon Old Farms	NE Prep	27	4	12	16	2	-
Connor DeTurris 10/8/04 (F)	3.5	Madison Capitols	USHL	14	1	1	2	6	-1
		Chicago Fury 18U	18U AAA	33	26	19	45	38	-
			T1EHL 18U	10	7	1	8	12	-
			MES 18U	12	11	6	17	6	-
Connor MacPherson 3/2/05 (F)	3.75	Leamington Flyers	GOJHL	47	27	30	57	12	-
Ryan MacPherson 3/2/05 (F)	3.75	Leamington Flyers	GOJHL	47	14	39	51	6	-
* = Signed National Letter of Intent
** = Neutral Zone 5-Star Rating

NOTE
The statistics for the commits, presented in the above table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2022 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2022. 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.