Friday, April 19, 2024

UNH Commits Update 4-19-2024: Central Scouting; Latest Projection on Incoming Freshmen; & Playoff Season

Connor MacPherson (F)
Ranked 195th
Jack Sadowski (F)
Ranked 215th

2024 NHL CSS Final Rankings

Earlier this week NHL's Central Scouting Service released the Final Rankings of North American Skaters. UNH Commit Connor MacPherson is ranked #195 and Jack Sadowski is #215. The 2024 NHL Draft will be held on June 28-29 in Las Vegas.

Last year, four players who were committed to play for UNH made Central Scouting's Final Rankings for North American Skaters and three were subsequently drafted in the 2023 NHL Draft:
~ Ryan MacPherson Philadelphia Flyers, Round 6, 172nd Overall (Final Rank #211).
~ Ryan Conmy Los Angeles Kings, Round 6, 182nd Overall (Final Rank #112).
~ Sebastian Bradshaw Dallas Stars, Round 7, 221st Overall (Final Rank #194).
~ Connor MacPherson Not Drafted (Final Rank #128).

Projected Changes to 2024-25 UNH Roster

As of today, the following 6 UNH players from the 2023-24 roster plan to leave the team through graduation (Gr) and/or the transfer portal (TP):
GOALIES (2)
Tyler Muszelik (TP to UConn)
Jeremy Forman (Gr, TP)
FORWARDS (4)
Stiven Sardarian (TP to Northern Michigan)
Harrison Blaisdell (Gr)
Nick Cafarelli (Gr, TP)
Cam Gendron (Gr, TP)
DEFENSEMEN (0)*
*
Senior defensemen Nikolai Jenson and Luke Reid have one year of eligibility remaining and reportedly plan to remain on the UNH roster next season.

Implications for Incoming Freshmen
There was a total of 8 defensemen on the 2023-24 roster. Unless one of them enters the transfer portal or signs a professional contract, or the coaching staff decides to carry 9 defensemen on the 2024-25 roster, there are currently no apparent openings for an incoming freshman or transfer defenseman. If an opening becomes available, I project the defensemen listed under "2024 or '25 Commits" in the stats table below would be potential candidates.

Jared Whale a sophomore goalie for the University of Alaska-Anchorage committed to UNH through the transfer portal. He will backfill the opening created by Tyler Muszelik's transfer. That leaves one open roster slot for a goalie which could be filled by a transfer or a junior hockey goalie not currently committed to UNH.

The MacPherson twins, Connor and Ryan, will fill 2 of the 4 openings for forwards on UNH's 2024-25 roster. The forwards listed under "2024 or '25 Commits" in the stats table below and forwards from other schools listed in the transfer portal are potential candidates for the remaining 2 openings.

UNH Commits in the 2024 Playoffs

United States Hockey League
3 UNH commits have been participating in the 2024 USHL Playoffs. Reid Conn and the Chicago Steel were eliminated in the opening round. Price Grimes was on Chicago's roster but did not dress for the 3-game series.
Josh Player and the Green Bay Gamblers defeated the Steel in the opening round and will face Muskegon in the USHL quarterfinals. Conner de Haro and the Youngstown Phantoms eliminated Madison and will play Dubuque in the quarterfinals.

British Columbia Hockey League
8 UNH commits have been participating in the 2024 BCHL Playoffs. 4 of them and their teams were eliminated in the opening round:
Connor DeTurris (Nanaimo Clippers)
Lars Petter Eckholm (Cowichan Valley Capitals)
Sebastian Bradshaw (Coquitlam Express)
Luca Primerano (Prince George Spruce Kings)
Connor and Ryan MacPherson and the Penticton Vees defeated the Prince George Spruce Kings in the opening round and will play the Vernon Vipers in the quarterfinals. Ryan Philbrick, Ryan Grout and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks beat the Merritt Centennials and will face the West Kelowna Warriors in the quarterfinals.

Ontario Junior Hockey League
Jayden Connors and the St. Michaels Buzzers lost to the Cobourg Cougars in the opening round of the 2024 OJHL Playoffs.

Special Offer

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2023-24 Statistics

Player NZ Stars** Team League GP Goals Asst Pts PIM +/-
2024 Commits
Connor MacPherson* 3/2/05 (F) 4.0 Penticton Vees BCHL 54 11 31 42 16 -
Playoffs 4 2 0 2 0 -
Ryan MacPherson* 3/2/05 (F) 4.0 Penticton Vees BCHL 54 16 22 38 12 -
Playoffs 4 0 2 2 8 -
2024 Transfer
Jared Whale 11/1/02 (G) 3.25 University of Alaska-Anchorage Independent 24 10 12 1 2.67 .909
2024 or '25 Commits
Reid Conn* 2/2/04 (D) 3.75 Chicago Steel USHL 59 3 8 11 72 -19
Playoffs 3 1 1 2 8 +3
Connor DeTurris 10/8/04 (F) 3.75 Nanaimo Clippers BCHL 43 15 24 39 8 -
Playoffs 5 0 4 4 2 -
Lars Petter Eckholm* 3/7/04 (F) 3.25 Cowichan Valley Capitals BCHL 45 6 7 13 10 -
Playoffs 5 0 0 0 0 -
Conner de Haro* 10/17/05 (D) 3.75 Youngstown Phantoms USHL 51 2 8 10 35 +23
Playoffs 3 2 1 3 0 +6
Ryan Philbrick* 6/20/04 (D) 3.75 Salmon Arms Silverbacks BCHL 5 0 2 2 4 -
Playoffs 6 0 4 4 0 -
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 30 2 5 7 14 +5
Josh Player* 5/13/05 (D) 3.75 Green Bay Gamblers USHL 59 5 6 11 59 +1
Playoffs 3 0 0 0 4 -4
2025 Commits
Sebastian Bradshaw 5/26/05 (F) 3.75 Coquitlam Express BCHL 41 5 9 14 43 -
Playoffs 7 0 0 0 2 -
Brooks Bandits AJHL 3 0 1 1 8 -
Luca Primerano* 3/17/05 (F) 3.5 Prince George Spruce Kings BCHL 54 9 13 22 8 -
Playoffs 4 0 0 0 0 -
Jack Sadowski* 7/29/06 (F) 3.75 Kimball Union Academy NE Prep 37 41 50 91 - -
Wildcats 19U NEFPHL 19U 17 11 15 26 0 -
Massachusetts District USA Selects 17 6 1 2 3 4 -
2025 or '26 Commits
Jesse Allecia 10/12/05 (F) 3.50 Salisbury School NE Prep 26 17 8 25 - -
Yale Jr. Bulldogs 18U 18U AAA 30 13 12 25 - -
BEAST 18U 8 2 3 5 0 -
USA 18U Nationals 6 1 1 2 2 -
Price Grimes* 1/28/06 (D) 3.5 Chicago Steel USHL 41 1 5 6 48 -5
Playoffs 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ryan Grout 8/15/07 (G) 4.0 Salmon Arms Silverbacks BCHL 15 11 3 1 2.23 .926
Playoffs 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kole Hyles 1/16/06 (F) 3.75 Cushing Academy NE Prep 32 14 9 23 - -
Central Mass Peguins EHF 18U 23 8 10 18 - -
USA 18U Nationals 4 1 2 3 4 -
New England District USA Selects 17 6 4 3 7 0 -
Niko Tournas 2/17/06 (F) 4.0 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 41 2 3 5 20 -2
New England District USA Selects 17 6 4 5 9 1 -
2026 Commits
Nikita Konevych 6/3/06 (D) NR Corpus Christi IceRays NAHL 20 0 4 4 75 -7
Austin Bruins NAHL 8 0 1 1 0 -4
George McCaffrey 1/2/07 (F) 3.5 Westminster School NE Prep 23 4 7 11 - -
MidFairfield Rangers 16U BEAST 16U 10 3 4 7 0 -
USA 16U Nationals 4 1 1 2 2 -
Team White USA Selects 16 5 3 1 4 0 -
Jayden Connors 2/26/07 (D) 3.75 St. Michaels Buzzers OJHL 46 2 21 23 36 -
Playoffs 10 1 2 3 8 -
* = 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 "2024 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2024. 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.
~ Number of incoming transfer players and the position they play.
~ 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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