2025 Usports Recruiting

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Vermont had 10 rostered defenseman last year. Lost 1 to graduation, adding 5 D-man recruits and 1 more through the transfer portal. Pretty big crowd.. UNB may have been his most enticing option.

Gotta think there are going to be at least some NCAA guys available given the ridiculously large recruiting classes teams south of the border are putting together.

 

[dm8895]

Gotta think there are going to be at least some NCAA guys available given the ridiculously large recruiting classes teams south of the border are putting together.

That’s one thing we have to keep in mind , is the quality of U Sports hockey going to decline ? Absolutely…. BUT the same number of roster spots still exist between D1 , U Sports , D3 , ACHA , etc

I would guess the Canadians squeezed out go U Sports and the Americans end up in D3

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Is any league besides the NCAA going to see an increase in quality?

 

[dm8895]

Is any league besides the NCAA going to see an increase in quality?

ACHA I’d imagine just from guys being pushed down at all levels of American college with the CHL guys coming to D.1

 

[CGHockey]

Is any league besides the NCAA going to see an increase in quality?

NCAA D3, the American guys who get pushed out will go d3

 

[dm8895]

NCAA D3, the American guys who get pushed out will go d3

Yeah for sure , they will get the biggest boost outside of D.1 . Didn’t list them because they are technically still NCAA .

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

Is any league besides the NCAA going to see an increase in quality?

The CHL will get better.

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

Gotta think there are going to be at least some NCAA guys available given the ridiculously large recruiting classes teams south of the border are putting together.

Agreed. I expect this will unfold over the summer as depth NCAA players read the writing on the wall. Imagine you're entering your third year of NCAA eligibility and you're now the No. 8 Def or the No. 14 Fwd. You're not getting a 100% Scholarship, and you're not playing regular minutes. A number of these players will return to Canada.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

The CHL will get better.

Even if they lose star players/potential NHL draft picks a year or two earlier than they would have otherwise?

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Agreed. I expect this will unfold over the summer as depth NCAA players read the writing on the wall. Imagine you're entering your third year of NCAA eligibility and you're now the No. 8 Def or the No. 14 Fwd. You're not getting a 100% Scholarship, and you're not playing regular minutes. A number of these players will return to Canada.

Which makes me think U Sports recruiting might not really pick up until later than usual this summer.

 

[MiamiHockeyII]

Even if they lose star players/potential NHL draft picks a year or two earlier than they would have otherwise?

The CHL will be a LOT deeper because top players considering the NCAA will no longer have to avoid the CHL. Right now a major issue in the CHL is that you have 19/20 year olds competing against 17 year olds. That disparity benefits neither player, especially as coaches spend their game management efforts avoiding those matchups.

Replace those 17 year olds with more capable 18/19 year olds, and the overall caliber of play will rise tremendously. Maybe a few high-end 19 year olds will be lost the NCAA, but remember that the NCAA is now a league for 23 year olds. There aren't many 19 year olds who can compete at that level, and as the CHL becomes stronger they will be less likely to make the jump early.

I think we will see a more graduated development model where CHL teams keep their 17 year olds in affiliated Jr A/B programs, focusing on the 18-19 year olds with a sprinkle of 20 year olds.

 

[CGHockey]

The CHL will get better.

I disagree, I think it will get very marginally worse. They will lose 90% of the best 19 year olds and even some of top 18 year olds... The influx of 2 top americans per team may hep but outside of that I dont see it getting better.

 

[dm8895]

I disagree, I think it will get very marginally worse. They will lose 90% of the best 19 year olds and even some of top 18 year olds... The influx of 2 top americans per team may hep but outside of that I dont see it getting better.

I don’t think they lose close to that percentage of the top 19 year olds but I guess part of what makes this so interesting is nobody knows

 

[Hollywood3]

The CHL will get better.

The CHL will get better due to the influx of Junior A players who would otherwise be waiting for NCAA offers.

 

[dm8895]

The CHL will get better due to the influx of Junior A players who would otherwise be waiting for NCAA offers.

Yup! Go look at the list of NHL drafted guys out of the BCHL/AJHL over the years and all of the D.1 commits. They are all playing in the CHL going forward . Im still not 100% sure the USHL gets hit as hard as some think it will .

The positives of that far outweigh the negatives of a handful of guys leaving early every year in terms of overall depth of talent.

 

[CGHockey]

The CHL will get better due to the influx of Junior A players who would otherwise be waiting for NCAA offers.

Great point, did not think of that. I take back my previous opinion lol

 

[Drummer]

Which makes me think U Sports recruiting might not really pick up until later than usual this summer.

I think it's the opposite - they will need to be heavily recruiting now and over the summer, but they won't expect any commitments until in the late summer early September. Plant as many seeds as you can.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Yes, that is more what I was alluding to…that we will see more announcements later than usual.

 

[dm8895]

A few previously reported guys on the LOI this week and a few interesting new guys

Nathan Drapeau - West Kelowna BCHL - Brock
240 QMJHL gp

Thomas Fontaine (G) - Pictou MHL - Concordia

Landen Gulutzan - Swamp Valley MJHL - Regina

Justin Barker - Stonehill NCAA - Guelph

Hlib Tkach - Solvesborgs IK Sweden.2 - Alberta