Haven't done this in awhile...so here is how the roster is shaping up for 2021-2022:
GONE - ELIGIBILITY/PRO
G - Samuel Harvey
F - Stephen Anderson
F - Patrick Watling
F - Mark Simpson
F - Matthew Boucher
F - Kris Bennett
F - Oliver Cooper
F - Ben Hawerchuk
F - Dylan Seitz (not confirmed, but not showing on roster page)
F - Alexandre Goulet (not confirmed, but not showing on roster page)
D - Marcus McIvor
D - Matt Murphy
D - Olivier LeBlanc
D - Tristan Pomerleau
D - Nathan Larose
RETURNING (1 G + 5 F + 4 D)
G - Rylan Parenteau (4th year)
F - Tyler Boland (4th year)
F - Samuel Dove-McFalls (3rd year)
F - Mark Rassell (3rd year)
F - James McEwan (3rd year)
F - Brady Gilmour (2nd year)
D - Joe Gatenby (3rd year)
D - Noah Carroll (3rd year)
D - Benjamin Gagne (2nd year)
D - Connor Hall (2nd year)
CONFIRMED RECRUITS (1 G + 8 F + 3 D)
G - Griffen Outhouse
F - Austen Keating
F - Nicolas Guay
F - Jason Willms
F - Macauley Carson
F - Isaac Nurse
F - James Phelan
F - Brandon Saigeon
F - Thomas Casey
D - Kade Landry
D - Adam McCormick
D - Ross MacDougall (transfer, 3rd year)
Some observations:
- Obviously a ton of turnover, due to the pandemic and lost 2021-2021 season, with 14 players from the 2019-2020 AUS Championship team not returning.
- With Larose going pro it looks like they are now sitting at 2 G/13 F/7 D...so room to add two more players under the 22 player roster cap. Ideally they would fill out the roster with a forward and a defenceman...and leave at least one of those spots open for Christmas.
- They have lost a pile of offense with five (Watling/Anderson/Boucher/Bennett/Goulet) of their seven "point per game" players from 2019-2020 not returning. Only Boland and Rassell are back from arguably the most potent offensive team I have witnessed in my 20 years following the team.
- Having said that, Keating/Guay/Saigeon/Casey were all big scorers in junior with the other recruits all putting up decent numbers as well. I think one of their strengths will once again be their forward depth and the ability to get scoring/production from all four lines.
- The four departing defencemen are all big losses, especially Murphy. I'm not quite sure they have replaced their skillsets with the guys coming in so I am hopeful they can still add a stud on the back end.
- It sucks to lose Harvey after one, shortened season. He leaves big shoes to fill. We know Parenteau is solid, but you never know how rookie goalies are going to perform in this league (ie/ Harvey vs. Raaymakers) so it's anyone's guess how Outhouse will perform.
- I'm curious how everyone (not just UNB) looks after the majority of players have missed essentially 18 months of competition.
- The high turnover amongst all of the teams makes things intriguing as well...it's almost like everyone is starting from scratch in terms of building their teams. Certainly makes things more interesting than if it was just a normal offseason.