With the leaves falling, the dust of the offseason long settled and the calendar flipping to October, college hockey returns after eight long months away. After a season that saw six Hockey East teams make it to the postseason, 2025-26 looks to be just as competitive. To get everyone up to speed, I put together my own preseason ranking of the 11 Hockey East teams, previewing each group and highlighting what to look for as the season kicks off.
No. 2 Boston University
Coming off a third-straight Frozen Four and its first NCAA Championship game since 2015, Boston University enters this season with a healthy blend of proven returners and new additions to help them get over the hump.
The Terriers return six of the seven defensemen who played in last year’s Frozen Four, led by Cole Hutson, who tied for the most points by a defenseman with 48. That experienced unit is adding a second-round pick in Carter Amico and two third-round draft picks in Malte Vass and Charlie Trethewey, all of whom should bolster an already strong blue line.
Mikhail Yegorov also returns for BU after taking over the starting job last January. The New Jersey Devils’ draft pick went 11-6-1 with a 2.15 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in 18 games for the Terriers. If he can maintain that level of play, BU looks to have one of the best backends in the country.
Offensively, the Terriers figure to still be plenty dangerous, even with the departure of leading point-scorer Quinn Hutson, along with his linemates Shane Lachance and Ryan Green, to the NHL. Normally, losing an entire top line would be cause for concern. While there could be some growing pains, BU’s production will likely be supplemented by young players stepping into bigger roles and established players coming in via the transfer portal.
Sophomore Cole Eiserman, their leading goal-scorer last season, returns along with junior Jack Harvey, who figures to have an expanded offensive role. First-round draft selection and NCHC Rookie of the Year Sacha Boisvert’s arrival from North Dakota will add even more firepower to a squad that seems poised to dominate Hockey East.
No. 6 Boston College
Like 2023-24, the Boston College Eagles enter 2025-26 after cruising to a No. 1 overall seed, falling short in the NCAA tournament and losing significant talent to the NHL. Despite this, the Eagles should yet again be towards the top of the national conversation throughout the season.
Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault and Jacob Fowler graduated to the NHL, but Boston Bruins’ No. 7 overall draft pick James Hagens, along with Teddy Stiga and Andre Gasseau, are more than capable of leading a potent attack. Hagen’s elite playmaking and skating should be the offensive engine for BC after a freshman season that many saw as disappointing. I would be incredibly surprised if his production doesn’t take a significant leap forward.
The Eagles haven’t had to worry about their goaltending for the past two seasons, with Fowler playing in 74 of 77 games across his two seasons and taking home the Mike Richter Award for best netminder in college hockey, but they’ll have to turn to someone new for 2025-26. That will likely be junior Jan Korec, who has posted a goals against average of 1.45 and a save percentage of .936 across five total starts.
If Korec can’t answer the bell, then that leaves goaltender responsibilities up to junior Alex Musielak and freshman Louka Cloutier, neither of whom has college hockey experience. Goaltending could end up being the fatal flaw for this BC team, but the rest of the roster is still full of enough talent to keep the Eagles firmly in the mix at the top of HEA.
No. 7 Maine
The Maine Black Bears have made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances for the first time since the mid-2000’s, and they are in a great position to make it three straight postseason births in 2025-26.
The most important returning player for the Black Bears is Albin Boija, one of the country’s top goaltenders. The Swede regularly made highlight-reel saves en route to a sparkling 23-8-6 record and 1.83 goals against average. With Boija in net, Maine has the goaltending to compete with anyone.
Even if their departures aren’t quite as high-profile as some others in HEA, the graduation of Taylor Makar and Harrison Scott leaves a scoring vacuum in the Black Bears’ attack. Josh Nadeau and Charlie Russell, both of whom were top five in team points last season, will shoulder the bulk of that offensive responsibility, but also look for defenseman Frank Djurasevic, along with incoming freshman Miguel Marques, to contribute.
Maine also returns three of their top four defensemen in Djurasevic, Brandon Chabrier and Brandon Holt. Last season, the Black Bears allowed just 1.97 goals a game, good for third in the NCAA. The backend is going to have to be a shutdown unit once again for Maine to be successful in 2025-26, but I think the Black Bears have the personnel to do so.
No. 10 UConn
After losing in overtime in their first NCAA tournament appearance in program history, the Connecticut Huskies are poised to build on their historic season and make the postseason for a second-straight season.
UConn rode an electric offense all the way to the NCAA quarterfinals last year, scoring 3.33 goals per game, tied for No. 11 in the country. Junior forward Joey Muldowney caught fire in the second half of the season, scoring 24 of his 29 goals in the back half. If he can stay hot, and fellow returners Jake Richard and Ryan Tattle can replicate their 43-point and 32-point seasons, the Huskies offense should yet again be an explosive unit.
Although the offense is what jumps off the page, UConn should have a steady backend to complement its goal-scoring prowess. Senior Tyler Muszelik will likely have the net to himself after Callum Tung signed with the New York Rangers. Muszelik started more games last season than he appeared in across two years at New Hampshire and put up a solid 2.28 goals against average, providing a steady presence between the pipes.
The Huskies are also bringing back seven defensemen, including Trey Scott, who posted 17 points in his freshman season. If UConn picks up where it left off last season, its mix of offensive firepower and experienced blue line could lead the Huskies to another program-best season.
No. 9 Providence
The Providence Friars returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years, losing in the regional semifinals, and now enter 2025-26 with a lot of that tournament team intact.
The biggest source of optimism for the Friars is the arrival of Roger McQueen, one of the top players in the WHL. McQueen was the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s NHL draft after totaling 86 points on 35 goals and 51 assists in 127 career games with the Brandon Wheat Kings. His pace and passing should give Providence a much-needed offensive burst.
Outside of McQueen, however, the Friar forward group isn’t particularly inspiring. There is a plethora of depth scoring, with six returning players who scored five or more goals last season, but very few established goal scorers. Hudson Malinoski and Tanner Adams, who led Providence with 11 goals each, both return and could continue to develop, but if that doesn’t happen, goals may be hard to come by.
Goaltender Philip Svedebäck returns, which should provide a steady presence for a backend that will have a lot of new faces; only Tomas Machu, Andrew Centralla and Alexander Bales are returning from last year’s defensive corps. Svedebäck should get most of the starts after splitting time last year. The Swede’s best season came in his freshman year when he was the primary starter, so he could be in line for a bounce-back performance.
No. 15 UMass
The Massachusetts Minutemen have become a model of consistency, winning 20 or more games six of the last seven seasons. I think they should reach that benchmark again in 2025-26 despite losing Cole O’Hara and Aydar Suniev, their two leading scorers.
Like with most of the teams near the top of this ranking, UMass is bringing back its starting goaltender, and Michael Hrabal has been among the best in the conference since his arrival. The junior is coming off a year in which he sported a .924 save percentage and looks to be a major piece of a productive backend.
Entering last season, the blue line was a major question mark, but it projects to be a strength this time around. Francesco Dell’Elce and Lucas Olvestad lead a group of five returning defensemen that ranked No. 15 in scoring defense last year.
The forward group will have to make up for the loss of two 20-goal scorers, but I think Jack Musa can continue to progress to fill in some of that scoring burden. The Florida native more than doubled his point total from 16 in his freshman year to 34 last year, and if he can take another step forward, the Minuteman attack should still be solid. Incoming freshman and first-round draft pick Vaclav Nestrasil should also contribute right away after leading the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL with 42 points.
Northeastern
After finishing with a 13-20-3 record and failing to make the NCAA tournament, the Northeastern Huskies are bringing in 14 new players to rejuvenate their lineup. None is more exciting than USHL Forward of the Year nominee Giacomo Martino, who notched 32 goals and 42 assists to reach a total of 74 points. His ability to get open in high-danger areas, both with and without the puck, bodes well for a unit that finished last in the conference in goals scored.
Freshman defenseman Dylan Compton and freshman forward Jack Pechar also will look to make an immediate impact. Compton was named to the USHL Second All-Star team this past season and joins Northeastern after putting up 55 points in 86 games for the Waterloo Black Hawks. Pechar was another USHL standout, ranking No. 6 with 61 points in 2024-25.
The Huskies’ biggest returner is senior defenseman Vinny Borgesi, who led all skaters in average time on ice last year. Borgesi is a dynamic offensive defenseman and should frequently contribute on the rush. Dylan Hryckowian, Northeastern’s only forward to average at least half a point per game last season, also returns.
UMass Lowell
It was a tale of two halves for the UMass Lowell River Hawks last season. They sprinted out of the gate to a 10-4-2 record entering January, then went just 6-12-2 in the back half of the season, playing their way out of NCAA tournament contention.
In response to their second-half collapse, the River Hawks are bringing in 15 new players, including three new goaltenders. Samuel Richard, a senior transfer from the University of New Brunswick, and Austin Elliott are the two to keep an eye on this season.
Over three seasons, Richard went 55-6, posting a 1.62 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Elliott won 32 of 33 regular season games and 16 of 17 postseason games with the London Knights in the OHL last season, earning a .924 save percentage. Goaltending was a struggle in 2024-25, so if Richard and Elliott can solidify the team’s performance in net, UMass Lowell could recapture their form from early last year.
Diego Buttazzoni is coming off a 38-goal, 77-point season with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL and should make an immediate impact. His kinetic playstyle and penchant for outworking opponents should give this forward group a gritty edge.
Forwards Chris Delaney and Lee Parks, who finished second and third in goals last season, should also develop as they enter their sophomore season. The progression of promising young players, the cohesion of the bevy of newcomers and the performance of the new goaltenders will be key if the River Hawks are to contend in Hockey East.
Merrimack
Since their second-place finish in 2022-23, the Merrimack Warriors have struggled to find success in the toughest conference in college hockey. I don’t think they’ll recapture that form this season, but there is potential for this Warriors team to lay the foundation for success moving forward.
What immediately jumps out when looking at Merrimack’s roster is their youth — there is only one senior and one graduate student on this roster. Any success for the Warriors this season will come because of their youth movement. Freshman Daniel Astapovich, who led the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders with 21 goals last season, will need to make an immediate impact.
Internally, Caden Cranston is primed for a breakout season after scoring seven goals as a freshman. A move to the top line could help unlock Cranston’s full offensive arsenal and create more opportunities for a team that was third to last in Hockey East in goals scored with 57, and that did not have a player score more than nine goals.
The Warriors do have a returning netminder in junior Max Lundgren, who should continue to be a solid backstop after posting a .909 save percentage last year. There is a lot of room for growth across this roster, but whether that potential is tapped into this season remains unknown.
New Hampshire
Another team with a strong first half and then a nightmare second half in 2024-25 is the New Hampshire Wildcats. They saw 14 players walk out the door and now have 14 new players hoping to bring the team back to relevance.
All 10 players that form New Hampshire’s freshman class are coming from junior hockey, with Sam Oliver of the QMJHL leading the class in scoring. His 54 goals were enough to earn the Mario Lemieux Trophy as the QMJHL’s top goal scorer. Forward Jacob Newcombe also comes from the QMJHL, notching 36 goals and 37 assists across 63 games.
Jared Whale returns in net for the Wildcats. His first season in Hockey East wasn’t great; a .888 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average isn’t exactly a pristine stat line. Having 31 starts of experience to lean on, however, could put Whale in a position to improve. A pair of incoming defensemen, Nicholas DeAngelis and Oscar Plandowski, could also help lock down the defensive end.
Senior Cy LeClerc is the points leader among the returning forwards, and along with senior captain Morgan Winters, could help provide some veteran guidance for the incoming class of freshmen.
Vermont
Vermont finished at the bottom of Hockey East in 2024-25 and will likely struggle to jump up the standings this year. Any chance of success, like many of the teams in the back half of this ranking, lies in the hands of a substantial class of new players.
Fourth-round draft selection Caeden Herrington is the newcomer to watch, coming over from the USHL after a 16-goal and 18-assist season. His fluidity and mobility should give Vermont’s blue line some offensive push.
A potential bright spot among the Catamounts’ returners is senior Jens Richards. The Callaway, Minn., native registered 17 points in 2023-24 but saw his production crater to just seven points last season.
A goaltending trio of Axel Mangbo, Aiden Wright and Jacob Oster isn’t exactly inspiring, with Mangbo being the only one of the three to have collegiate experience. He posted a 3.06 goals against average along with a .870 save percentage, so either Wright or Oster could get the nod between the pipes.
James Rust can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @James__Rust.
