Northeastern received their second verbal commitment this week, this time definitely for next season, from Brandon Hawkins, a 1994 birth year who has played at Bowling Green State University the previous two seasons. Hawkins, 5’10, 194 pound, right shot winger, had two very successful years at BGSU, putting up 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points in the WCHA. He went to BGSU after a year in the USHL where he put up a 26-22-48 line, and before that scored 35 goals in the North American Hockey League for the Texas Tornado. Short and simple- Hawkins is a proven scorer both at the highest junior league in the States and also at the NCAA level.
Hawkins was expected to be a major contributor for the Falcons this season- he was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2014-15, and was the team’s second-leading scorer last season. He also received a vote for WCHA Player of the Year before the current season began. However, before the season began, before BGSU played in their first exhibition game, the team announced that Hawkins was no longer with the program. No comment was given by Hawkins or anything further from the team. Hawkins had been rehabbing an ankle injury suffered during offseason training, but any speculation as to the reason he left the school is not based in any hard evidence. What matters at this stage is that he is set to attend Northeastern next season, after taking this season to train on his own (he is too old for any of the Juniors leagues in the US or Canada).
Northeastern gets a lot of flak for taking as many transfers as they do, but in this writer’s opinion, I do not care how players get to Matthews Arena as long as they can play and help the Northeastern program. Hawkins looks to be a “plug-and-play” type of recruit at this stage, and considering the mass exodus of players Northeastern is facing for the upcoming offseason via graduation and potentially pro signings, a player with a proven scoring touch is an invaluable resource to have. Hawkins will arrive to campus as a Junior, joining the class of 2019 with Jon Barry, Adam Gaudette, Lincoln Griffin, Ryan Ruck, Patrick Schule, and Eric Williams.
Congratulations to Brandon on his joining the Northeastern Hockey family! You can follow Brandon on Twitter @B_Hawkins17, and follow us @NUHockeyBlog. As always, Go Huskies!
To view our Northeastern Hockey roster projection, including junior Brandon Hawkins in 2018, click here.