Northeastern continued its successful week by landing one of the top 2001-born defensemen in the country- Jayden Struble, a 6-foot left shot defenseman from Cumberland, Rhode Island.
Honored to announce my commitment to play college hockey at Northeastern University! Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way! #GoNU
— Jayden Struble (@jaydenstruble) December 24, 2016
Struble is currently playing for the Cape Cod Whalers U16 team as a 14-year-old, and attends Nobles and Greenough School in Dedham, MA, a school that has traditionally produced quality hockey players for Boston College and the Ivy League schools. Their most recent product to find success was Miles Wood, who played for BC and now skates for the New Jersey Devils.
An exceptional athlete, Struble gained local notoriety as a standout on the 2014 Cumberland team that reached the Little League World Series. Multiple scouts have praised his athleticism as elite-level; in October, Jeff Cox of SBNation College Hockey included Struble in his potential candidates for the US National Team Development Program. Cox said of Struble “He’s flashy and has elite skating ability. He can move the puck and makes crisp passes in transition and in zone as a power play quarterback. His hands are sensational.” Cox followed the commitment announcement by saying Struble’s physical tools are “off the charts.”
Other scouts echoed Cox’s acclaim for Struble. Russ Bitely (@RussBites) tweeted “Decent size, skates well, hockey IQ, will play physical.” Bitely also noted that Struble had other Hockey East teams interested in him. Mark Bilotta (@mbilotta) of NeutralZone Scouting tweeted “The game comes easy for him thanks to his athleticism, strong shot, & creativity.“ Other scouts also noted how well the physical aspect of his game is for a player his size.
Without a doubt, Struble will make an impact on the Northeastern blue line the second he arrives at NU, whether that is through the USNTDP or another route. He is eligible for the CHL/QMJHL draft, as well as the USHL draft, in 2017, and will be eligible for the NHL Draft in 2019. We are projecting Struble to arrive in the Fall of 2020 with fellow ’01s Robby Griffin, Dylan Jackson, and Ty Jackson, however projecting this far out is an imperfect science. We will update projections as we collect more information.
Congratulations to Jayden and his family! Follow him on Twitter @JaydenStruble. As always, Go Huskies!
To view our Northeastern Hockey roster projection, including Struble in 2019, click here.