The last article in our annual New to Northeastern series is where we look at the forwards joining the ranks. You can read out posts about the defensemen and the goalie on the home page. This year Northeastern has a whopping nine players joining the forward group, made up of three transfers and six freshmen, all of whom will cover various parts of the lineup both now and in the future. We go one by one to give a scouting report on each player and what we project their role to be this season. Buckle up friends, it’s going to be a long one.
The Transfers
Ryan McGuire– All three transfers are expected to contribute in big ways to the Huskies this season, but we start with McGuire who arguably has the largest role to fill based on how the team has changed since last year. With Justin Hryckowian signing with the Dallas Stars, a huge hole was vacated in the Huskies’ top six, with Jack Williams ascending to the first center spot. Enter McGuire, who completed three seasons with Colgate in the ECAC, and is coming off a career season with 26 points (14 goals) for the Raiders. 20 of those points were primary points, so we can expect McGuire to be an offensive contributor both at even strength and on the powerplay, where he will likely fill the C2 slot as well. He is also an excellent faceoff man, finishing with a 57% win percentage last year. After watching Hryckowian dominate the dot for three years, it was crucial for Northeastern that they find another center who can be similarly productive.
McGuire is a true 200-foot centerman who will be just as reliable in the neutral and defensive zones as he is in the offensive one. He only took 8 penalties all year last season, and is a tenacious forechecker who is not afraid to throw the body, with 6.7 hits per 60 minutes, one of the best marks for forwards who still score points in the portal this offseason. While he plays a different style of game than Hryckowian, Northeastern looks to have cashed out big in the portal with the addition of McGuire.
Nick Rhéaume– The final piece to the 2024-25 puzzle for Coach Keefe and his staff, Rhéaume transferred to Northeastern from Massachusetts-Lowell in Hockey East where he spent the previous two seasons. At Lowell he scored 17 points over two years, with last season setting a career high 13 points with 9 goals on a Lowell team that struggled for offense all season. He was also second on the team in shots on goal (69) and fifth in shot attempts (114). He finished the season playing on Lowell’s second line, at left wing.
Known for his heavy play style, Rhéaume is tough to knock off the puck when he has it in his possession. He has a hard shot and good vision, which should help add offensive capabilities to the Huskies’ bottom six, a group that struggled to put the puck in the net last season as a unit. With his size, you can bet that the staff will want to utilize him in a possession game along the boards but we also could see him take up valuable real estate in the slot and the crease, potentially knocking in some rebound goals and “greasy goals” that seem to have eluded the Huskies for a couple years. We currently pencil in Rhéaume for the third line wing slot.
Cristophe Tellier– Similar to how McGuire fills the hole vacated by a player leaving, so too does Tellier, a transfer coming in from Quinnipiac after three seasons. Tellier was a top six winger for the Bobcats, and with Alex Campbell and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine both graduating, there was room in the Huskies’ top six to add a high-impact talent. Enter Tellier, who is coming off a career year in Hamden with 26 points (7 goals), and has been called “one of the best playmakers in college hockey” by College Hockey Insider’s Mike McMahon. Tellier was a key contributor for the Bobcats en route to their national championship in 2022, and was a fixture on their powerplay the last two years. A playmaker first and foremost, Tellier has elite vision and elite passing abilities, so expect whoever he plays with to see their goal totals increase and for him to constantly have the puck on his stick in the offensive zone.
Tellier we have locked into the top line left wing position, likely pairing with Jack Williams, with whom he was teammates in Muskegon in the USHL prior to college. Potentially one of the biggest transfer additions for Northeastern on and off the ice, Tellier will certainly be a key cog in the Northeastern powerplay, potentially taking residence along the half-wall to dish the puck similar to what players like Kevin Roy and Dylan Sikura did in their heyday on Huntington Avenue. Tellier is someone who may not score a ton of goals himself, but you can be certain he will be a part of many goal celebrations this year for the Huskies. He is a high-quality talent and Huskies fans should be excited to watch him do his thing.
The Freshmen
Ethan Fredericks– The first freshman on our list is Fredericks, a 6’2″, 200 pound right shot winger from Atlanta, GA. He comes to Northeastern from Omaha in the USHL, with previous stops in Muskegon and Des Moines as well. For the Lancers last year, he put up 16 points (9 goals) in 41 games. He has battled injuries throughout his junior hockey career, so staying healthy will be paramount for him to reach his full potential at NU.
Fredericks is a power forward through and through, but not simply one who hits and throws the body. He has good skating ability and has showcased an accurate, hard shot when coming down the wing. Of course, he also has the ability to make some thunderous hits, an element of hockey not really seen among Northeastern forwards for quite some time. While we project that he will start his career competing for fourth line this season, Fredericks’ skills and upside paints a great picture for four years of progressively improving contributions as a Husky.
Joe Connor– Connor is a prospect that has me as excited as I’ve been for an incoming freshman in a long time. A seventh round draft pick in 2024 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Connor stands 5’10” 170 pounds and is a left shot left winger originally from New Hampshire. He played prep hockey at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut, and just completed his first full USHL season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks. In that season he broke out to the tune of 60 points (31 goals) in just 50 games, after also putting up 6 points in 12 games the year prior when he joined the team late in the season for a taste of the USHL level. He also represented the United States at the 2022 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and the 2023 World Junior A Championships, helping team USA win bronze in 2023.
Joe Connor is the exact kind of player all teams crave to be in their lineup. Not only can he score goals, which he can do both with a sharp, heavy wrist shot or smooth hands in close, but he has a non-stop motor that gives him a chance on every play. Multiple evaluators rave about how he makes his teammates better with a combination of his skill and his compete level. He is a fluid skater with exceptional athleticism that he uses to change the pace of play to give himself the best advantage in every situation. He never stops moving, never stops working. Another fun attribute for Connor when drafted was he was rated as one of the best “pests” in the draft, and a “gritty little ball of hate,” giving Boston fans visions of their own version of Brad Marchand in a Huskies sweater.
Connor is someone that Northeastern fans will fall in love with from the moment they see him. We expect that he will slide straight into the Huskies’ top six, on the second left wing position behind Tellier, and will be a feature on the powerplay and at even strength. Connor has “All-American potential” according to one evaluator that I spoke with, and given the trajectory he has been on since committing to Northeastern in 2022, he seems to be well on that path.
Griffin Erdman– Coming in after two years with the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL, Erdman hails from Delaware and is a 5’10”, 180 pound winger. Over two seasons with Waterloo, Erdman scored 83 points (40 goals) in 120 games, boosting his goal output from 18 to 22 in year two. He also represented the United States at the 2022 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and at the 2023 World Junior Championships where he helped Team USA win the bronze medal.
When coaches talk about a player that gives 100% effort every shift, that is Erdman through and through. Evaluators rave about his skating ability as well as his ability to play larger than his frame. An excellent forechecker, he’s called an “energizer bunny” who can score pretty or score greasy. Elite Prospects provided this report on him: “Erdman sprints for every loose puck, contests every shot, and engages in every battle. After securing possession, he looks for the give-and-go, using a deep, powerful stride to launch himself past defenders on his way to the net. He battles for body positioning and fends off opponents, always giving himself a chance to make a play.”
Erdman is someone that we expect to be an immediate contributor in some fashion from the first day of practice and the first game of the season. He is someone that could start on the Northeastern third or fourth line and bring a combination of speed, scoring, and tenacity we have not seen from this unit in years; in fact he may be the best skater in the bottom six I’ve seen since becoming a fan if that is indeed where he starts. Erdman is someone we expect to be a fixture on the penalty kill and forecheck to start his career and have his fingerprints all over the Huskies’ success over the next four seasons.
James Fisher– The only Massachusetts native in this year’s freshman class, the Burlington native comes to Boston after a year with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. He also played for the Youngstown Phantoms in 2022-23 of the USHL, helping the Phantoms win the USHL Clark Cup championship. This past year in British Columbia, Fisher blossomed offensively, putting up 36 points (20 goals) in 54 games, after just 10 points in 42 USHL games. Drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL Draft, Fisher stands 6’2″, 185 pounds, and is a right shot forward who plays mainly right wing, but could potentially play center if needed.
Fisher is a power forward who plays more of a north-south game rather than an east-west one. His goal scoring ability took off in Penticton, where he played up and down the lineup. If he can hone some skill at the center position, where he played a little in juniors but much less frequently than the wing, he would compete strongly for the 4th center position behind Williams, McGuire, and Eli Sebastian. If he sticks more at wing, we expect him to start on the fourth line and build up from there, similar to Fredericks.
Marc Lund– The elder statesman of the class, Lund (no relation to Cam Lund) hails from Minnesota. A 6’4″, 205 pound right shot forward, Lund played the last three seasons with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the NAHL. Last season he scored a personal best 19 points (10 goals) in 38 games.
Lund’s style of play is based in his size. We expect that he is someone that will keep with the coaching staff’s objective of puck control and strong play on the boards, while also helping the Huskies get larger in the lineup, something that has been noticeable in the recruiting the last couple years. We currently do not project a ton of minutes for Lund as a freshman however there remains the potential to play a role like the recently graduated Michael Outzen, filling in when needed.
Ben Poitras- Following in the Hryckowian brothers’ footsteps, Poitras enrolls at Northeastern originating from Quebec and making a stop at Salisbury School for prep hockey, before playing in the USHL for the Sioux City Musketeers (where Justin Hryckowian also played) and most recently the Green Bay Gamblers. Poitras is a 5’11”, 175 pound right shot winger, usually on the right wing. He broke out in Green Bay last year to the tune of 53 points (20 goals) in 51 games, after 37 points in 61 games the year before in Sioux City. While undrafted, he has attended NHL Development Camp with Florida previously.
Poitras is someone that we’ve had circled in the pipeline since he committed in 2021. He is a high IQ player and a major threat in the offensive zone. From ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft, one scouting service stated “Poitras begins every shift as if he was shot from a cannon. He zips around the ice, charging at opponents to force turnovers and engaging in every puck battle around. Once the puck arrives on his stick, he’s a shooter.” Another USHL evaluator told me that Poitras has the ability to be a Hockey East impact player from Day One, calling him a “game-breaker” who can score or dish the puck, and a third evaluator believes he has has “All-American potential” by the time he is done at Northeastern.
Poitras is someone that I currently have penciled in to the third right wing slot with Cam Lund and Dylan Hryckowian ahead of him, however on most teams he could likely slide into the second line off the bat. He would add an element of scoring depth on the third line that Northeastern has not seen in nearly half a decade, and you can bet the coaching staff will find a way to get him looks on the powerplay as well. Ben Poitras is someone that fans will take a liking to as a freshman and I expect will rapidly grow to a key contributor to the Huskies’ offense for years to come, a path not dissimilar to what Aiden McDonough took in his Northeastern career.
Phew. That was a long read, but thanks for sticking with me. Nine new forwards to the team this year, with major contributions expected from this group up and down the lineup, and for years to come. There are some serious reasons to be excited for Northeastern hockey and the quality of play on the ice this season. We are merely weeks away from the first game action against Quinnipiac in the exhibition and then Stonehill on October 12th when things count for real. The offseason was long as always, but we’re nearly there, folks.
As always, go Huskies!