’05 Forward Ben Poitras Commits to Northeastern

Just because August ended doesn’t mean the Northeastern’s recruiting heater was over. To kick off Labor Day Weekend, the Huskies received a verbal commitment from Benjamin Poitras, a 2005 birth year forward from Toronto.

Poitras is a right-shot winger who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs in at 165 pounds. Already with college and pro-level height, we expect he will add muscle and weight to that frame as he continues to mature. He most recently played for the Buffalo Regals in the recent River Rat Jamboree showcase, as well as for the Rochester Coalition 16U AAA team out of New York, where according to EliteProspects he had 27 points (13 goals) in just 23 games. He also previously played for the heralded Mississauga Rebels youth program in Canada. He now attends the Salisbury School, making him the latest in a developing pipeline between Salisbury and Northeastern. Recent commit Dylan Hryckowian and his brother, incoming freshman Justin Hryckowian also play/played at Salisbury.

Poitras was drafted in both the USHL Futures Draft and the OHL Draft in 2021; he was a 9th round pick by the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, and a 5th round pick of the Sagniaw Spirit in the OHL. Any time a player is picked in the OHL Priority Draft you have to worry about them choosing the Major Junior route, but having Poitras commit to college this early in his recruiting process is a great sign for the Huskies.


According to Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal, multiple other ECAC schools were in the hunt for Poitras’ commitment. Hockey Prospect Reporting saw him at the recent River Rat Jamboree showcase and says he is a “dynamic combo of skill and compete,” and that he will “reach impressive peaks in hockey.”

As a mid-2005 birth year, the earliest we could expect Poitras to enroll at Northeastern is 2023, just after he turns 18. Given his youth relative to other players at his level, there also is a window for him to arrive in 2024. We look forward to watching his development and seeing how he grows before arriving at Northeastern.

Congrats to Ben on his commitment! As always, go Huskies!