After defeating crosstown rival Boston University in a shootout at a raucous Matthews Arena in mid-November, Northeastern gained a commitment from Kaden Muir, a 2004 birth year defenseman from New Hampshire. Muir currently plays for the United States National Team Development Program U18 team.
Muir is a 6-foot-1-inch right handed defenseman, already weighing in a 185 pound, giving him an excellent frame that will be ready for the rigors of collegiate hockey immediately. He is the son of Bryan Muir, a former University of New Hampshire defenseman who played over 250 games in the NHL.
Kaden Muir is rated as a 4-star recruit by Neutral Zone who profiles as a mobile, shutdown-type defenseman who can move the puck well to exit the zone. He’s not a prolific point scorer, and this year while on the second pairing for the NTDP U18s he has 4 points (2 goals) in 29 games. He put up 12 points in 33 games at the U16 level but since joining the NTDP he has developed into a player who stops goals and points from being scored rather than being the one scoring himself. When he joined the team ahead of the U17 season, his junior hockey team in Toronto also lauded him as “A vocal leader in the dressing room, that galvanized the room by his comedic relief and ability to keep the boys having fun though challenging times on and off the ice.”
With this assessment, Muir profiles very similar to us as current defenseman Tommy Miller did when he transferred from Michigan State to Northeastern this past offseason. Miller is a player who is extremely responsible in the defensive zone, plays on the top pairing to shut down the opponent’s top scoring lines, blocks shots to keep his goalie’s path clean, and can move the puck well out of the zone to start a rush. If Muir develops into a player like Miller, Northeastern will have hit a home run on a top-pairing shutdown defenseman for four years.
Muir is eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft. In 2020, he was selected in the OHL Priority Draft, but given his role on the NTDP, there was never a chance he was heading north. He is expected to enroll to Northeastern next season, however we should note that Chris Heisenberg, one of the leaders in tracking college hockey commitments, has Muir listed as a 2023 arrival, as does his profile on Elite Prospects. Neither of these are locked in or confirmed of course, but given his graduation from the NTDP and the graduation of multiple right-handed defensemen for NU this spring, we expect Muir to arrive at Matthews Arena next Fall.
Congratulations to Kaden on his commitment to Northeastern!
As always, go Huskies!