Northeastern received a verbal commitment from 1996-born forward Drew Blackmun Monday night. Blackmun is currently playing for the Aston Rebels of the North American Hockey League, and is a 6-foot, 175 pound left shot.
Dream come true to announce my commitment to play D1 hockey at @GoNUmhockey. Thanks to my family, friends, teammates and coaches #GoHuskies
— Drew Blackmun (@D_Blacks7) March 13, 2017
Blackmun is the second Rebel to commit to the Huskies, following the path of teammate Ryan Solomon, a ’96 defenseman who committed to the Huskies in December.
Blackmun is in his second season playing for Aston, and is in the midst of a breakout campaign. He has tallied 40 points in 51 games, including 16 goals and 24 assists. He has also accumulated 34 penalty minutes and a +24 rating. Neutral Zone gave Blackmun an ‘A’ rating after watching him skate at the NAHL Top Prospects showcase about two weeks ago, where he scored two goals and three points over two games against other top NAHL competition.
Last season in 58 games, he put up 18 points for the Rebels. In the season before that, he played in the BCHL, where he tallied 17 points in 57 games for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Prior to his junior career, the Minneapolis, Minnesota native played four years at St. Paul Academy, where he averaged over a point per game in each of his four years and over two points per game in his junior season. He scored over 20 goals in both his junior and senior seasons at St. Paul and he was the team’s captain in his senior season.
3.5 star prospect commits to @GoNUathletics. Recently rated "A" at @NAHLHockey Top Prospects Showcase. Balanced skater, 2-way, reliable fwd https://t.co/g5iVTHwd7X
— Neutral Zone (@_Neutral_Zone) March 14, 2017
Being an overager, Blackmun has exhausted his eligibility for junior hockey and will matriculate to Northeastern this upcoming fall. We project him to fill in the role that Mike Jamieson will be vacating upon graduation – a bottom line winger who can bring stability, leadership, and puck control when on the ice. We expect Blackmun to help the Huskies maintain and build upon the culture that Jamieson and the rest of this year’s upstanding senior class established in their four years at Northeastern, and if Blackmun can bring his scoring touch to Matthews Arena as well, that’s a bonus.
Congratulations to Drew and his family, welcome to Northeastern! You can see our projections for Northeastern’s incoming class and future classes here.