Every August 1st, a new class of rising juniors are eligible to commit to college hockey programs. Many programs across the country jump into the fray immediately, and Northeastern is no different. News broke midday Friday that Northeastern received a commitment from Brian McFadden, a defenseman from Holbrook, MA. Word is Northeastern beat out at least one other Beanpot school for his commitment.
McFadden is a right-shot defenseman and is an early 2008 birth year, making him one of the older players eligible to commit this cycle. He measures in at 6-foot-5 and 180 pounds. He played last year at Thayer Academy in Massachusetts, limited to 14 games due to injury but still contributing 8 points (1 goal). He also played 27 games with the East Coast Militia 16U AAA team, where he registered 24 points (6 goals). As a freshman he played at Catholic Memorial in Massachusetts. He is a veteran of Team USA Selects camps at the 16U and 17U level. He was drafted in the 7th round of the 2024 QMJHL Draft by Saint John. He is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.
McFadden is rated as a 4-star prospect on PuckPreps, the 41st-best defenseman in the ’08 class in North America. When healthy last year for Thayer and the Militia, he was heavily relied on by his coaches and contributes as both ends of the ice. McFadden is described by PuckPreps as “calm and collected when defending,” and has a “unicorn-like blend of size and mobility as a 6’5 defender” which helps him take away the middle of the ice and shut down offense. “He can be a one-man breakout machine, “making crisp outlet passes and using the glass when needed in his own end” while also being able to “zip blue line to blue line passes in motion and through traffic.”
McFadden was scouted heavily over his first two high school seasons by the New England Hockey Journal, and was often listed as a standout performer and top uncommitted prospect in articles written from games or camps he attended. In June 2025 during the Foxboro Prep League, NEHJ’s Evan Marinofsky wrote “McFadden’s hands and offensive awareness were outstanding. For a 6-foot-5 defenseman to be able to have the mobility he has at the point, avoid defenders with exquisite stick-handling and either get to a high-danger scoring area or make a smart pass is extremely rare. He was also able to drive offense from the back quite a bit, too.”
Further from Marinofsky and NEHJ, in May 2025 after the Mass. Hockey Festival, he wrote “his offensive abilities for a 6-foot-5 defenseman are outstanding…McFadden regularly executed breakouts by himself, even with forecheckers coming from multiple angles.” Before the 2024-25 season, Marinofsky also echoed PuckPreps’ comments about McFadden’s defensive game: “At 6-foot-5, he’s able to shut down opponents with a great stick and physicality. But he can also contribute offensively and move pucks well,” further adding early in the season “He had a high compete and was physical, decisive and effective in all three zones, maintaining good stick positioning and gaps.“
Neutral Zone’s scouts also added that he was the best player on Team Massachusetts at the USA Selects 17 camp earlier this summer. NZ’s latest evaluation of McFadden praised his “combination of athleticism, compete level, and emerging two-way presence. He played with energy and purpose, showcasing a long, rangy frame that allowed him to close gaps, defend the rush effectively, and smother net-front threats with an active stick and sound body positioning. He made simple, accurate breakout passes under pressure, showed the ability to process plays quickly, and handled the puck well for a tall defender, using hands held off his body to manage bouncing pucks and catch passes cleanly. Offensively, he moved well along the blue line, kept pucks in the zone with good reach and timing, and flashed deception and vision distributing pucks into high-danger areas. He has the tools to develop into a reliable, mobile shutdown defenseman with second-pair potential at higher levels.”
With his pro-ready size combined with his skating and puck skills, Brian McFadden has all the tools to be an elite piece of the Northeastern defense in the future. He was ranked as the fourth-best New England prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft by NEHJ, projected as high as a third round draft pick. The combination of size, skating, and puck skills should elevate McFadden into an elite collegiate player in time. We’ve been told he is currently expected to return to Thayer next season where he will be an assistant captain. We currently project him to enroll to Northeastern in 2028, giving him two seasons of junior hockey after this season at Thayer.
Congratulations to Brian on his commitment to Northeastern!
As always, go Huskies!