Northeastern earned their first commitment of the new year in the form of Jack Henry, a 2004-born defenseman currently playing for the Madison Capitols of the USHL.
Henry hails from Skaneateles, NY, and stands 6-foot, 195 pounds. A right shot defenseman, he has some versatility to his game, as he’s currently playing on the left side of his pairing for Madison, and we know versatility is a trait long-valued by Jerry Keefe and his staff. Henry has 15 points this year (3 goals) in 27 games, but important to note his game has been coming on strong in his first USHL season- after 3 points in his first 11 games, he has 12 in his last 16, and has been more of an offensive generator in those games as well. His fifteen points leads all Madison defensemen and is tied for 18th in the whole USHL. Prior to Madison he played for Cranbrook in the BCHL where he put up 17 points in 44 games, so his offensive production is on pace to far exceed last season in a much more defensive-focused league. He previously played at Bishop Kearney where he was a captain, and other youth programs in upstate New York. He is also a veteran of USA Hockey Selects camp.
Formerly a Yale commit who only decommitted at the end of 2023, Henry was seen as one of, if not the best prospect in the Bulldogs’ pipeline. Recently named the USHL Defenseman of the Week in early December. After winning the award, his head coach Andy Brandt told The Rink Live “Jack’s maturity and growth have been the biggest things for him. It took him a little bit of time to adapt to the USHL but I think now we’re seeing his game elevate. He can really shoot the puck and we saw that this weekend.” When he committed to Cranbrook, Bucks head coach Ryan Donald said ““Jack possesses a toolset that will allow him to be effective in all 3 zones as he is a strong skater, defends with a purpose, and is comfortable with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone.”
Henry is a good skater who breaks up the puck out of his zone very well. A crisp passer, he has been running the second powerplay unit for Madison this season, however he stands to potentially see more time on the first unit now that Madison traded the defenseman who was running that powerplay. He uses his size effectively to defend, and that is a part of his game that has improved as he’s gotten acclimated to the USHL competition. He’s also shown off an above-average slap shot on his first USHL goal.
Henry is expected to enroll in Fall 2024 and likely completes the Northeastern defenseman corps, barring an unexpected transfer or pro signing. We would expect him to compete for playing time as a freshman, likely in the bottom pairing with the Huskies’ top four locked up between Hunter McDonald, Jackson Dorrington, Vinny Borgesi, and Michael Fisher. Henry’s versatility, offensive abilities, and growing game will be an extremely valuable asset to Coach Keefe and his staff for his four years on Huntington Avenue.
Congratulatons to Jack on his committment to Northeastern!
As always, go Huskies!