The second of four recruits Northeastern has landed in February, news broke early Monday morning that defenseman Matas Janulis had committed to Northeastern. Janulis is a native of Lincoln, MA, and is Lithuanian as well.
Janulis is a 6-foot-1, 180 pound left-shot defenseman currently playing at Lawrence Academy, a Massachusetts prep school. He has 9 points (1 goal) in 24 games, matching his production from one year ago for Lawrence. He is a product of the Islanders Hockey Club youth program, and he is an alumnus of the USA Hockey Selects 15 camp. He was selected in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft by Saint John, the same team that picked defenseman recruit Brian McFadden in the same draft. Rated a 3.75 star recruit by Neutral Zone, he was also ranked as the 10th-best ’08 birth year playing prep hockey this season by NZ. Northeastern also had the numbers 1-3 ’08 in prep as well with McFadden, goaltender Neilan Johnson, and forward Noah Survilas joining Janulis on their ranking. Janulis was an All-ISL Honorable Mention last year as a sophomore.
The calling card for Janulis’ game is using his size and excellent skating ability to be a mobile defenseman who can shut down the rush and win battles on the walls and on the puck. Neutral Zone’s most recent evaluation of him describes his game as moving “exceptionally well with his long and powerful frame…smooth in his backward skating, with a physical attitude and some snarl…he was able to go end to end but his strength was snapping accurate, firm passes all over the ice. Tough to knock off pucks…he protected his net with firm edges and a heavy stick.” NZ’s evaluation added that he played minutes on both the powerplay and penalty kill, and ended by saying that while Janulis is raw and needs time, he has upside to reach new levels in his game.
At Lawrence, Janulis has been extensively watched by the folks at New England Hockey Journal. As far back as January 2025, he was listed among the rising sophomore defensemen who would likely get attention from college programs, alongside fellow prep defensemen Myles Brosnan (Harvard commit) and Jake Bogunieki (Boston College commit). NEHJ calls him a “classic two-way defenseman. He has great reach and uses it well to shut down opposing players with his stick. He can also contribute offensively, knowing when to join the rush and when to slip into the slot.” Most recently in December 2025, NEHJ observed Janulis in a game and reported he “played like a legit Division 1 prospect. Offensively, he was always involved. He picked the right times to join the rush and do so with confidence. He has a wicked shot that he gets off quickly…In his own zone, he played tough in front of his own net and made smart breakouts.“
A November ’08 birth year, Janulis currently projects for enrollment to Northeastern in 2029, where he would enroll at 20 years old, following the trend Northeastern has been following in recent years. However he certainly could develop to where he is able to enroll in Fall 2028, depending on how he develops the next two seasons. He was in preseason camp with Saint John ahead of the 2025-26 season so if he makes the leap the the QMJHL in 2026 instead of finishing out his prep career, that could potentially accelerate his college timeline.
Congratulations to Matas on his commitment to Northeastern!
As always, go Huskies!
(Feature photo via Matas Janulis’ Instagram page @matas_janulis)