The new college hockey recruiting cycle begins every August 1st, when players entering 11th grade can officially receive offers from colleges and make their verbal commitments. Similar to last year, Northeastern wasted little time in landing their first commitment of the new cycle, with defenseman Nathan Birch posting his commitment in the early afternoon of that first day. He is the first player born in 2008 to commit to Northeastern.
Birch is a 5-foot-9, 172 pound right shot defenseman out of Quebec, Canada. He played last season for Bishop College School, a program that plays at Canada’s equivalent of America’s high school prep hockey. Last season he put up 44 points (12 goals) in 50 games at the CAHS level, adding in 42 points in 42 games at various other levels of competition per his Elite Prospects page. He was drafted in the 17th round by Cedar Rapids of the United States Hockey League, a program that has long sent talent to Northeastern. He was also an 11th round draft pick by Quebec in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, which does pose some risk as a CHL signing but his commitment is a great indicator that he plans to follow through to the NCAA route.
Birch fits the mold of the prototypical offensive defenseman, with one evaluator calling him an “offensive force.” He has very good mobility, with active feet that helps him defend opposing rushers at various speed and angles, and he showcases good movement around the offensive zone. He uses an accurate wrist shot more than a booming slap shot to generate production from the blue line. He’s good on reversals in his own zone which helps break the puck out, and he is adaptive to situations with the puck on his stick.
Neutral Zone, the premiere scouting service for amateur hockey scouting, rates Birch as a 3.75 star player. Their scouting report highlights his maturity for such a young age, as well as his skating and puck carrying abilities, which at age 15 are arguably the most important qualities to have established as good qualities ahead of committing to college. Despite his size, Neutral Zone also highlights how he “relishes playing a physical aggressive style,” and how Birch “doesn’t shy away from his opponents.”
Birch projects to be a powerplay quarterback for Northeastern in the future, and that role will likely place him in a top four defenseman role for Northeastern in the future. Coach Keefe and his staff generally like all recruits to play at least one season, sometimes two, in the premier junior hockey leagues like the USHL and the BCHL, so we would expect Birch to play one more season in Canada and then make his way to junior hockey before enrolling in 2027 (projected). If he makes it to Iowa to play for Cedar Rapids, you can expect head coach Mark Carlson to mold him into an excellent college player as he’s done for countless current and former Huskies.
Congratulations to Nathan on his commitment to Northeastern! We look forward to watching and tracking his progress over the next few years.
As always, go Huskies!