Defenseman Owen Keefe, son of Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe, has flipped his commitment to play college hockey to Northeastern University. He was previously committed to Boston University.
Keefe is a 6-foot-1, 190 pound left shot defenseman who currently plays for the Sioux City Musketeers in the USHL. He was traded there from Muskegon earlier this season. In 32 games with Sioux City, Keefe has 8 points (2 goals), and in 11 games with Muskegon he had 4 assists. He does not turn 18 until late March, and yet he already has played over 100 games in the USHL. He played 59 games last season after signing a USHL Tender with the Lumberjacks, putting up an impressive 13 points (4 goals) while playing much of the season at age 16 on a very deep Muskegon blue line. Prior to the USHL he played for the Boston Jr. Eagles program, Malden Catholic prep, and the Neponset Valley River Rats. He is a veteran of multiple USA Hockey events, including playing on the Team USA U18 team that won a bronze medal at this year’s Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. He also partook in the 2022 US NTDP Evaluation Camp and the 2021 USA Hockey Select camp for 2006 birth years. He was also a finalist for Massachusetts Mr. Hockey in 2022.
Keefe originally committed to Boston University on August 1st, 2022, the first day for his age group to commit to college programs. Keefe is a 4.5-star rated recruit by Puck Preps, making him one of the highest-profile players in the Northeastern pipeline. He was rated 122nd among North American skaters for the 2024 NHL Draft, and has a real possibility of hearing his name called in the mid-to-late rounds. He is described as a two-way defenseman who has fantastic control of his gaps, and has an active, strong stick that takes time and space away in the defensive and neutral zones. He showed his offensive upside in the Hlinka-Gretzky camp with a hat trick and showcased his ability to break the puck out of the zone. He possesses upside in all three zones, and in a profile on the top New England players for the 2024 NHL Draft, the New England Hockey Journal wrote “He has the size, shot and defensive toughness, but his skating has gotten better. He’s best when he’s playing a solid game that doesn’t involve jumping into the rush excessively…In terms of pro upside, he’s at the top of the class among New England defensemen.” Furthermore, Keefe has been lauded and praised for his work ethic and his leadership abilities both on and off the ice. Safe to say, the apple does not fall far from the tree.
Keefe was projected by some to be a part of the Fall 2024 class for BU, but it appears likely that he will join the Fall 2025 class for Northeastern after playing one more year in the USHL, likely for Sioux City. That puts him in the defenseman class we project Noah Jones, Dylan Compton, and Garrett Frazer to also be in at this time, giving Northeastern a bonafide bedrock of defensive talent coming to Huntington Avenue in the near-future.
On a personal level, this is a true homecoming the likes of which is rarely seen in sports anymore. Owen Keefe grew up around Matthews Arena and Northeastern University, and was a fixture in the rink and locker room as Northeastern hockey ascended to the heights we know today. I arrived at Northeastern the same year as Coach Keefe, 2011, and over the years of going to games and running the student section I vividly remember seeing Owen always with devil husky gear on, interacting with players or getting ice time himself when he could. He was born to be a Northeastern Husky. Simply look at the photo in his Instagram post announcing his commitment- you can’t help but be thrilled for Owen and the whole Keefe family.
Congratulations to Owen and we look forward to watching his continued development ahead of finally donning the red and black for Northeastern.
As always, go Huskies!