We learned on Monday afternoon that Northeastern is adding one more transfer forward ahead of the 2024-25 season in Nick Rheaume, a left shot forward coming to Boston from UMass-Lowell in Hockey East.
Rheaume, who hails from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (the same hometown as incoming transfer Christophe Tellier), stands 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. He spent two years with the Riverhawks, putting up 17 points. Last season he set career highs with 9 goals and 13 points. He finished the season playing on Lowell’s second line, at left wing. On a Lowell team that struggled for offense all year, that was good enough for fourth on the team in points, second in goals, second in shots on goal (69), and fifth in shot attempts (114).
Prior to Lowell he played for the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL, putting up 73 points in two years, and prior to that he attended Cushing Academy for a year after coming down from Canada. He is the son of Pascal Rheaume, a veteran of the National Hockey League and Stanley Cup champion, and he is the nephew of Manon Rheaume, one of the most accomplished women’s hockey players of all time and the first woman to play in an exhibition game for one of the major North American sports.
While at Lowell and in Prince George, Rheaume was known for his heavy style of play, which will work really well in the Huskies’ bottom six. Not only due to his size, but he is heavy on pucks, sees the ice well, has a hard shot, and has good hockey sense. When watching tape from last year, you also see a combination of soft hands and the ability to score both in transition as well as getting greasy in front of the net, a hallmark of UMass-Lowell hockey. In fact, he chose UMass-Lowell initially for their heavy, cycle-type style of play, citing similarities between the Norm Bazin style of play and what he himself emulates in his game. I would expect that same style to do well on the Huskies’ third line and their penalty kill if called upon. A scouting report like that reminds me of things said about Brett Edwards ahead of his one year at Northeastern- if Rheaume can fill that role with a little more scoring, this will be a great addition for the Huskies.
One other great thing about Rheaume’s transfer is that he is a rising junior, meaning he has two more years of college eligibility left and will be an integral part of the Huskies’ upper classes both this year and next year. An older player (2002 birth year) with Hockey East experience will be vital on a team expected for have nine freshmen new to college hockey, setting the tone and the example for younger players to emulate.
Congratulations to Nick on his transfer to Northeastern! We welcome him with open arms and look forward to watching him on the ice.
As always, go Huskies!