Only a couple hours after Brian McFadden and Noah Survilas committed to Northeastern, the Huskies landed their third verbal commitment of the day on August 1st when Owen McHale also announced he had pledged his intent to play college hockey on Huntington Avenue. McHale is a 2008 birth year winger from Charlestown, MA. He plays with Survilas at Dexter Southfield Prep.
McHale is a 6-foot-2, 190 pound left shot left winger. He’s listed at 6-foot, 175 pounds on Elite Prospects but the most recent scouting reports coming out of the USA Hockey Selects 17 camp indicate he’s grown recently. Last year for Dexter he put up 19 points (5 goals) in 28 games largely playing without top minutes due to Dexter’s depth of talent. McHale is a veteran of the Boston Jr Eagles program as well, where he also previously played with Survilas. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2025 QMJHL Draft by Chicoutimi.
McHale boosted his stock this summer after having an excellent Mass. Hockey Festival performance which got him an invite to USA Hockey Selects 17 camp. At Selects camp he put himself onto Division 1 recruiting maps in a big way, scoring 6 points (2 goals) in 6 games. McHale’s calling card is his physicality and the edge he plays with; in an era where the game is going skill heavy, McHale is a bit of a throwback to an older-school style of hockey.
New England Hockey Journal’s Evan Marinofsky followed McHale all season and over the summer, and highlights that aspect of his game in most of his scouting reports, calling him “a classic power forward who never shies away from conflict or contact” and “an agitator…a pain to play against, and that should translate at any level.” Stout on his skates, he welcomes contact and even seeks it out to deliver clean checks to opposing players, and can wear opponents down on the walls in the cycle game. He thrives in the pest role, getting under opponents’ skin and getting them off their game, but as evidenced last season and over the summer, has the ability to contribute offensively as well. Marinofsky adds that McHale “seems to just be scratching the surface of what he can be,” with offensive upside to uncover as he gets more heavy minutes next season.
Noah Poirier of PuckPreps scouting services had similar takeaways coming out of Select 17s Camp, calling McHale “in the best way possible, a unit.” Poirier further elaborates: “He was physically dominant throughout the week…Another really solid perimeter player, he can absorb contact along the wall while cycling the puck, wearing down opponents. He plays heavy around the net, whether that be battling for positioning or dropping the shoulder to make power moves towards the goal. Not one to mind throwing his weight around, Owen made a plethora of hard, clean checks through his games to separate man from puck.”
Elite Prospects’ Robert Chalmers, a QMJHL evaluator, also provided his assessment of McHale for EP after the commitment. “A workhouse,” Chalmers highlights McHale’s ability on the forecheck to produce turnovers, his high activity and ability to read the game while in the defensive zone, and the combination of his “relentless motor,” physical play, and tireless work ethic which makes him a “valuable two-way forward with upside.”
McHale’s overall style of play is something that eastern college hockey teams tend not to see as much these days, outside of a handful of programs. The level of physicality and “agitator” role seems to be common out west, or at a program like Cornell which is known for a heavy style of play. Adding a player with this unique skillset to the Northeastern lineup will be an invaluable tool as the roster continues to be constructed, and it gives the coaching staff flexibility to play McHale up and down the lineup depending on what the opponents’ style is, and where McHale’s services are most needed. He projects as a middle six forward for Northeastern, potentially a second line winger if he can continue developing his offensive game.
McHale will attend preseason camp for Chicoutimi in the coming weeks to see if he can crack their roster but the expectation as of this writing is that he will return to Dexter for his junior season, where he will pair with Survilas in the top six and a larger role for McHale. He projects for a 2028 arrival to Northeastern after two subsequent seasons of junior hockey once he’s done with Dexter.
Congratulations to Owen on his commitment to Northeastern!
As always, go Huskies!