Every year around the NHL All Star break we try to do a comprehensive post detailing how the season is going for each recruit in Northeastern’s pipeline. And thanks to the schedule falling as it did, this year’s roundup is a bonus for #BeanpotHypeWeek. All statistics are as of Monday January 29th. And as always, projected enrollment dates are just that- projections, done by us at the blog as guesswork based on available data and our own thinking, and are not meant to be taken as gospel or fact- we do not work for Northeastern hockey.
United States Hockey League
Joe Connor– The crown jewel of the pipeline right now, Connor plays for Muskegon and has 31 points (16 goals) in his first USHL season. He’s shown the ability to take over shifts and games both as a goal scorer, a playmaker, or as a defensive force, and he always plays an elite 200-foot game. Connor is expected to be an impact player from Day One at Northeastern next year and has the potential to be a program-defining player over his Huskies career. It was absurd that he was passed over in the NHL Draft last year and he should have a real case to be taken this year as a DY+1.
Ben Poitras– Poitras returned to the USHL for his second season this year and it is clearly paying off- he has 32 points (13 goals) in just 25 games, after scoring 37 points in 62 games last year. He is tenth in the USHL in points-per-game. Called a “game breaker” and “dynamic playmaker” by evaluators, he is showing off his shot more this year and like Connor is expected to be an impact player immediately next season.
Seth Constance– The first of two defensemen we expect to see in the Class of 2024, Constance is in his second full season with Tri-City. More of a stay-at-home defenseman who can break the puck out of his zone and start transition, Constance has 11 points (3 goals) in 35 games. Word about Constance is his game is simple but effective the way he controls gaps and establishes position in the defensive zone. Expect him to come in and play on the right side right away.
Ethan Fredericks– The big Georgian was hampered by injuries earlier this year but has hit a hot streak for a struggling Omaha team, currently sitting at 14 points (9 goals) in 25 games. Fredericks is a freight train on the ice, a smooth-skating big-bodied forward who uses his size to clear his way to the net, and has a quality shot. He also has a physical edge to his game that Northeastern fans will appreciate and enjoy watching.
Griffin Erdman– Possibly the fastest skater in the pipeline, Erdman plays for Waterloo and has 22 points (11 goals) in 31 games, and is projected to match the production he has last year in the league. He’s been described as an “energizer bunny” type player with an insatiable motor and brilliant skating. He is someone who very much reminds me of the Justin Hryckowian/Dylan Hryckowian/Jack Williams mold. He was a member of the 2023 Team USA World Junior A team last December with Joe Connor.
Jack Henry– A right-handed defenseman currently playing for Madison, Henry is an elite skater and puck mover who has grown in his first year in the USHL. He’s got 19 points (4 goals) in 32 games, already out-producing his totals from last year in the more offensive-minded BCHL. Henry will join Constance in the 2024 class and I expect we will see his ability to play left or right defense help him get into the lineup early in his NU career.
Jack Pechar– A power forward in his first full USHL year after getting 14 games late last year, Pechar has 20 points (12 goals) in 36 games for Lincoln. He’s got one of the best shots in the pipeline based on what I’ve seen, and he protects the puck well. At this time we expect him to arrive in Fall 2025.
Eero Butella– Another Waterloo Blackhawk, Butella is in his first year of the USHL and he has 6 points (2 goals) in 31 games. He’s a player that was a force on the ice for the Chicago Mission AAA team, and is a smooth-skating power forward with a great shot, he’s just been buried in the lineup on a good Waterloo team. He has immense skill and the upside is through the roof, and we expect with another year in the USHL, he will continue to blossom. Currently projected to enroll in 2025.
Giacomo Martino– A Canadian dynamo who lit up the Ontario Junior Hockey League for two seasons, Martino is in his first year of USHL hockey and has a respectable 20 points (4 goals) in 37 games. He’s a great skater and a dynamic playmaker who does not take his foot off the gas. Expect him to arrive in 2025 after another year in the league with Sioux City.
Noah Jones– The most recent addition to the pipeline, Jones is a huge defenseman standing 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. A right shot playing for Omaha with Fredericks, Jones has 8 points (3 goals) in 34 games and profiles as someone on an upwards trajectory with his raw tools and athleticism. He’s someone that we expect in 2025 at this time, but could accelerate to 2024 if needed, and he’s someone who will likely be a big piece (pun unintended) of the Huskies defensive corps in the future.
Luke Postumus– Posthumus was a somewhat surprising addition to the Tri-City roster out of camp after being drafted in the 18th round of the USHL Entry Draft in 2023. He has filled in as the Storm’s third line and fourth line center at different times, playing 29 games and scoring 10 points (1 goal). Posthumus lit up the scoresheet in multiple years with the Nepean Raiders program in Canada, and is a well-rounded center both in the faceoff circle and with his offensive abilities. We expect that he will grow more as an offensive player with another year in the USHL and currently project his arrival to be 2025.
Ben Wilmott– One of three players to commit to Northeastern on August 1st when the new window opened, Wilmott is the lone of the three who made the USHL this season. He’s been playing for the Chicago Steel and has 6 points (4 goals) in 26 games, recently turning in a hot streak as he’s getting more ice time and more shots on net. Wilmott is build in the Hryckowian mold, a natural leader and former captain at different levels, he has a great mind for the game and has great playmaking abilities. He is projected right now for 2025, where he’d enroll at 19 years old.
Garrett Frazer– A right-shot defenseman, Frazer turns 17 next month and recently earned a call up to the USHL and Muskegon after playing 30 games for Janesville in the NAHL. He had 10 points for Janesville (2 goals), and has 6 games with the Lumberjacks without a point. He is lauded for his intensity and his team-first attitude, and he can move the puck out of his zone efficiently. His projected arrival is 2025 after a full season of USHL action.
British Columbia Hockey League
Grayson Badger– Badger is the player in the pipeline who committed the longest time ago, back in August 2021, and he’s expected to finally enroll in Fall 2024. Badger plays for Alberni Valley and has 20 points (7 goals) this season in 34 games. He’s vastly outperformed his statistics from the USHL last year, and is said to have an elite motor that never shuts down.
James Fisher– The lone NHL draft pick in the pipeline, Fisher was a 7th round pick by Columbus in 2022. Playing for the elite Penticton team in the BCHL, he has 20 points (14 goals) in 36 games and has been shuffled up and down the lineup on the right wing. He will enroll in 2024 and is someone Northeastern foresees as having untapped upside as a power forward who can fill the net up.
Reegan Hiscock– Another Husky recruit who is outpacing last year’s performance, Hiscock is in his second season for Victoria and has 21 points (9 goals) in 33 games after scoring 23 points in 51 games last season. He’s been a goal scorer at each level he’s played at, and continues to fill out his 6-foot-3 frame, I expect more power and scoring to follow. Hiscock is currently projected to enroll in 2025.
North American Hockey League
Quentin Sigurdson– The lone goalie in the pipeline, Sigurdson plays for Odessa and in his second second has developed into one of the top goalies in the NAHL. He’s got a .924 save percentage (fourth-best out of goalies playing the majority of minutes for their team) and a 2.53 goals-against-average. He’s played 34 of Odessa’s 40 games, and will enroll in 2024 to fill Connor Hopkins’ role as Cameron Whitehead’s backup.
Marc Lund– Lund is in his second full season playing for Fairbanks, and he has 19 points (10 goals) in 38 games. Standing 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, he will add size to the Huskies’ depth options when he enrolls in 2024, and could play a utility role similar to Michael Outzen has in his Northeastern career.
Ben Miller– The Minnesotan has fought injuries this year, limiting him to 11 games with the Bismarck Bobcats. He has three assists this year. Miller projects to be an athletic, tenacious power forward who skates well, can protect the puck and be a shutdown player up front. Currently projected to enroll in 2025.
Alberta Junior Hockey League
Dylan Compton– Compton jumped from the BCHL to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, one of the premiere junior programs in Canada, and it’s paid off for the right-shot defenseman. Compton started slow but has roared back to currently have 37 points (3 goals) in 39 games, demonstrating his abilities as a playmaking offensive defenseman. He has yet to sign his Letter of Intent so we are inclined to believe he will enroll in 2025, and with the most recent changes coming to the AJHL due to five teams including Brooks planning to move to the BCHL, we expect he will play elsewhere next year ahead of enrolling.
Ontario Junior Hockey League
Haeden Ellis– Another offensive dynamo, Ellis was arguably the biggest get for the staff when the new recruiting window opened in August. On the smaller side at 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, the right-shot forward from Buffalo plays for the hometown Jr Sabres organization and has 28 points (13 goals) in 33 games and even earned a callup to the US National Team Development Program for a couple games abroad, where he scored 3 points (2 goals) in 4 games and did not look out of place. Still only 16, we project his arrival to Huntington Avenue for 2026.
Prep/AAA Level
Cam Caron– A local superstar currently at New Hampton Prep, Caron has been lighting up the prep ranks to the tune of 31 points (13 goals) in just 18 games, plus 10 points in 19 games for the Cape Cod Whalers, a program that has developed many Northeastern greats. An assistant captain with New Hampton, Caron committed on August 1st with Ellis and Wilmott and is one of the top 2007s in New England. Already with a great shot and below-the-dots play, he’s someone who is projected to have a massive role for Northeastern going forward. Projected arrival also 2026.
Sean Barnhill– The Arizona native just turned 17 this month but already has pro hockey size, standing at 6-foot-4, 192 pounds, and he’s a right shot defenseman. Playing for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes program as he has all of his youth, Barnhill has 6 points in 16 games. He’s got great mobility for his size and a physical edge- he’s someone that projects to eat a lot of quality minutes for the Huskies going forward. We currently have him projected for 2025 arrival however it would not shock me if the staff wants him to get another year of seasoning and he comes in with Caron and Ellis in 2026.
There is a whole lot to like about what the Huskies have coming down the line for future seasons. A combination of skilled, high motor, physical players, as well as players who will contribute up and down the lineup. This season has not been what fans anticipated by any stretch, but there’s every reason to believe brighter days are ahead, and soon.
As always, go Huskies!