The bags are packed, they’re ready to go.
Soon college campuses will be buzzing with students as the new school year arrives and on Oct. 1, the college hockey season will begin.
Ten New Jersey Devils prospects will be getting ready for their college hockey season, with conference competition beginning on Oct. 28. Several players are returning, some are changing schools and two are starting their freshman year. As they get ready to kick off their season, the following is a guide to keeping an eye on your favorite prospects throughout the school year:
University of Michigan
Luke Hughes – Sophomore
Ethan Edwards – Sophomore
Seamus Casey – Freshman
The Michigan Wolverines boast the greatest number of current New Jersey Devils prospects led of course by defenseman Luke Hughes. Hughes enters his sophomore season and with plenty of turnover on the Michigan roster with several players leaving for professional hockey or aging out, Luke will be counted on for taking a leadership role among his teammates. It was recently announced that Luke will wear an ‘A’ on his jersey as part of the official leadership contingent.
Last season Hughes shattered all kinds of records for a defenseman at Michigan. He had 17 goals and 39 points, a record for freshmen defensemen. His 39 points also lead all NCAA defensemen.
Ethan Edwards, drafted nine months before Hughes, is also entering his sophomore season. His freshman year was injury-plagued and only towards the end of last season did he start coming into his own.
Seamus Casey will be one of 13 freshmen on the Wolverines roster and rounds out the three Devils defensemen prospects on the team. Casey was selected in the second round, 46th overall in June, and while he spent some time on the Michigan campus at the end of last season and met some of his Wolverine teammates, this will be his first foray into college hockey after playing last season with the US National U18 team where he played in 48 games, had 10 goals and 33 assists.
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Michigan State
Viktor Hurtig – Freshman
The 6-foot-6 defenseman will play in North America for the first time in his career, coming over from his native Sweden where he has played all his previous hockey. In 2021-22 Hurtig played in the J20 Nationell in Sweden with the J20 Växjö Lakers and Mora IK J20. At Michigan State, the towering defenseman will join two other NHL-drafted players Christian Krygier (NYI – 7th round, 196 overall, 2018) and his twin brother Cole (FLA – 7th round, 201 overall, 2018).
Hurtig will be part of a defensive core with four incoming defensemen, as the roster has a heavy turnover this season, with 11 new players joining the roster.
Northern Michigan University
Artem Shlain – Junior
After two seasons at UConn, the Russian American center has transferred to Northern Michigan State for the upcoming NCAA season. Last season with UConn, Shlaine was one of the top performers at the faceoff dot in all of Hockey East with his 57.6 percent efficiency. The move to Northern Michigan moves Schlaine from Hockey East to the CCHA and perhaps a greater opportunity to make an impact with two of Northern Michigan’s top scorers from 2021-22 having graduated out of the program.
Boston University
Case McCarthy – Senior
McCarthy will be part of a new leadership group for the BU Terriers this season. Earlier this year, he was named an assistant captain for the 2022-23 season, wearing a letter for the first time in his collegiate career. McCarthy has become one of the Terriers most reliable defensemen and is coming off a career year where he scored five goals and added nine assists. Last season, McCarthy began the year on the second defensive pairing, but quickly worked himself into the top pair, a spot he should continue in this coming season.
Boston College
Charles Leddy – Freshman
The recently drafted defenseman will join Boston College after two years at the US National Team Development Program. Last season with the U-18 team, Leddy had 17 assists in 55 games, and stands at 6-foot-2, to add some size to the BC blueline. Leddy was drafted in the fourth round, 126th overall in this past NHL draft.
Providence
Patrick Moynihan – Senior
Moynihan returns to Providence for his senior year, after playing in all 38 games last season. The 21-year-old played an important role last season for the Friars as a versatile forward. He was tied for second in power-play goals with six and ranked fourth on the roster in scoring with 25 points (11g-14a). Moynihan played last season as the top-line right winger and had a stretch of 21 points in 22 games.
University of Connecticut
Samu Salminen – Freshman
Originally scheduled to play at the University of Denver, Salminen made a change late this summer to move to the University of Connecticut. This will be Salminen’s first year playing in North America, after spending his entire playing career growing up in the Finnish ranks. Salminen is following in the footsteps of one of his older brothersmaking the jump from Finland to the NCAA, a path that has been on his mind since he visited his brother Sami at Northern Michigan University as a young kid.
University of Massachusetts
Cole Brady – Senior
The 6-foot-5 goaltender is transferring from Arizona State University to the University of Massachusetts after two seasons with the Sun Devils. Brady now finds himself on a team that has won the Hockey East Championship the past two seasons and was the NCAA champions in 2021.
With the Minutemen, Brady is expected to compete for the starting job, according to head coach Greg Carvel, who added that the addition of Brady brings the club more depth at the goaltending position. Brady has played in 25 games over the last two seasons at Arizona State with a 3.60 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage and one shutout. He enters a fold of goaltending with the most NCAA experience on the UMass roster, competing for the spot with Luke Pavicich who has four games of NCAA experience, and newcomer Colin Purcell. The transfer to UMass is sure to be one that greatly benefits the netminder.