Our staff laid out their hopes and fears for the upcoming season
We’re days away from the start of the BC men’s hockey season – here are our hockey writers’ thoughts and predictions. Let us know how you’re feeling about the season in the comments!
What is your overall prediction for this season?
Laura: I mean, I don’t want to jinx things, but I don’t see any reason why this team shouldn’t go far. They have outstanding goaltending in Jacob Fowler, strong defense with a mix of young players and returning leaders like Eamon Powell, and despite losing Will Smith and Cutter Gauthier still have huge offensive potential with Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perrault, and James Hagens.
Curtis: BC will once again be a dominant force in Hockey East and nationally. They’ll be competing for all of the important trophies, winning a lot of games, and dropping some really impressive stats. Even with the loss of Cutter Gauthier and Will Smith, these Eagles will be the cream of the crop.
Steven: On paper, this team looks like they should be every bit as much of a contender as they were last season. I don’t know if they’ll be the consensus #1 team for essentially the entire second half of the season like they were last year, but I’m expecting a whole bunch of wins, a finish at the top of the Hockey East standings, and another run in the NCAA Tournament.
Curran: Natty #6.
Maithri: I feel as though the team will be as successful as they were last season, if not more so — I don’t really have any reason to doubt that. I’m expecting lots of wins, exciting games, and contending for all the trophies.
What is the baseline that would make you count this season as a success?
Laura: This team needs to win at least a couple trophies and make it to the Frozen Four for a truly successful season. With this level of talent there is no reason that shouldn’t be doable.
Curtis: They’ve got to win at least a Beanpot and/or a Hockey East title. Plus at least a couple of wins in the NCAA tournament. This team truly feels like it’s championship or bust, though, and that should be the expectation.
Steven: With all of the talent on this roster, I feel like there need to be some trophies coming home for this season to be considered a success. Go end the Beanpot drought, win Hockey East again, and make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament and let’s see what happens from there.
Curran: With the level of talent coming back plus the strong incoming group, I want to see the Eagles win either the Hockey East Tournament or the Beanpot and make a deep playoff run.
Maithri: I think they’d probably have to win one of the Beanpot / Hockey East Tournament trophies and make a run to the Frozen Four for this season to be a success.
How are you feeling about Coach Brown now that he has 2 seasons as head coach under his belt?
Laura: I always wanted Coach Brown as Coach York’s successor, and I was correct. He’s recruiting good players and the guys on the team show visible improvement. I think he and his staff are doing a phenomenal job.
Curtis: In Greg We Trust. Simple as that.
Steven: It’s hard to be anything but positive about what we’ve seen so far. Year one was rough but I don’t really pin that on him, year two was just about perfect until that last game, year three is looking like it should be another really fun one, and the recruiting continues to be fantastic. Brown had some massive shoes to fill when he took over, but I think he’s done just about as well as we could have reasonably hoped for.
Curran: I think Coach Brown has done an excellent job. It must be said that Coach York’s hand in last year’s roster recruiting was major, but I still give Brown a ton of credit for maximizing his roster and implementing a concrete system while maintaining BC’s success on the recruiting trail.
Maithri: There was never a doubt in my mind that Coach Brown was the right guy for the job. He’s done a phenomenal job with the team, and has been incredible on the recruiting trail so far.
Who is your predicted MVP?
Laura: Ryan Leonard. He has something to prove and he wants those trophies, and he plays his best when he has a little bit extra to motivate him (see: his hometown performance against UMass last season).
Curtis: Ryan Leonard is the obvious answer and I think it’s the correct one. His scoring prowess is going to be on full display this season. But Gabe Perreault, Jacob Fowler, and Eamon Powell will all be playing huge roles, too.
Steven: Gabe Perreault. Perreault was right in the running for leading the nation in points before he got hurt and had to miss some time at the end of the season. As it was, he finished tied for fourth overall and third in points per game. He’s going to put up huge numbers as a sophomore as long as he stays healthy.
Curran: I think Gabe Perreault is going to take his game to a different level this year. His hockey IQ, vision on the ice, and ability to link transition play was already off the charts. After a full offseason to develop physically and work on his skating, he should be ready to put up some insane numbers leading this team.
Maithri: I’m going to say Ryan Leonard, because I think he has something to prove this year. That being said, I believe that Gabe Perreault and Jacob Fowler are going to be extremely important as well.
Who do you think will be the most improved returning player?
Laura: I think Drew Fortescue is going to make a huge jump this season. He was already a strong defenseman last year, and it seems like he meshed really well with the staff’s coaching style.
Curtis: Is it possible that Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault will be even better in year 2? I expect both of those guys to go supernova.
Steven: Lukas Gustafsson. I think Gustafsson has had two really nice seasons to start his BC career and I think he’s got the potential to make a big leap in his junior year.
Curran: I’m really interested to see Drew Fortescue’s step in Year 2. He’s a free-flowing skater who moves the puck well and looks to get in on the rush. With Eamon Powell and Lukas Gustafsson back, will it be at all possible for Fortescue to get some power-play time?
Maithri: I’ll say Drew Fortescue. He was playing top pairing minutes last year, and rarely looked out of place. I’m really interested and excited to see how he continues to develop next year!
What are your expectations for this year’s freshman class?
Laura: High! Obviously with James Hagens being the predicted #1 draft pick next summer I am super excited to watch him play, but the majority of the freshman class is made up of players that could make an early impact. I think Teddy Stiga in particular is going to be a player that BC fans will really enjoy watching.
Curtis: It’s hard to fill the shoes of the freshmen that we got last season, but these guys are pretty dang close. James Hagens will be a top-level Hockey East talent, while Letourneau, Skahan, Stiga, and Michael Hagens should all be pretty valuable contributors.
Steven: If the only member of this year’s class was James Hagens, my expectations would be very high. Add in another first rounder in Dean Letourneau to go with Teddy Stiga, Will Skahan and the rest? This should be another outstanding class for the Eagles. Will they produce as much as last year’s freshman class? I doubt it. But that’s an almost impossibly high bar to clear.
Curran: Very, very high. A number of the incoming freshman will have major roles in the top six, and pretty much all of them will see at least some meaningful ice time. Obviously James Hagens, Dean Letourneau, and Teddy Stiga stand out but I’m particularly interested to see blueliner Will Skahan, who’s been billed as a potential shut-down d-man. Jake Sondreal and Michael Hagens will have roles to play too.
Maithri: I expect that they’ll make an almost-immediate impact — a lot of them will see meaningful minutes right off the bat, and I’m really excited to watch them start their college careers! Obviously James Hagens is the biggest name in the class, but I think Dean Letourneau, Teddy Stiga, and Will Skahan will have big roles to play.
Where do you hope to see the biggest improvement for the team this year?
Laura: Faceoffs I guess? That is the only thing that stands out to me from last year where sometimes I was critical.
Curtis: The defense was already great last season, way better than I was expecting, and I expect it to get even better in 2024-25. BC is returning all of their key players on that side of the ice, including the huge return of captain Eamon Powell. And we’ll see the continued development of players like Aram Minnetian, Lukas Gustafsson, Drew Fortescue, and others.
Steven: Just a little bit more scoring from the bottom two lines. I think they’ve got the personnel where they can make it happen, but that’s really the one thing that kind of seemed like it was missing from last year’s team.
Curran: I want to see the team work on two relatively minor, specific things. First, at times last year teams would stack the neutral zone and prevent BC from breaking into the O-zone with any kind of speed. I want to see BC work on improving the chip game and the forecheck to round out their offensive game. Secondly, at times last year BC would get flustered in their own D-zone and turn the puck over at their own blue line. It wasn’t a constant issue, especially with so many underclassmen in the defensive corps, but with another year of experience I hope they are able to clean that up.
Maithri: Maybe faceoffs? It’s hard to look back at last year’s team and find anything that was a glaring issue, but there were a couple of games where losing faceoffs was maybe something they could’ve cleaned up.
What is your biggest concern heading into this season?
Laura: I mean, obviously replacing Will Smith and Cutter Gauthier’s offense is a big question mark. I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly worried about it because I think BC has a lot of players who can and will step up, but it is something that I’m sure is on all of our minds.
Curtis: The Super Bowl hangover is a known effect in the NFL, and I’d have to guess it applies to college hockey as well. The losers of the Super Bowl rarely make it back the next season. I’m hoping that’s not the case for this BC team.
Steven: How effectively are they able to replace the production that came from Will Smith and Cutter Gauthier last year. There’s some real talent being added into the room with this year’s freshman class, but Smith and Gauthier were two of the best players in the country last year. It’s going to be interesting to see who steps up now that they’re gone
Curran: That second-line center spot. I see James Hagens slotting into center between Perreault and Leonard, but who centers that second line is a major question. Could Gasseau slide over? Is Letourneau ready to step in from day 1?
Maithri: Losing 3/4 centers from last year in Cutter Gauthier, Will Smith, and Jack Malone. Hagens should slide into that 1C role between Leonard and Perreault, but I’m curious to see how the rest of the lineup shakes out. And of course, replacing the offense that Gauthier & Smith brought to the team – though I believe there are enough players that will step up and contribute offensively.
What do you think will be BC’s biggest strength this season?
Laura: Jacob Fowler. He was outstanding last season, and I think that the sting of how last season ended is going to motivate him to be an even more lights out goalie this year
Curtis: Top-end scoring. And goaltending. Honestly there’s nothing that this team can’t do well.
Steven: Just like last year, this year’s team is one that should be able to put up a whole bunch of goals on a consistent basis. There’s so much offensive talent on this roster and I’m excited to see what they can do when we get started
Curran: Scoring depth. The list of names is long: Hagens, Perreault, Leonard, Gasseau, Jellvik, Stiga, Letourneau — we should have no problem scoring goals this year.
Maithri: Goaltending, defense, and offense. I’m so excited!
Please link to a song that describes how you feel heading into Greg Brown Season: The Revenge Tour:
Laura: Confident by Demi Lovato. It’s self-explanatory.
Curtis: Not Dead Yet by Lord Huron. My championship hopes are Not Dead Yet.
Steven: It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll) by AC/DC
Curran: Run This Town by Jay-Z
Maithri: Unstoppable by The Score. I feel like this was my preseason song last year, so I’ll keep the good vibes going: