Tolvanen Taken In CHL Import Draft

 BC recruit and top 2017 NHL Draft prospect Eeli Tolvanen was taken by the Oshawa Generals with the 17th pick in the CHL Import Draft this afternoon. Needless to say, this will kick off a heated recruiting battle between BC and the club that also drafted incoming freshman Joseph Woll. 

 Corey Pronman, a scout who typically covers NHL Drafts for ESPN.com, wrote two days ago that he believes Tolvanen has an outside chance of being the #1 pick next season, depending on how he performs this year. Currently, Pronman has Tolvanen ranked #2. If Tolvanen decides to go back to the USHL for another season, then that is a good sign for BC, given that USHL products typically tend to opt for the college route- with some exceptions here and there (Ivan Provorov). 

Tolvanen is the type of player that can make major impacts on this program in many different ways. If he does stay committed to BC, he could be one of the most talented players to grace college hockey in the past ten years. 

Three Eagles Selected at NHL Draft

Two incoming freshmen and one rising sophomore were selected at the NHL Draft in Buffalo, New York this weekend. The first Eagle off the board was highly touted recruit Joseph Woll, who went to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round. With Toronto being down the road from Oshawa, concerns were raised about whether or not Woll will show up because we all know what happened to the last Eagle to be drafted by Toronto. Lou Lamoriello and the Maple Leafs staff are devoted proponents of the NCAA route and after talking with some people at BC, it seems as if everyone is extremely confident that the St. Louis native will show up in September.

24 picks later, sophomore Casey Fitzgerald was selected by the Buffalo Sabres, capping off an incredible 2016 season where he was certainly one of the best rookie defensemen in the country. Of course, playing alongside someone like Ian McCoshen didn't hurt Casey's prospects but I thought he was perhaps BC's most consistent freshman last season. The staff will undoubtedly be expecting him to lead what will be a young Eagle blue line this winter.

Lastly, Graham McPhee was selected in the fifth round by the Edmonton Oilers. The son of former Washington GM George McPhee had an up and down season with the NTDP, but from those that have seen him play, there is a lot of potential that has yet to be unleashed. I'm hoping McPhee's situation works out a bit like Fitzgerald's because in both cases, there were a handful of players from their fellow NTDP squads that got more accolades and I feel like these guys have flown under the radar. I don't expect McPhee to come in here and be one of the top forwards right off the bat, however, if he can produce somewhere around 25 points, it would be a step in the right direction.

All in all, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I thought there was an outside chance Luke McInnis would get drafted but unfortunately for him, that did not happen. Assuming nothing crazy takes place between now and October (a bold assumption), the Eagles will have 10 NHL draft picks on their roster next season.

Catching Up

A few quick notes as we approach NHL Draft weekend.

I expect that Joe Woll and Graham McPhee will hear their names called in either the third or fourth rounds while guys like Luke McInnis, Mike Campoli, Jesper Mattila, and Zach Walker are all possibilities for the fifth and sixth rounds.

Woll and Casey Fitzgerald were named to the US National Junior Evaluation Camp roster this afternoon, but, in an odd move, the school only mentioned Fitzgerald in their press release. Woll has signed his letter of intent so they can comment on him without issue. Perhaps I am reading too far into it but there have been rumors that Woll could possibly sign with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. Colin White will miss camp due to an injury but don't worry, it's nothing serious and I would be stunned beyond belief if he was not on the squad for a second straight season.

That is all I got. Go Eagles.

Ian McCoshen Signs With Florida

In the least surprising move of the summer, various reports have stated that defenseman Ian McCoshen has signed with the Florida Panthers, the team that drafted him three seasons ago. Although Florida has yet to send out an official press release, it is all but certain that the Eagles will lose their top blue liner from a season ago.

I've said all along that I think McCoshen is the most pro ready player not only from last year's club, but perhaps in all of college hockey. Time and time again, the staff had him out there against some of the most talented players in the country and he seemingly always pulled through with clutch performances. I wish him nothing but the best of luck in the Sunshine State.

 BC had known about this for a long time as McCoshen informed them a while back that he wouldn't be returning, it just took some time for him and the Panthers to reach a deal. As of right now, the staff is set to bring in freshmen Connor Moore, Mike Campoli, Luke McInnis, and Jesper Mattila to help alleviate the losses of McCoshen and Steve Santini.

Congrats to Ian and Go Eagles.

Staff Lands Top Uncommitted Prospect

Finnish forward and top 2017 draft prospect Eeli Tolvanen committed to Boston College this afternoon, giving the Eagles their eight member of the 2017 class, all of which are forwards. Tolvanen is a prototypical BC dynamo at 5'10, 178 pounds and scouts I have talked to compared his style of play to former Eagles Cam Atkinson and Nathan Gerbe- small in stature but not when it comes to compete and skill levels.

Tolvanen was one of the youngest players in the USHL this year but he was second on the Sioux City Musketeers in scoring with 17 goals and 21 assists. In addition to being named to the USHL All-Rookie team, he led the U18 World Championships in scoring with 7 goals in 7 games, along with a pair of helpers. The U17 Championships were even more of a success for Tolvanen as he once again led the tournament in scoring with 9 goals in 5 games. A native of Vihti, Finland, Tolvanen played his junior hockey for the Espoo Blues, where he notched 84 points in 41 games two seasons ago. One can't help but think that BC's established Finnish pipeline with the Mattila brothers played a major role in this commitment.

The numbers speak for themselves- this is a massive get for an Eagle coaching staff that has turned up the heat on the recruiting trail as of late. After the departure of Alex Tuch, I wrote a piece about how BC needed to find a fine line between recruiting high end guys that may leave after a year or two and those who will develop into scoring threats by their junior and senior seasons. I believe the class they have coming in the fall of 2017 gives them that ideal mix. Tolvanen, Joe Cassetti, Jacob Tortoa, and Logan Hutsko are all ranked in the top 20 of their class but perhaps more importantly, the staff was able to pick-up some long term assets such as Casey Carreau, Mitch Martan, and Chris Grando. Some have questioned the lack of "star power" in the group that is set to enroll this fall but the good news is that I can't see a scenario where any of the fourteen members leaves early to sign an NHL or CHL deal, unless there is an issue with playing time down the road. That will allow the coaches to create some roster sustainability instead of having to retool year in and year out. It's a bit like Kentucky basketball- can you really have success on a yearly basis with a new set of players every winter? I don't think so. This season, they will have a nucleus of five or six guys that will be expected to carry the bulk of the scoring but if newcomers like David Cotton, Graham McPhee, Connor Moore, and Mike Campoli can get better as the year goes on, it not only bodes well for March and April, but for future seasons as well.

The staff also picked up a commitment from Philadelphia Flyers forward Ron Greco, who notched 57 points in 44 games for the USPHL club. A 1995 birthdate, Greco is likely one of those skaters that will compete for a fourth line role throughout next season, with the hope that he will develop into a third liner sometime in the future. You don't typically see players from the USPHL make immediate impacts on college hockey scoring sheets but as we saw with Mike Kim and Josh Couturier, players from that league are more than capable of competing at this level.

On another note, congrats to former Eagle Brian Dumoulin on winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Outside of Kris Letang and Brent Burns, I thought Dumoulin was the best defenseman on the ice- good things happen to those who stick around and work hard. The Biddeford, Maine native is the 17th Eagle to have his named etched onto the Stanley Cup. For comparisons sake, BU has 7.

Solid 24 hours in BC Hockey world, now we need a victory for Phil at Oakmont!

Go Eagles. Go Phil.

Coach Brown Named Assistant Coach For US World Jr Team

Associate head coach Greg Brown has been named an assistant coach for the US World Jr team, as announced by USA Hockey this afternoon. St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko will lead the team, which is rounded out by assistants Grant Potulny (Minnesota), Kris Mayotte (PC), and Steve Miller (Air Force). This will be Coach Brown's second time serving as an assistant for Team USA (2014).

The World Jr Championships will take place in Montreal and Toronto from December 26th to January 5th.

Congrats to Coach Brown on this terrific accomplishment.

Go Eagles.

Michael Merulla Commits to BC

BC added yet another forward to next year's incoming class as Michael Merulla, a 6'0 and 1996 birthdate out of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and the Aston Rebels (NAHL) joined the fray this afternoon. Merulla led a team that made it to the Robertson Cup semifinals in scoring with 24 goals and 31 assists. Over the Boards had Merulla ranked as the 47th best uncommitted prospect two years ago.

From what I can tell, this seems to be a solid pick up late in the game for the staff. With the departures of Ian McCoshen (coming soon), Miles Wood, Alex Tuch, Steve Santini, Adam Gilmour, and Thatcher Demko, they had some left over scholarship money to spend in order to field a deep roster. Admittedly, there is no telling how any of the freshmen will adjust to college hockey because it's such a hit or miss proposition, but hopefully they will gel by trophy season. The good news is that while BC loses four top nine forward in Tuch, Wood, Gilmour, and Teddy Doherty, they also bring back some perennial goal scorers in Colin White, Zach Sanford, Austin Cangelosi, and Ryan Fitzgerald, who will certainly help ease the transition for the younger players.

If I had to guess, Merulla will be competing for a bottom six role in September with the likes of Julius Mattila, Michael Booth, and perhaps Zach Walker. If those guys can find a way to get acclimated sooner rather than later, I think the Eagles will have one of the deeper forward groups in Hockey East, despite the early departures. That being said, things tend to change between June 7th and October 1st, so we will see what happens.

Go Eagles