UMass Minutemen junior defenseman Matthew Kessel(51) decides to leave a year on the table and signs his 2-year entry level deal with St. Louis Blues.
The 6’3″ 203 lbs. blue liner was a 5th round pick in 2022 (#150 overall).
He reports to affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds and in 12 AHL games, has a pair of assists and is a +5 rating, heading into the playoffs.
The 2019 USHL Clark Cup Champion with Sioux Falls Stampede had a junior career high 17 assists that season.
He is definitely the height of on-ice accountability with an NCAA Division 1 hockey +37 rating.
The 21-year old may just play himself onto the big league squad before too long.
With some injuries to the blue line, the Scottsdale, AZ native scores a 1st NHL game for himself, in which he skates 15:17 ice time with 1 shot on net, 1 block shot and left the 4-3 shootout loss with a -1.
Still, nice start.
He signs a 2-year 1-way extension through 2025/2026 to continue in a Blues‘ jersey.
In his 35 game season (37th overall), he scores a 1st NHL goal for himself.
For 2026/2027, he signs a 1-year deal with New York Islanders.
Buffalo Sabres‘ 6th year center Sean Malone(17) continues with Rochester Americans under a new 1-year deal from the team he’s skated 5 seasons for.
The former Harvard University Crimson senior scorer is coming off a career year, getting a new best 20 goals and 37 points.
He only has 2 NHL games to his credit, with an assist in his 2nd appearance with 1-year contract club, Nashville Predators.
A Buffalo, NY native, the 27-year old is definitely keeping his hockey close to home.
Following 6 years and 284 AHL games, the 28 year is heading off to Switzerland to skate in the NL with SCL Tigers in 2023/2024.
He has two good Swiss seasons and takes it to a new deal with Orebro HK of SHL for 2025/2026.
At the end of the session, he would get loaned back to the SCL Tigers of NL, but for 2026/2027 elects to sign with Augsburger Panther.
University Of Vermont Catamounts‘ senior goaltender Gabriel Carriere(35) takes a college career high 34 games to with a 2.77 GAA and .908 SV% to an ato with San Jose Barracuda.
The 6’2″ 185 lbs. backstop did 3 seasons of junior hockey, eventually making it to Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL.
From Ottawa, ON, the 23-year old will hopefully impress to score an AHL deal for 2024/2025 and he does.
He actually signs for 2025/2026 with San Jose Sharks and spends the lion share of time with the affiliate.
For 2026/2027, he signs a 1-year deal with Hartford Wolf Pack.
Boston Bruins‘ 6th round pick in the 2020 draft (#182 overall), Providence College Friars‘ junior center Riley Duran(11) may just have the hardest shot in all of NCAA Ice Hockey.
He is once again a standout at 2023 Development Camp.
The 6’2″ 181 lbs. Woburn, MA native takes a junior season at college to a 2-year NHL entry level deal with the team that selected him, like everyone knew was going to happen.
He will report to their affiliate Providence Bruins and get to play as a pro in front of friends.
After scoring a new high 12 goals with the affiliate, he scores his 1st NHL recall and skates 20 shifts for 13:36 of ice time with 2 shots on net, 4 hits and went 100% on the face-off dot with a -1 rating in a 5-2 loss.
He skates 72 games for the affiliate last season, putting up new best 14 assists and 19 points with a +19 rating to earn another 1-year with the big club, Bruins for 2026/2027.
University Of Michigan Wolverines‘ junior center Johnny Beecher(19) decides to forego his senior year and signs an ato with Providence Bruins to play out the remainder of 2021/2022 with the AHL team.
This is done under the guidance of 1st round 2019 draft club (#30 overall) Boston Bruins, who will eventually sign him to a 2 or 3-year entry level deal.
The 6’3″ 209 lbs. forward didn’t make an impact in college hockey as he did in a pair of 40+ point seasons for the USNTDP.
At just 21-years old, the parent club coaching staff believes the Elmira, NY native is ready to bring some game.
Recently re-slotted from the affiliate back up to the show, where he’s skated 52 games with 7 goals and 3 assists in his sophomore season, he plays a 1st playoff game and just like that he gets his 1st NHL goal, the opening tally of a game 1 4-1 win.
In 2024/2025, he plays a full slate of games in the big league at 78, scoring a new best 3 goals and 8 assists with a -9 rating, he will look to bring up with a better squad, but still enough confidence is there to extend him for 1-year, back in a Bruins‘ jersey.
With 1 goal in 6 games in 2025/2026, maybe the team was expecting more in his 4th year with the team and he was waived to be claimed by Calgary Flames, who look to use him immediately to center their 4th line.
In 29 games, he scores 2 goals and 4 assists.
For 2026/2027, he is an unrestricted free agent and signs a 1-year 2-way deal with Florida Panthers.
Despite his 3-3 record, Northeastern University Huskies‘ sophomore goalie Devon Levi(27) gives his team a chance to win each game with 2.01 GAA and .934 SV%.
Brought on board to his school as he was posting a monster junior season with Carleton Place Canadiens, earning a 1.47 GAA and .941 SV% on a 34-2-1 record in 37 CCHL games and basically earning every awarded allotted him.
The 6′ 189 lbs. net minder was spotted by Florida Panthers, who selected him in the 7th round of 2020 (#212 overall), but shipped him to Buffalo Sabres in a recent trade.
At this point, it’s just up to the 19-year old to keep stopping pucks until it feels right to sign an entry level deal, which looks to loom in his future.
After 2 seasons of effectively stopping pucks at college hockey (with 1 COVID season scratched), he decides it’s time to sign a 3-year NHL entry level deal and start doing what he does in the pros now.
With back-to-back excellent frames with the affiliate Rochester Americans and plenty of work as a rookie in the show, he is ready to return on a 2-year deal worth $812.5K AAV to stay a Sabres and continue growth.
2 years of good AHL numbers and Edmonton Oilers have him on radar to trade for in 2026/2027.
Brown University Bears‘ senior goaltender Tyler Shea(35) has played a college best 15 games in the current frame and despite maybe not the best record, he holds a 2.97 GAA and .919 SV% to keep it close.
He transferred as a sophomore from zero starts at University Of Michigan Wolverines.
The 6′ 180 lbs. net minder from Stevenson Ranch, CA was very strong in Anaheim Jr. Ducks‘ youth hockey.
At 24-years old, he is looking good.
He may have not posted the best record, but he worked harder than no other net minder in college hockey last season.
For 2026/2027, he decides on a graduate frame and once again enters the transfer portal to next go tend net for University Of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks.
12th year left wing Conor Sheary(43) signed a 1-year NHL deal with New York Rangers for 2025/2026 and has 1 goal and 8 assists in 37 games with a -4 rating.
The small 5’8″ 183 lbs. forward scored 23 goals and 30 assists in his 1st season under to Pittsburgh Penguins, his best offensive output.
He has 5 seasons with 10+ goals and 4 with 20+ assists.
The former UMASS Minutemen senior captain was a big scorer in college too.
From Winchester, MA, the 33-year old has to be happy with his continued progress, despite playing most of last season in the AHL as a more than point-per-game player.
He appears in 62 games last season, good for 7 goals and 11 assists with a +1 rating and Buffalo Sabres come back around to offer him a 1-year deal to return to a team he’s played 133 games for.
Undrafted, Russian-born center Artem Shlaine(38) takes a pair of good seasons at University Of Connecticut Huskies to a new adventure through the transfer portal for his junior season with Northern Michigan University Wildcats.
The 6’1″ 174 lbs. forward scored a college career high 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 36 NCAA Division 1 games, sending his team all the way to the Hockey East Finals before being eliminated in overtime.
Despite being from fairly far away, the New Jersey Devils’ 5th round pick in the 2020 draft (#130 overall) has already spent a good amount of time here through youth hockey and a couple of extraordinary years at Shattuck St. Marys USHS-Prep.
The 20-year old will likely do well in his new hockey home.
After putting up 10+ goals and assists (21 as a junior) in each of his 2 seasons in the midwest, he leaves for a graduate program start at Arizona State University Sun Devils.
He finishes with a new college high 17 goals, ties his 21 assist high and 38 points, but doesn’t sign with draft team, then does ink with Texas Stars.
In 6 AHL games, he records an assist and is a +1 rating.
For his rookie season, he signs a 1-year contract to return.
As a 1st year skate he scores 19 goals and 19 assists in 63 games to net a new deal for 2026/2027 to stay a Stars.
Bentley University Falcons‘ senior Ethan Leyh(18) scored a new college best (by a long shot) 13 goals and 16 assists in 35 games last season with a +11 rating.
The 6′ 195 lbs. forward played 3 full slates at Quinnipiac University Bobcats‘ scoring exactly 10 points in each of the sessions.
From Anmore, BC, he did 2 years of BCHL with Langley Rivermen before heading to school.
Having not played in the 2022/2023 campaign, it will be interesting to see what the 22-year old decides next.
As graduate captain a 2nd season, he scores a new college best 17 goals and 25 assists in 37 games to sign a 1st pro deal with the new Greensboro Gargoyles for his rookie frame, 2025/2026.
He got loaned up to Chicago Wolves for 2 games and for 2026/2027, he gets signed to an AHL deal with them.
