By Annie Maroon/DFP Staff
It is certainly early to make predictions about next season, but as players graduate and depart for the professional ranks, it is not too early to speculate about how the balance of power in Hockey East might shift come fall. Boston University men’s hockey head coach Jack Parker said he doesn’t foresee any dramatic changes, but that the parity in college hockey across the board makes conjecture tough.
“It’s difficult to think that the usual suspects aren’t going to be around,” Parker said. “[Boston College] is going to be good, BU’s going to be good, [University of New Hampshire] is going to be good. Maine is probably the only one of the usual suspects that might be losing the most, but they still have plenty coming back and they still have very good freshmen classes.”
BC, the defending Hockey East and NCAA champion, will lose key players, including forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Brian Dumoulin, to the NHL teams that own their rights, the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.
Parker said he doesn’t see the Eagles’ losses damaging their chances next year, though, especially in light of the breakout year freshman Johnny Gaudreau had.
“BC was going to lose a lot of players,” Parker said. “BC lost a lot of players last year, but the [Barry] Almeidas and [Paul] Careys stepped up, they got Johnny Gaudreau by accident, and all of a sudden it’s a different world.”
Read more at dailyfreepress.com.
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