BU announces 2016-17 recruiting class of Fabbro, Keller, others

It’s official: The Boston University men’s hockey team boasts a nine-member recruiting class for the 2016-17 season.

The Terriers took to Twitter Friday afternoon to announce each player individually, with several confirmations and one surprise arising. In sum, head coach David Quinn will soon be marshaling an additional six forwards, two defenseman and a goaltender.

Without further ado, below is the complete list, with jersey numbers also included.

Goaltender

Jake Oettinger (#29): This U.S. National Team Development Program netminder seems a likely challenger for the starting role from day one onwards. He put up a .908 save percentage and 2.38 goals against average last season, and boasts a 6-foot-4 frame.

Defenseman

Dante Fabbro (#17): The reigning BCHL Defenseman of the Year, Fabbro arrives on BU’s campus on the tail end of a 67-point season. He has also long represented Canada at the youth national team level, and is almost a guaranteed pick in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft.

Chad Krys (#5): The NTDP roots keep on coming with Krys, who scored three goals and handed out 26 assists across the 2015-16 season. Krys also was a member of the bronze-medal winning USA team at this year’s World Junior Championships. The 18-year-old’s father, Mark, captained BU.

Forwards

Kieffer Bellows (#9): A product of the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede and the NTDP, this Minnesota native boasts quite the shot. The 18-year-old is the fourth player in NTDP history to score 50 goals in a season, and should be drafted in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft.

Gabriel Chabot (#10): Chabot’s inclusion raised some eyebrows, but he’s coming off an impressive campaign for the Rochester Jr. Americans of the USPHL in which he scored 50 points in 44 games. Interestingly, this Canadian will turn 21 in the middle of December.

Patrick Curry (#11): This 20-year-old has 147 games of USHL experience to his name, as he featured prominently for the Tri-City Storm and Bloomington Thunder. He tallied 30 goals and 36 assists across three seasons for those two squads.

Patrick Harper (#21): There was some speculation that Harper would test a junior league, but he’s Commonwealth Ave. bound. A product of Connecticut’s prestigious Avon Old Farms School, the 17-year-old tallied 106 points in 49 prep school games.

Clayton Keller (#19): Keller scored 37 goals and 70 assists in 62 games for the NTDP in 2015-16, altogether surpassing Phil Kessel as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Likely a center, the 17-year-old is often compared to speedy forwards like Patrick Kane and Zach Parise.

Johnny McDermott (#28): Much like Harper, McDermott is coming out of the New England prep school circuit. He tallied 80 points across three seasons for the Westminster School.

Quinn: “This is a class of quality & quantity. Every guy in this group brings something to our team that will help us compete for titles."

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) June 24, 2016

Quinn: "Overall, it’s a strong mix of talent that continues a long line of great classes here at BU. "They are outstanding young men who…

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) June 24, 2016

Quinn: "… will play important roles as we strive for our ultimate goal of winning another national championship."

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) June 24, 2016