Former Junior goalie (maybe also player?) of the year Jake Sibell to St Thomas. I remember an article about him in USA hockey magazine and wondering why he was going to Niagra. Hopefully it works out for him.
EA Sports is figuring out NCAA football NIL, maybe they'll add NCAA to the NHL series. Can't imagine it would warrant a stand alone version like football and basketball.
On CHNs last podcast of the year McMahon mentioned that every portal entrant he spoke with said they want to go to a Big Ten team. Not sure what sort of selection bias was applied, but NCHC seems to be dethroned in the eyes of current players.
Howard is a pretty obvious answer. Wodon claims he was expecting Persson to transfer to UND since January, so maybe he heard about something around that time.
https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2023/05/02_Tensions-Over-Transfer-Portal.php
Addresses Michigan, but also names MSU and UND as other "aggressive" schools.
A former beer league teammate had a son who wanted to play in the BCHL after SSM but couldn't get one of the few roster spots allowed for Americans. Weatherby had to list his mom's address in the Puget Sound in order to qualify for his spot on Wenatchee, the one US-based team in the BCHL.
Keep in mind that St Thomas and now Augustana are the only private schools with hockey between the front range and South Bend. And CC/ND both have high admission standards. The ability to play close to home at a private school will appeal to lots of suburban skaters in the cities.
If Fenton signs a lengthy contract with penalties for leaving, by all means go forward with it. That means he's trying to make college hockey its niche. Just remember what happened when the Gophers thought they were bigger than the state of MN.
Potentially taking orders from and appeasing someone that doesn't take hockey seriously if Fenton leaves. They need to make it known they are all in on hockey as the conference's niche, a la PAC-xx schools investing in Olympic sports.
Exit fees can be fluid. ASU could sign up for a diminishing fee, amortized and everything. St Cloud can have a static zero, Denver's should be higher, etc.