beastandco

Eventually it will iron itself out. A year ago these kids were not even eligible and there are already a handful of projected 2026 first round picks headed to college hockey this year or next year from the CHL. I’m sure a few more top 2008s will commit in the coming months.

Pridham recently decommitted from BU and returned to the OHL. I saw today that Bryn follows him and he follows Bryn. I’m pretty sure that is recent, but I could be wrong. Doubtful on Pridham though.

Definitely a tour of some sort that occurred today. That’s definitely something you would put on the scoreboard during a visit. Most likely an August 1st recruit(s) taking a visit before next week. If Desnoyers were to take a visit, it would be one of these days before the showcase in Minneapolis on Friday.

I would be surprised if a lot of those guys do not come over to NCAA. What is going to be interesting is when they commit. Carson Carels, for example, is looking like he has a ton of NCAA interest. Does he wait until after the season to commit? I think enough players are playing in the CHL with NCAA commitments for it not matter as much.

I’m sure Bryn wants flexibility to get “his” guys for future years. I believe Cooper Williams is the only committed recruit that is Bryn’s work. It’ll be interesting to see how many guys do not make it to campus because the new staff wants to go in a different direction. We will need one or two more freshmen forwards for 26/27. We will probably also lose a player or two early, whether that is in the portal or pro. I think the portal window will be very active next spring. Having flexibility will be very important.

In my opinion, UND should absolutely wait out any top guy that could come to college for this last forward spot. Desnoyers is the main guy, but I would even wait out Roobroeck or someone else in the weeds. If they are unable to land someone of that caliber, I would suggest adding a player from the portal with expiring eligibility. It’s not flashy or fun, but it gives Bryn flexibility for future years. That gives Bryn a full year to scout and recruit another guy that he is absolutely sold on. It also gets them flexibility in the portal next spring as well. I think bringing in a mid tier CHL player or sophomore/junior from the portal would handcuff us in future years.

I wonder if the Martone news this morning was the domino that needed to fall for them to give Young the “green light.”

I agree. I’m not sure how many players out there would be able to take ice from Ben Strinden, Menghini, or others for top 6 minutes for next season. It is also hard to recruit a kid when he knows he won’t get those minutes. Those guys aren’t the best players, but they were good juniors players and have 2-3 years of college training and experience. I think bringing in a center and moving Littler to wing (full time) is a more realistic option.

Spunar and Sandy did not get bat signals. Spunar is a very solid recruit but was pretty much a done deal for months. I do not think it’s a good idea to have the fan base go crazy for Young or Sandy to commit. They just wanted to be under the radar, which is not a bad thing.

Menghini was before Bryn was hired and Rickwood got a bat signal. UND legend Isaac Gordon also got a bat signal

I don’t think Bryn would care to follow him this late in his recruiting cycle if there wasn’t anything to it. He also doesn’t follow very many people and most of the North American players he follows have been heavily linked to UND (or committed). I am content with waiting out Desnoyers., even if there is a small chance. At this point, I do not think it will be a long wait.

He is a guy with experience that could play minutes, if needed, and not be a total liability. I kind of thought they would make a move like this with one of the open spots. I do not think this changed anything with the other open spot. I think we will find out their plan for the other spot later this week.

I have only read really good things about him and his game. He is loosely linked to BC, I’m not sure if Carbonneau leaving or Hagens probably staying affects anything. Outside of BC, UND could have a legit shot. BU and the Big Ten schools are probably out on him. Bryn recently following him on instagram is a good sign.

JR Perdion, a freshman transfer from Long Island, follows UND hockey on instagram. He is the top forward on Schloss’ board. Something to watch.

Desnoyers’ junior team is doing the same thing to him by naming him captain.

Littler, Swanson, and Croal are three guys that were better junior players than most players we could bring in next season. An important part of Bryn’s job will be to keep those guys around for their whole college career. As fun as it is to get the guys that Bryn has recruited the last couple of months, it is just as important for him to keep these underclassman around.

Caleb Desnoyers is a real target. Bryn follows him and never followed Martone. If it’s not Desnoyers, it could literally be anyone. They are probably waiting him out and back filling the roster if they are not able to land him.

Per Scloss, UND was not close with him

He is HUGE. Winnipeg native, clearly he is interested in staying close to home. He could be a good 2nd pair defenseman in a year for us.

I believe BU opted out of revenue sharing.

From what I have read, Boston College has shown interest throughout the year. Desnoyers said last week that he “either wants to play in the NHL or where he has the best competition, and that includes the Q.” Since a lot of the top guys are going the NCAA route, there’s no doubt that the NCAA is better. BC has been after him but I haven’t seen anything about BC being the definite destination if he chooses to go the NCAA route. Losing out on Carbonneau might have changed BC’s chances as well. They still probably are the favorites but there is very little information about Desnoyers’ potential suitors.

Does anyone have any information on Desnoyers? I haven’t seen much about him playing college. He is somewhat connected to BC but that is a weird fit with Hagens, imo. BC recruiting him during the season but a lot can change since then. He stated a couple of weeks ago that he is open to the NCAA option if he isn’t able to make Utah, which is unlikely he will. Clearly Bryn views him as a reasonable target because he recently followed him on instagram. Desnoyers models his game after Toews and Bryn could use that as a pitch for him to come to UND. Like Martone, he will have a ton of NCAA interest. I could see it coming down to UND and Denver. He does not seem like a Big Ten guy.

I think they will wait out Desnoyers or Martone if they feel like they have a chance. That could be much later than next Friday. I got addicted to the rush of the weekly bat signals and have been going through withdrawals ever since. At worst, we have one more Friday without a bat signal.

Bryn follows Dravecky’s father as well. He definitely is a name to watch. He could sneak into the first round of the 2026 draft with a good year this year.