Prospective Recruits

[cberkas]

RPI with a group of CHLers:

James Guo, Grayson Burzynski, Josh Evaschesen, and Harrison Lodewyk

[beastandco]

Lots of recruiting talk on Schloss’ pod today.

He said he envisions UND will have to add a defenseman this offseason. He specifically mentioned Carels, DuPont, Lin, and Rudolph. He mentioned that he has not heard that any of them are close to committing or far along in their college recruitment. 
 

On forward, he mentioned that they will likely try add a player for next year that will have the ability to play up in the lineup through the CHL or portal. He mentioned Simpson and Brock Schultz as definitely coming next year, Ashton Schultz as probably coming next year, and Sanderson and Williams as maybe coming next year. 

[tnt]

1 hour ago, beastandco said:

Lots of recruiting talk on Schloss’ pod today.

He said he envisions UND will have to add a defenseman this offseason. He specifically mentioned Carels, DuPont, Lin, and Rudolph. He mentioned that he has not heard that any of them are close to committing or far along in their college recruitment. 
 

On forward, he mentioned that they will likely try add a player for next year that will have the ability to play up in the lineup through the CHL or portal. He mentioned Simpson and Brock Schultz as definitely coming next year, Ashton Schultz as probably coming next year, and Sanderson and Williams as maybe coming next year. 

Did he mention ONeil?  He has been scoring goals with Edmonton and sounds like he has a high compete level, although I suspect he will be a role player here starting out, and we have a lot of penalty killers and guys like that right now with Josephson, Croal, Zakreski, Littler and Reschny if he stays.  We do lose Dylan James though.

[beastandco]

2 minutes ago, tnt said:

Did he mention ONeil?  He has been scoring goals with Edmonton and sounds like he has a high compete level, although I suspect he will be a role player here starting out, and we have a lot of penalty killers and guys like that right now with Josephson, Croal, Zakreski, Littler and Reschny if he stays.  We do lose Dylan James though.

Yes, he went through all of current recruits. He said that O’Neil will probably play another year of juniors. I believe when talking about O’Neil is when he stated they will probably opt for a player that has the ability to play higher in the lineup to fill the last spot or two. Every recruit except for Brock Schultz can go back to juniors for at least a year. In O’Neil’s case, he can play two if needed.

Paraphrasing here but it is also worth noting that Dane Jackson said on the ECH podcast today that there will be a lot difficult decisions on who to take and when to take them for recruiting in the future because of the expanded player pool.

[tnt]

19 minutes ago, beastandco said:

Yes, he went through all of current recruits. He said that O’Neil will probably play another year of juniors. I believe when talking about O’Neil is when he stated they will probably opt for a player that has the ability to play higher in the lineup to fill the last spot or two. Every recruit except for Brock Schultz can go back to juniors for at least a year. In O’Neil’s case, he can play two if needed.

Paraphrasing here but it is also worth noting that Dane Jackson said on the ECH podcast today that there will be a lot difficult decisions on who to take and when to take them for recruiting in the future because of the expanded player pool.

It’s always great if you can get some second tier guys to play an extra year of juniors.  When you aren’t super elite, trying to fast track your career can sometimes actually set you back.  Think of Brent Johnson, although that was more on Berry, because it is ultimately up to the coach.

[nascar99]

38 minutes ago, beastandco said:

Yes, he went through all of current recruits. He said that O’Neil will probably play another year of junior. I believe when talking about O’Neil is when he stated they will probably opt for a player that has the ability to play higher in the lineup to fill the last spot or two. Every recruit except for Brock Schultz can go back to juniors for at least a year. In O’Neil’s case, he can play two if needed.

Paraphrasing here but it is also worth noting that Dane Jackson said on the ECH podcast today that there will be a lot difficult decisions on who to take and when to take them for recruiting in the future because of the expanded player pool.

O'Neill needs another year of junior to grow his offense and polish everything about his game before getting to the NCAA.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

1 hour ago, beastandco said:

Yes, he went through all of current recruits. He said that O’Neil will probably play another year of juniors. I believe when talking about O’Neil is when he stated they will probably opt for a player that has the ability to play higher in the lineup to fill the last spot or two. Every recruit except for Brock Schultz can go back to juniors for at least a year. In O’Neil’s case, he can play two if needed.

Paraphrasing here but it is also worth noting that Dane Jackson said on the ECH podcast today that there will be a lot difficult decisions on who to take and when to take them for recruiting in the future because of the expanded player pool.

So Pilgrim is out?

[beastandco]

16 minutes ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

So Pilgrim is out?

Pilgrim does not age out of juniors after this year and will likely have stay for another year. It wouldn’t shock me if he went to another team if he gets pushed back. 

[nascar99]

9 hours ago, beastandco said:

Pilgrim does not age out of junior after this year and will likely have stay for another year. It wouldn’t shock me if he went to another team if he gets pushed back. 

Wouldn't be surprised to see him at Minnesota Duluth (Shaugabay connection) if he goes elsewhere. But cannot assume that until it happens or at least Schloss says something

[scpa0305]

17 hours ago, nascar99 said:

O'Neill needs another year of junior to grow his offense and polish everything about his game before getting to the NCAA.

100%. I doubt he will want to (as many US players want to get to college quickly) but that’s the world we live in. He may go elsewhere.

[tnt]

43 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

100%. I doubt he will want to (as many US players want to get to college quickly) but that’s the world we live in. He may go elsewhere.

Would hate to lose him because he obviously has some skill (2nd on Edmonton in goals), and his game really sounds like it matches our culture perfectly.  Hope the communication with him and the coaches is open and honest.

[.357]

1 hour ago, tnt said:

Would hate to lose him because he obviously has some skill (2nd on Edmonton in goals), and his game really sounds like it matches our culture perfectly.  Hope the communication with him and the coaches is open and honest.

UND is carrying 15 F this year. If they go with the same # next year & no one transfers out or leaves early, that would leave the following:

Bottom 9:

7 locks: Kernan, Croal, Littler, Klee, Zakreski, Menghini, B Schultz, (2 of the following: A Schultz, Andrew, Sanderson, Williams, O'Neill, Pilgrim)

Top 6:

Swanson, Josephson, Zellers, Reschny, Simpson, (high-end transfer transfer/CHL)

I put Williams in the bottom 9 because, according to @beastandco 's synopsis of Schlossman's podcast yesterday, it sounded like UND would be looking for a F from the portal or CHL who could play up in the line-up, & that wouldn't be Williams, because Williams was mentioned separately as maybe coming.

Granted, this is a very rough draft, & projected rosters like this today can mean nothing at this level come April. But there's quite a logjam for the bottom 9 as it currently stands.

[SiouxForever]

Unless Menghini picks it up in the 2nd half, maybe Menghini gets pushed out next year. 

I’m sure he’s a great kid and teammate but at the end of the day, the change of new team didn’t pan out. 

We pushed out Ashton Calder. 

[beastandco]

2 hours ago, .357 said:

UND is carrying 15 F this year. If they go with the same # next year & no one transfers out or leaves early, that would leave the following:

Bottom 9:

7 locks: Kernan, Croal, Littler, Klee, Zakreski, Menghini, B Schultz, (2 of the following: A Schultz, Andrew, Sanderson, Williams, O'Neill, Pilgrim)

Top 6:

Swanson, Josephson, Zellers, Reschny, Simpson, (high-end transfer transfer/CHL)

I put Williams in the bottom 9 because, according to @beastandco 's synopsis of Schlossman's podcast yesterday, it sounded like UND would be looking for a F from the portal or CHL who could play up in the line-up, & that wouldn't be Williams, because Williams was mentioned separately as maybe coming.

Granted, this is a very rough draft, & projected rosters like this today can mean nothing at this level come April. But there's quite a logjam for the bottom 9 as it currently stands.

I would be somewhat surprised if they didn’t bring in Williams next year. He will likely be a top 45 pick and has been more productive than any other forward recruit outside of Simpson.

Having 10 underclassmen this year may limit their flexibility this offseason if they all return. Reschny is probably the only guy that could potentially sign.

[brianvf]

That PK could be a defensive pair for UND next season.  

 

[scpa0305]

On 12/11/2025 at 2:38 PM, tnt said:

Would hate to lose him because he obviously has some skill (2nd on Edmonton in goals), and his game really sounds like it matches our culture perfectly.  Hope the communication with him and the coaches is open and honest.

He’ll be a bottom 6 guy at UND. IQ is so so, but he’s a physical freak. Super athletic. 

[brianvf]

This article could be put in the season, committed recruits, or prospective recruits thread.  Ha.
Nice mentions and quotes from Verhoeff, Carels, and MacKenzie.  Including Carels and Verhoeff both discussing each other's game.
Hopefully Verhoeff is telling Carels all about how awesome UND hockey is...they could be a D-pairing next season.
Carels said that he models his game after Sanderson. 

https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/article/draft-eligible-defencemen-carels-verhoeff-closing-in-on-spots-with-team-canada/

 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

https://archive.is/2025.12.16-150712/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6884984/2025/12/16/carson-carels-2026-nhl-draft-canada-world-juniors/

[petey23]

On 12/11/2025 at 5:05 PM, SiouxForever said:

Unless Menghini picks it up in the 2nd half, maybe Menghini gets pushed out next year. 

I’m sure he’s a great kid and teammate but at the end of the day, the change of new team didn’t pan out. 

We pushed out Ashton Calder. 

I disagree. He might not have the numbers at this point but he is noticeable almost every night in a good way. He has been a bit snake bitten and clanked iron 3 times in St. cloud. Got one last weekend so hopefully the spigot opens up for him.

[tnt]

37 minutes ago, petey23 said:

I disagree. He might not have the numbers at this point but he is noticeable almost every night in a good way. He has been a bit snake bitten and clanked iron 3 times in St. cloud. Got one last weekend so hopefully the spigot opens up for him.

I agree. I will also say that from what the coaches are saying, that he is very well liked in the locker room.  It seemed to me that Calder kind of kept to himself. That isn’t a knock on him, as there are a ton of different personalities, but we have seen how far a great team chemistry can go, and vice versa.

[cberkas]

Cole Zurawaski to Notre Dame

[nascar99]

29 minutes ago, cberkas said:

Cole Zurawaski to Notre Dame

Notre Dame continues to recruit well. Wonder when they'll be good again

[burd]

4 hours ago, nascar99 said:

Notre Dame continues to recruit well. Wonder when they'll be good again

They’ve been recruiting The Almighty since forever. 

[cberkas]

Luke Carrithers to Western Michigan, looks like they have found their replacement for Hampton