Prospective Recruits

[tnt]

On 4/2/2026 at 11:07 AM, SiouxFanatic said:

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Mathis Preston go with his buddy to Denver, but maybe he is still weighing offers.

[Fratt Mattin]

1 hour ago, tnt said:

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Mathis Preston go with his buddy to Denver, but maybe he is still weighing offers.

That would be a deadly duo for the Pios. They will score plenty of goals next year if they get Preston too

[nascar99]

23 hours ago, tnt said:

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Mathis Preston go with his buddy to Denver, but maybe he is still weighing offers.

He follows Boston College and Penn State on IG last time I checked. Doesn't mean they're in his top 3 or anything, but it's definitely notable

[beastandco]

Top prospect Ethan Belchetz has recently followed UND hockey on instagram. Other schools are BU, Michigan, and Penn State. So three big dogs and Penn State. I expect him to be one of the forwards that makes the jump this offseason.

[nodakgirl93]

2 hours ago, beastandco said:

Top prospect Ethan Belchetz has recently followed UND hockey on instagram. Other schools are BU, Michigan, and Penn State. So three big dogs and Penn State. I expect him to be one of the forwards that makes the jump this offseason.

He's big. How good is his skating?

[atxsioux]

He's a pretty solid skater for his size from what I recall watching highlights at the Hlinka Gretzky this past fall.

Probably a little more speed compared to a Cade Littler as a current player comp (and all things considered Cade is a solid skater IMO)

[tnt]

14 hours ago, nascar99 said:

He follows Boston College and Penn State on IG last time I checked. Doesn't mean they're in his top 3 or anything, but it's definitely notable

 

4 hours ago, beastandco said:

Top prospect Ethan Belchetz has recently followed UND hockey on instagram. Other schools are BU, Michigan, and Penn State. So three big dogs and Penn State. I expect him to be one of the forwards that makes the jump this offseason.

When I see elite players like this following Penn State, I wonder if they are looking for a payday, because other than a place to play against college competition, I don’t view Penn State as a program that gets players ready for the NHL.  

 

[beastandco]

1 hour ago, tnt said:

 

When I see elite players like this following Penn State, I wonder if they are looking for a payday, because other than a place to play against college competition, I don’t view Penn State as a program that gets players ready for the NHL.  

 

We will see if the money talks but the current state of Penn State’s roster next year will be a tough sell for these top guys. Gadowsky has his work cut out for him. 

[atxsioux]

Penn State's extremely non-structured playstyle + terrible non-conference schedule has been fairly criticized so far throughout this year. (Much more than it ever was in the past due to the spotlight being on them). 

[scpa0305]

8 hours ago, beastandco said:

Top prospect Ethan Belchetz has recently followed UND hockey on instagram. Other schools are BU, Michigan, and Penn State. So three big dogs and Penn State. I expect him to be one of the forwards that makes the jump this offseason.

Interesting. During the CHL NTDP showcase he had some odd comments related to CHL players moving to NCAA as opposed to staying in the CHL leagues. Clearly things have changed haha 

[scpa0305]

4 hours ago, tnt said:

 

When I see elite players like this following Penn State, I wonder if they are looking for a payday, because other than a place to play against college competition, I don’t view Penn State as a program that gets players ready for the NHL.  

 

True…but some of those guys who’ve recently signed are shredding the A right now. Super small sample size obviously. 

[beastandco]

57 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Interesting. During the CHL NTDP showcase he had some odd comments related to CHL players moving to NCAA as opposed to staying in the CHL leagues. Clearly things have changed haha 

I’m not sure what he said but supposedly he considered going the USHL/NCAA route after he was drafted into the OHL. He even toured Michigan and Michigan State. I would imagine he would be one of the only first round picks playing juniors next year if he stays. It’ll be interesting to see how many players make the jump. I have a feeling the floodgates will open.

[tnt]

2 hours ago, scpa0305 said:

True…but some of those guys who’ve recently signed are shredding the A right now. Super small sample size obviously. 

I don’t question Penn State can get players that can produce offensively, but the expectation on the defensive end to transition to the NHL is another thing.  You have to be a big producer at the NHL level for them to look past defensive shortcomings.  

[tnt]

Another good thing about making the Frozen Four is hopefully UND has more get togethers that have contributions that will be specifically for NIL.  Hopefully those promotions are well attended in Vegas.

[nascar99]

3 minutes ago, tnt said:

Another good thing about making the Frozen Four is hopefully UND has more get togethers that have contributions that will be specifically for NIL.  Hopefully those promotions are well attended in Vegas.

Do we know how much, if any, Kris Engelstad McGarry is contributing to the University of North Dakota, specifically hockey? Would assume boosters/alums are conversing with her this week in her city during the Frozen Four

[tnt]

35 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

Do we know how much, if any, Kris Engelstad McGarry is contributing to the University of North Dakota, specifically hockey? Would assume boosters/alums are conversing with her this week in her city during the Frozen Four

Would be nice if an endowment was set up specifically for NIL, with the understanding that we aren’t just going to pay players to come here if that is their sole reason for coming.  At some level they need to want to be here for the development model so they aren’t going to just be selfish teammates looking out only for themselves.

[beastandco]

11 minutes ago, tnt said:

Would be nice if an endowment was set up specifically for NIL, with the understanding that we aren’t just going to pay players to come here if that is their sole reason for coming.  At some level they need to want to be here for the development model so they aren’t going to just be selfish teammates looking out only for themselves.

An endowment makes sense but getting the money to the players can be difficult. I have seen a lot more NIL fundraising opportunities this year compared to years prior. I have heard what a couple of the football players are getting and it’s more than one would think. UND likely pays out a lot more for their hockey players. The 750k estimate from CHN is probably pretty accurate for UND’s NIL budget next year. I do think this staff could pull some strings behind the scenes to get a little more if they had to. 

[atxsioux]

UND seems to want to keep it close to the vest with how much their budget is which I’d agree is the right strategy. With that being the case I’d venture to guess the Engelstad family is definitely providing some sort of support but doing it a little more discretely.