Brian McFadden committed to Northeastern on Aug. 1. (Brian Kelly/NEHJ)

Aug. 1 has become the day on the college hockey recruiting calendar. After NCAA Division 1 programs can reach out to high school sophomores on Jan. 1, they can offer those players beginning Aug. 1, when they enter their junior year.

The fireworks weren’t quite as explosive this year.

Last year, 21 players committed to local schools on Aug. 1. This year: 13. The number of commits to local Division 1 programs from Aug. 2-3 decreased from seven last year to three.

Granted, Aug. 1 fell on a Friday this year, and then Aug. 2-3 was the weekend. Maybe a slew of commitments roll in early this week. But that shouldn’t be counted on for several reasons.

LIVE UPDATES: Track every early August recruit 

Let’s dive into some takeaways from the last few days.