Jack O’Dell is a top defender in prep. (Brian Kelly/NEHJ)
We’ve covered the forwards to watch. Now it’s time to look at the defensemen and goalies.
Come Jan. 1, Division 1 college coaches can contact sophomores in high school for college hockey recruiting. When Aug. 1 rolls around, those schools can extend verbal offers. Those players will be rising juniors by then.
Jan. 1 used to be a huge day, and it still is to an extent. But things have changed since the 2024 CHL ruling, which allowed players in the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League to be eligible to play Division 1 NCAA hockey. Schools have become much more open to recruiting players straight out of the CHL, or even using the transfer portal, to fill roster spots.
College coaches have also often taken a wait-and-see approach with fringe Division 1 players who are in prep or full-season 16U and 18U hockey. It’s not always the case, but it’s become more frequent that those schools want to see players thrive in juniors before extending an offer.
That’s the case with defensemen and especially the case with goalies.
Defensemen tend to take longer to develop. And recruiting goalies who are 16 years old, and won’t be in college until they’re 19 or 20, is near impossible, which is why some schools opt to pluck netminders out of juniors.
Nevertheless, these 18 are local names I’d expect to have some interest. I organized the forwards in tiers, but for this story, they’re just listed alphabetically.
Let’s dive in.