With the current state of college hockey, every team experiences significant year-to-year turnover, and the Massachusetts hockey team lost a few key pieces on the back end after the 2025-26 season. A total of 12 players have left the Minutemen roster, either by graduating or entering the transfer portal.

To replace those players, head coach Greg Carvel brought in 12 newcomers. Eight players in the incoming class come directly from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), while the other four players were selected in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The CHL has come to dominate the recruiting process in college hockey following the 2025 rule change allowing players from the three CHL leagues — the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) — to play in the NCAA.

The headliner is QMJHL winger Maxim Massé. This past season was Massé’s most successful for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, and he led his team to the QMJHL championship.

Massé had 51 goals and 51 assists in 63 regular-season games, topped with 24 postseason points. The Rimouski, Quebec native took home the Michel Brière Trophy as the QMJHL Most Valuable Player and the CHL David Branch Player of the Year Award.

With co-captain defensemen Owen Murray and Lucas Olvestad graduating, and goaltender Michael Hrabal signing a professional contract, UMass brought in two key first-year students to help the back end: goalie Tobias Trejbal and defenseman Samu Alalauri. Both were drafted within the first 75 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Trejbal will battle with senior returner Jackson Irving for control of the pipes this season. The freshman is coming out of the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he won USHL Goaltender of the Year. The Calgary Flames drafted him in the second round with the 42nd overall pick.

Alalauri has big shoes to fill, but the young Finnish defenseman has impressed in his junior career. Last season, the 17-year-old Alalauri registered 25 points in 40 games in the U-20 Suomi-sarja. The Blackhawks drafted him in the third round.

To join Massé in the attack, the Minutemen added four more drafted forwards. Egor Barabanov and Jasper Kuhta are both coming out of the OHL and were also drafted in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Barabanov made the jump from the USHL to the OHL last season, teaming up with 2026 15th overall pick Nikita Klepov and 2027 projected first-rounder Dima Zhilkin for the Saginaw Spirit. The St. Petersburg, Russia native was drafted in the fourth round, joining Trejbal and former UMass hockey player Aydar Suniev in being drafted by the Calgary Flames. Barabanov finished fourth in the OHL in points with 29 goals and 66 assists for 95 points in 72 games.

For the Ottawa 67’s, Kuhta had 63 points in 63 games. The center competed for Finland at the IIHF World Junior Championships, finishing second on the team in points. His two goals and six assists for eight points in seven games match what UMass winger Václav Nestrašil put up for Czechia in the tournament.

The other two drafted freshmen forwards, Max Curran and Melvin Novotny, should have an impact this season. Curran is the only WHL recruit for the Minutemen, finishing 17th in the league in points per game. The Czech forward was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft as the third Calgary Flames prospect on the roster this season. Novotny was a seventh-round pick in 2025 by the Buffalo Sabers. He is another piece in the Muskegon Lumberjacks-to-UMass pipeline, following Jack Galanek and Nestrašil to Amherst.

John McNelis and Gavin Cornforth are the other two forward additions, both with Hockey East experience. McNelis is a transfer from Boston University, where he appeared in 19 games, netting a goal and four assists. Cornforth began his career at Boston College, playing in 18 games before going to the QMJHL halfway through the season. He helped the Moncton Wildcats to a deep playoff run, scoring nine goals in 21 postseason games.

Defensemen Barrett Dexheimer and Mathieu Taillefer are expected to be depth pieces on the back end to step up in case of injuries. The Minutemen also brought in Ethan Eskit as the third-string goalie to replace James Norton, who transferred to Division III Hobart College.

UMass opens its season on the road with two games against Colorado College on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3. The opening game puck drops on Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday’s game begins at 9 p.m.

Myles Donato can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @myles_donato.