Thomas Boisvert has been a star at Mount St. Charles. (Brian Kelly/NEHJ)
On Jan. 1, Division 1 college coaches can begin contacting sophomores in high school to express interest. Come Aug. 1, those coaches can extend verbal offers to those players, who will be rising juniors.
And the college hockey recruiting carousel goes on.
Things have been different. Since the 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, colleges have been more open to recruiting players directly from those leagues.
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.
There’s also the transfer portal, which allows schools to bring in college-experienced players immediately.
The forwards mentioned in this story won’t all commit to or play Division 1 hockey. It’s always interesting to look back on these years from now and see who were the big names as sophomores in high school.
Undoubtedly, there will be ’09s and ’10s who are currently sophomores who weren’t mentioned in this; years down the road, we’ll say, “How were they not mentioned, Evan?”
I’ve organized the names on this list into tiers. Tier 1 is for definites. These are the players who will generate the most interest. Tier 2 is “Next Up,” and Tier 3 is “Worth Watching.” I’ve listed them in the order that I would have them in if I were a college coach.
Let’s dive in.