GRAND FORKS — Seven UND players ended up in the transfer portal this week.
Those players were at the bottom of UND’s lineup at the end of the season. Five of them did not play in the NCAA Frozen Four. The other two received the lowest ice time at the Frozen Four.
UND’s depth was a huge asset during the season. The Fighting Hawks routinely dominated with their lower lines and wore down opponents. The players leaving were a big part of it.
But really good players, especially NHL draft picks, want to play and expect to play. When they don’t, there’s always a risk they’ll leave.
UND could have pivoted in its roster-building philosophy this offseason to find players who are projected to be out of the lineup — and guys who might be OK with it — in hopes of keeping them around longer.
But it is clear UND’s philosophy isn’t changing.
With the commitments of transfers
of Bemidji State and
of Colorado College, UND head coach Dane Jackson and general manager Bryn Chyzyk are showing: 1. They believe in building the strongest, deepest possible roster; 2. Nobody will have lineup spots handed to them (which increases competitiveness in practices); 3. If good players leave because they’re not playing, so be it; they’ll go get the next one; 4. Playing at UND is not going to be for those who want it easy.
The forward group is starting to take shape.
There are only two forward spots left to fill.
Providence junior Hudson Malinoski, a Toronto Maple Leafs fifth-round pick, is visiting UND this weekend. He also has Big Ten interest. If he commits, UND only has one forward spot to go.
It’s entirely possible that next season’s 15th forward, whoever that ends up being, will be the most talented 15th forward UND has ever rostered.
Yes, UND would have loved for last year’s depth players to stick around.
A pillar of Jackson’s philosophy is to build through recruiting talented freshman classes and moving players up the lineup throughout their careers. That part didn’t work out exactly as planned with guys like Cade Littler, David Klee, Andrew Strathmann and Jayden Jubenvill hitting the portal.
To address that, UND had to dip into the transfer portal more than it probably anticipated a month ago.
But it hasn’t deterred the Fighting Hawks from bringing in talented players, knowing that some of them will end up in the stands on Friday and Saturday nights.
UND’s offseason to-do list is already shrinking.
The Fighting Hawks need to add two forwards, two defensemen and a third-string goaltender.
UND obviously has an interest in Malinoski, who had back-to-back 11-goal seasons for Providence. If UND lands Malinoski, it will likely add a freshman forward to round out that group.
On the back end, UND also needs to add two.
You can bet UND is leaving a spot for one of the Western Hockey League’s stars.
Carson Carels of the Prince George Cougars, Daxon Rudolph of the Prince Albert Raiders and Landon DuPont of the Everett Silvertips are all future superstars and none of them have made NCAA commitments yet. All of them are likely to come to the NCAA in the fall.
Carels, a blend of high-end offense and physicality, is from Cypress River, Man. Rudolph, a high-end offense generator, is from Lacombe, Alta. Both Carels and Rudolph will be selected in the first round of June’s NHL Draft. DuPont, a shifty offense generator, is only 16 years old (he turns 17 in May). He isn’t draft eligible until 2027. DuPont is from Calgary.
UND will have Jan Špunar and Caleb Heil as its 1-2 combination in net, but the Fighting Hawks need to find a third to replace Zach Sandy.
Five of UND’s seven portal entrants have found new homes. Defenseman Jayden Jubenvill committed to Omaha. Defenseman Andrew Strathmann is headed to Quinnipiac. Forward Cade Littler will play for Arizona State. Forward David Klee is going to Notre Dame. Forward Dalton Andrew has committed to Long Island. Goaltender Gibson Homer and defenseman Ian Engel remain uncommitted.
Two former UND goaltenders earned all-ECHL honors. Cam Johnson was named first-team all-ECHL. T.J. Semptimphelter was named to the all-rookie team.
UND incoming freshman forward Cooper Simpson of the Youngstown Phantoms is one of three finalists for the United States Hockey League’s Player of the Year. The last two winners have been UND commits — Mac Swanson of the Fargo Force in 2024 and Will Zellers of the Green Bay Gamblers in 2025.
Grand Forks native Tony Gasparini is a finalist for the USHL’s General Manager of the Year. Gasparini, who won a Stanley Cup as a scout for the Los Angeles Kings, is the general manager of the Sioux Falls Stampede.
UND goalie commit Caleb Heil opened the USHL playoffs on a hot streak, stopping 36 of 37 and 25 of 26 to lead the Madison Capitols to a first-round upset of Green Bay. He then stopped 32 of 33 against Youngstown on Friday night to move to 3-0 with a .969 save percentage.
Three UND seniors made their professional debuts in the American Hockey League this week. Ellis Rickwood scored two goals in his pro debut for the Texas Stars (top affiliate of the Dallas Stars) on Friday night. Dylan James made his debut for the Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings) on Wednesday and Ben Strinden debuted for the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators) on Friday.
UND freshman defenseman Keaton Verhoeff had two assists in Canada’s 5-2 win over Sweden in their first pre-tournament exhibition at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. The tournament begins Wednesday in Slovakia.
Former UND center Jonathan Toews told media in Winnipeg he has not decided yet whether he will play again next season. Toews, who turns 38 later this month, spent the 2025-26 season with the Winnipeg Jets. He has played 1,149 regular-season NHL games.
UND commit Colin Grubb of Burlington, N.D., has signed to play for Brandon in the WHL next season. He played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s this season.