The NCAA transfer portal was already busy, but by midday Monday, 20 new players had entered just that day alone. More players have entered since in what is quickly becoming the most fascinating theater in college hockey.
Drama will be plentiful this offseason. There will be several waves of activity. Initially, quality players entering the portal will be coveted by programs. When the first wave of transfers start making decisions, that will force schools that take them on to push back current recruits or push out current players. Those players will then be back on the market, and it should be a continuous cycle throughout the summer months.
As I’ve said countless times, the biggest losers in this are the junior hockey age-outs, players born in 2000. Uncommitted ’00s will struggle to find a home in Division 1, and even some fringe committed players in that birth year might be decommitted and have to settle for Division 2 or 3.
There has been no shortage of local players and players from local schools making news in the transfer portal world over the past couple of days.
Northeastern lands Ottawa Senators prospect
The biggest transfer portal acquisition for a local school to date is Northeastern picking up Jakov Novak, who spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Bentley. Novak, a late ’98 from Riverside, Ontario, was a seventh-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2018 NHL draft.
Novak is a 6-foot-3 winger who was named to the Atlantic Hockey First All-Star Team in 2020-21. He registered seven goals and 10 assists in 15 games for the Falcons. He had 15 points as a freshman and 30 as a sophomore.
Prior to arriving at Bentley, Novak played a couple of seasons for the Janesville Jets in the NAHL. His 73-point output in 2017-18 helped land him on the radar of NHL teams. Novak played the 2015-16 season at New Hampton School.
As previously reported here, at least four players from Northeastern are in the NCAA transfer portal: forwards TJ Walsh (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Neil Shea (Marshfield, Mass.) and Austin Goldstein (Saugus, Mass.) and goaltender Connor Murphy. It is believed that Murphy will end up at a school in ECAC Hockey. RPI is the most likely destination for the Huskies’ starter in 2020-21.
Trio of Terriers in the portal
Three Boston University forwards — Jake Wise, Jack DeBoer and Jake Witkowski — have entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Wise is obviously the biggest name of the bunch. From Reading, Mass., Wise was once considered the top 2000-born player in the region and one of the top throughout the age group. Wise was picked by the Chicago Blackhawks in the third round of the 2018 NHL draft out of USA Hockey’s NTDP.
In three seasons with the Terriers, Wise scored just three goals and 14 assists in 50 games. He missed time due to injury and COVID, but he certainly fell short of the expectations BU’s coaching staff once had for him. Wise was a star at Central Catholic before joining the NTDP.
DeBoer, an NTDP teammate of Wise’s, had five goals and seven assists in 57 games. The son of NHL coach Pete DeBoer, he played prep hockey at Salisbury before heading to the NTDP.
Witkowski, a senior from Melrose, Mass., played high school hockey at Malden Catholic. He had four assists in 39 games for the Terriers.
Miscellaneous transfer portal news
Boston College senior defenseman Michael Karow, a fifth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2017 draft, has entered the portal. The Green Bay, Wis., native had a goal and 14 assists in 131 career games with the Eagles.
Two Providence goaltenders — grad transfer Anton Martinsson and senior Gabe Mollot-Hill — have entered the transfer portal.
Bentley senior Luke Santerno is off to Clarkson after four years with the Falcons. In 123 games at Bentley, Santerno scored 34 goals and added 71 assists for 105 points.
Kevin O’Neil, a ’98 from Latham, N.Y., is transferring to UConn as a graduate student. The Albany Academy alum had 17 goals and 27 assists in 94 games for Yale. The Bulldogs didn’t play this season, due to all Ivy League programs sitting out with coronavirus concerns.
New Hampshire senior Kohei Sato is in the transfer portal. The ’96 from Nishitokyo, Japan, had 10 goals and 19 assists in 104 career games for the Wildcats. His elite attribute is his speed.
While not directly related to Hockey East or other local schools, the best player to enter the transfer portal to date is Minnesota senior Brannon McManus. The ’99 from Newport Beach, Calif., had nine goals and 16 assists in 27 games for the Gophers this winter. He racked up 78 points with Minnesota over the course of his last three seasons there.
Other prominent players in the transfer portal are Notre Dame forward Colin Theisen, Michigan State defenseman Tommy Miller, Minnesota backup goaltender Jared Moe, Miami goaltender Benjamin Kraws and Denver forward Jake Durflinger.
