With the college hockey season over for teams that did not make the NCAA tournament, pro signings have started to make their way into the news.
Northeastern sophomore defenseman Michael Kesselring and New Hampshire junior left wing Angus Crookshank have left eligibility on the table to sign NHL entry-level contracts.
Kesselring signed a three-year entry level contract with the Edmonton Oilers, the organization that drafted him in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL draft. He’ll report to the Bakersfield Condors, the organization’s AHL affiliate, on an amateur tryout agreement to finish out the 2020-21 season.
The 2000 birth-year player from New Hampton, N.H., played in 54 games over his two-year collegiate career with Northeastern. He totaled seven goals and six assists. Five of those goals came this season. He was a top-four defenseman for Jim Madigan’s team and was on a Beanpot-winning team as a freshman.
The 6-foot-5 blueliner played prep hockey for his dad, Casey Kesselring, at New Hampton School. Originally a Merrimack commit, Kesselring opted to decommit from the Warriors and look elsewhere following a coaching change. He spent a little more than a year in the USHL between the Des Moines Buccaneers and Fargo Force.
Kesselring’s signing might be a surprise on the surface. He has some intriguing tools but certainly isn’t as pro ready as other defensemen in Hockey East. There were rumblings that he wanted a greater role at Northeastern, which played a role in his departure, according to NHL scouts who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Crookshank, from North Vancouver, B.C., leaves New Hampshire after three seasons to sign a three-year entry level contract with the Ottawa Senators. He was picked in the fifth round of the 2018 draft by Ottawa.
Crookshank put up double-digit goals in his first two seasons and was on pace to do so again this season, had it not been shortened. He potted 10 goals as a freshman before lighting the lamp 16 times as a sophomore. Crookshank scored nine goals this year to finish his collegiate career with 35. He added 28 assists for a total of 63 points in 90 games.
Who could be next?
For now, I’ll focus on the players whose teams didn’t make the NCAA tournament. Several industry sources suggested Northeastern junior defenseman Jordan Harris could be the next player to sign. However, the Haverhill, Mass., native is coming back for his senior season. Harris is property of the Montreal Canadiens. He was plucked in the third round of the 2018 draft out of Kimball Union. Among his career highlights is scoring the game-winning goal and being named MVP of the 2020 Beanpot.
In other Northeastern news, it looks like ’01 sophomore Jayden Struble will be back for his junior season. The Cumberland, R.I., native also is a pick of the Montreal Canadiens, but the organization has less room for left-shot defensemen at the moment.
Sophomore forwards TJ Walsh and Neil Shea are both in the NCAA Transfer Portal. Both local players were once highly regarded prospects. Shea, a ’99 from Marshfield, Mass., played at Lawrence and with the Chicago Steel prior to NU. Walsh, a ’00 from Shrewsbury, Mass., skated for Cushing and then Cedar Rapids and Des Moines in the USHL. Shea and Walsh originally were committed to Maine and BC, respectively.
For Providence, junior Tyce Thompson seems the most likely to sign early. The Milford, Conn., native is a ’99 who scored 19 and 11 goals over the past two years for the Friars. That was quite an uptick from his freshman campaign, when he scored just eight. Thompson was picked in the fourth round of the 2019 draft after his first year in Providence.
According to sources, junior goaltender Tomas Vomacka likely will be leaving UConn. The ’99 from Trutnov, Czech Republic, likely will wait until Aug. 15, when he can become a free agent. Originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 draft by Nashville, he can use the loophole in the collective bargaining agreement that permits college players to pursue free agency after four years.
