If you had any conversations with college coaches, agents, prep and high school coaches or parents of 14U-18U players over the last two years, a common theme likely came up.
Man, things are about to change in the college hockey recruiting space.
When the CHL ruling came down in November of 2024, prospects playing in the CHL became eligible for NCAA Division 1 programs for the first time. Suddenly, college coaches were flocking to QMJHL, OHL and WHL games to see all the talent they could get their hands on. It was like the Wild West.
The transfer portal became a bigger deal, too. More teams figured out they could snag older, more experienced players who were college-ready over incoming freshmen who would take time to acclimate. We've never seen so many teams decommit players.
It was always going to trickle down to recruiting. Aug. 1, the day rising juniors in high school can commit to Division 1 programs, and the following days had become such a big time for teams to recruit, often hoarding newly eligible prospects like they were a Black Friday sale.
So when this year's new crop rolled around and Aug. 1 and 2 passed, it felt quiet. But in reality, it wasn't all that different from last year. Fifteen players announced commitments on Aug. 1 last year, compared to 14 this year. This year actually had more commitments on Aug. 2: five versus four last year.
The real difference for the first two days in August, often the busiest, came from 2024 to 2025. Nationally, there were 36 Aug. 1 commitments in 2024 versus 15 in 2025.
I figured we were on track for a similar August to last year. But then from Aug. 3-12, things felt really quiet — and they were.
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There were 28 commitments from Aug. 3-12 last year. By contrast, 11 players committed during those dates this year.
That's stark; clearly, schools are being hesitant. The common feeling I've gotten from talking to Division 1 assistants all over the map is that they're offering fewer players. This, however, is a two-way street. Agents I've spoken with also mention wanting to wait, betting on their clients boosting their stock in junior hockey and increasing their leverage for more NIL as they get closer to being college-ready.
The key words there: junior hockey.
With CHL players now available, the player pool has expanded. Schools increasingly want to wait until players have proven themselves in juniors before extending a commitment.
The last 10 days aren't the outlier — they're the new normal.
Take Boston University, a notoriously active team in August. Last year, they got commitments from James Scantlebury, Freddy Meyer (Winchester, Mass.), Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) and Sam Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.). Scantlebury was fresh off a huge season for BK Selects, while the Meyer brothers and Pandolfo were dominant at Rivers. Sure, Scantlebury was tendered by the USHL's Chicago Steel for this past season, and Carter Meyer and Sam Pandolfo were headed to the U.S. National Team Development Program. But all four had not played a minute of junior hockey to that point.
This year? BU's sole commitment so far has been defenseman Quinn Norman. While he's a late '09, he played all of last season in the QMJHL with the Newfoundland Regiment, tallying a goal and 13 points in 58 games.
Take Providence College. The Friars earned commitments from Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.), Stephen Cover, Kurt Beck (Arlington, Mass.) and Jaxon Pisani by Aug. 5 last year. Pellegrino was coming off a strong first season at St. Mark's, and Cover was one of the best 15O players in the United States for Mount St. Charles. Beck was at Arlington High School and moving to Dexter Southfield, and Pisani had been playing for the St. Albert Raiders' U18 team in Canada.
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And while Cover (USHL's Madison Capitols) and Pisani (WHL's Everett Silvertips) were slated to play junior this past season, Pellegrino and Beck were back in prep.
Providence's one commitment since Aug. 1 so far this year: Colin Fitzgerald. An '08, he's spent the last two seasons in the OHL with the Peterborough Petes and Soo Greyhounds. The St. Louis Blues picked him in the seventh round of this year's NHL Draft. Even though the point totals haven't been high (28 points in 48 games last year, 33 points in 63 games this year), he's still looked at as a more proven commodity.
Take Merrimack, too. In 2024, the Warriors were active, picking up commitments from Ben Short (Lunenburg, Mass.), Gavin Clark, Brady Logue, Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) and Jacob Monks. Short was coming off a 19-point second season at Winchendon; Clark had a strong season with the L.A. Junior Kings 15O team; Logue was a top player on the Philadelphia Flyers Elite 16U team; Graf had a strong year at Rivers; Monks had an 87-point season with Little Caesars 15O.
All very good players at the time, but completely unproven past the prep level. And for players like Clark, Logue and Monks, they had mainly only played against their own age group.
Rowan Henderson, a forward with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves, has been Merrimack's lone commitment so far this year. The late '07 has spent the last two seasons with Sudbury, putting up 24 points in 66 games two years ago and 32 in 62 this past winter. He's 18 years old, 6 feet and 185 pounds.
How the Warriors have handled things this year isn't a huge shock. In 2025, the first recruiting August since the CHL ruling, they picked up commitments from Caden Dabrowski, Alex Mercier and Mavrick Lachance.
Dabrowski, an '08, had just wrapped up a big season for the Chicago Mission's 16U team with 86 points in 67 games. He fell in line with a typical August commitment.
But Mercier and Lachance?
Mercier, an '05, had just finished his fourth season with the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats. He was a point-per-game QMJHL player when he announced his commitment to Merrimack and was that again for Moncton this past season. He's slated to begin at Merrimack this fall. Lachance is an '06 who was coming off his second QMJHL season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. He had 59 points in 52 QMJHL games in 2024-25 and was almost as productive this past season.
READ MORE: Track what's happened so far in August men's college hockey recruiting
This is likely the new direction for most college programs. Sure, they'll add one or two newly eligible players who don't have much (or any) junior hockey experience.
But they'd rather opt for the closest thing to a sure bet. It's the new norm.
