2024-25 UConn men's hockey prospect preview

Hockey season is officially here. While UConn men’s hockey doesn’t start for another couple of weeks, the team’s future players are all set to begin playing this week. The USHL kicked off on Wednesday while the BCHL starts on Friday. The Huskies currently have 11 commitments in the pipeline and nearly all of them are spread across those two leagues.

USHL

Brittan Alstead — Des Moines Buccaneers

Position: Forward
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 174
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Plymouth, MN
Birth date: January 6, 2006

After graduating from Wayzata High School in Minnesota, Alstead joined the Buccaneers for the final five games of the 2023-24 regular season and collected two goals and two assists. He’s now set to begin his first full season in juniors.

Colin Frank — Dubuque Fighting Saints

Position: Forward
Height: 5-8 | Weight: 163
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, CA
Birth date: March 22, 2006

One of UConn’s top prospects, Frank had a quiet rookie season in Dubuque as a 17-year-old. He managed just nine goals and five assists across 59 regular season games, then put up two assists in 11 playoff contests. There’s reason for optimism, though: Frank will have a year of experience under his belt this year and be closer in age to most of the league.

Anthony Allain-Samake — Sioux City Musketeers

Position: Defense
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 165
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Gatineau, QC
Birth date: September 10, 2007

Allain-Samake’s USHL career got underway with a 5-1 win over Alstead’s Fighting Saints on Wednesday. He recorded his first point with an assist and finished +1 on the day. Last season, Allain-Samake played 47 games with the NCDC’s New Jersey Rockets, totaling seven assists with no goals.

Shayne Gould — Sioux City Musketeers

Position: Defense
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 146
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Princeton, MA
Birth date: April 7, 2007

Gould is set to begin his junior career after a successful stint with Bishop Kearney Selects, where he piled up eight goals and 52 assists in 58 games with the 16U AAA squad last season. He didn’t play in Sioux City’s opener on Wednesday.

BCHL

Mason Kesselring — Langley Rivermen

Position: Forward
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 192
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Manchester, NH
Birth date: March 15, 2004

Kesselring is back in one of the top two junior leagues after a rough 2023-24. He had just one goal and five assists in 23 games between the USHL’s Lincoln Stars and Fargo Force before being released, which prompted him to drop down to the NAHL. He put up better numbers with the Janesville Jets — 11 goals, 17 assists in 28 games — to get another chance in the BCHL. Kesselring had success in the Pacific Northwest in 2022-23, when he was named the Chilliwack Chiefs’ rookie of the year after a 21-goal, 19-assist campaign.

Brendan Dunphy — Langley Rivermen

Position: Defense
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 198
Shoots: Left
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Birth date: February 2, 2006

Dunphy is back for his second season with the Rivermen after recording two goals and four assists as a rookie. He played with fellow commit Colin Frank in youth hockey and is now teammates with another future Husky in Kesselring.

Joe Odyniec — Coquitlam Express

Position: Forward
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 201
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Washington, DC
Birth date: Dec. 13, 2004

The Avon Old Farms product had a strong rookie year in British Columbia, totaling 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points in 48 games. That experience, along with the fact that he’ll be on the older end of the spectrum, could result in a big year for Odyniec.

Samuel Boisvert — Nanaimo Clippers

Position: Forward
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 181
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Mirabel, QC
Birth date: Oct. 26, 2005

Boisvert is also coming off his rookie year in the BCHL, though he had just four goals and 13 assists in 57 games. His first game is set for Friday against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

Brady Smith — Victoria Grizzlies

Position: Defense
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 174
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Prince Albert, SK
Birth date: May 4, 2005

Smith is set to begin his third full season in juniors, though he’s back in the BCHL after spending the 2023-24 campaign with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers. While his numbers don’t stand out, they’ve been steady: Five points in each of the last two seasons.

NAHL

Thomas Klochkov — Northeast Generals

Position: Forward
Height: 5-11 | Weight: 150
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Fort Lee, NJ
Birth date: March 30, 2005

The last few years haven’t been kind to Klochkov. He sat out the entire 2022-23 campaign for unknown reasons then managed just four goals and six assists in 44 games after returning. This is likely a make-or-break season for the New Jersey native.