- UConn Hockey Hub
- Posts
- Weekly Roundup: One piece left in UConn's roster build
Weekly Roundup: One piece left in UConn's roster build
The Huskies are hoping to earn a commitment from a top defenseman in the near future.
Subscriber news
We’ve overhauled the commitment lists on Patreon. The players are now sorted by birth year instead of their projected year of arrival, which is more difficult than we initially anticipated. Ryan Tattle has also been added.
The players in UConn’s 2021 recruiting class (Chase Bradley, Logan Terness, Sasha Teleguine, Jake Veilleux) have all been removed from the lists as well.
If you have any suggestions/ideas for how to make these lists even better, feel free to reach out.
UConn looking to fill one more roster spot
By this time next week, UConn men’s hockey’s 2021-22 roster build should be completed — if all goes according to plan.
Over the weekend, the Huskies earned a commitment from Sasha Teleguine, a forward out of North Attleboro, Massachusetts who most recently played in the BCHL.
Barring any more unforeseen departures, Teleguine is UConn’s 15th and final forward for next season (Veilleux is a hybrid defenseman/forward walk-on, so we won’t include him in the numbers at either position).
By the numbers, the Huskies’ forward group will feature seven NHL Draft picks (Jachym Kondelik, Vladislav Firstov, Nick Capone, Artem Shlaine, Chase Bradley, Ryan Tverberg, and Teleguine, most likely), an All-American (Jonny Evans), three good seniors (Marc Gatcomb, Kevin O’Neil and Carter Turnbull) and a rising sophomore who finished third on the team with 14 points last season (Hudson Schandor).
1-12, UConn should have one of the deepest and most talented forward groups in Hockey East.
If injuries or suspensions strike, Cassidy Bowes played well enough in 11 games as a freshman while Gavin Puskar should be better prepared for the college game with a full offseason under his belt after coming straight from prep school. John Wojciechowski and Jake Veilleux are “break glass in case of emergency” options.
At goaltender, the Huskies are set. They’ll bring in Union grad transfer Darion Hanson as the presumptive starter with incoming freshman Logan Terness and sophomore Matt Pasquale competing to be the No. 2. Ryan Keane put his name in the transfer earlier this offseason but at this point, it would be a surprise if he ended up anywhere. We haven’t heard anything on his status, though.
That leaves one question mark: Defenseman. The good news is that Ryan Wheeler will return after testing the transfer waters. A source emphasized that UConn never wanted him to leave but understood his desire to explore other options considering he was a healthy scratch for five games this past season.
With Wheeler back in the fold, the Huskies will stash Jack Pascucci in juniors for at least another year. That gives them six defensemen on the roster at the moment.
UConn plans to add one more defenseman. While the team carried eight last year, head coach Mike Cavanaugh often spoke about the depth of the group and how they felt confident in each player. With seven d-men, the Huskies can dress all of them every game using the extra skater and won’t have to make as many tough lineup decisions.
While that leaves them a little short on depth, Wojciechowski and Veilleux can both help out on the blue line if needed.
As for that final defenseman, UConn has a “big-time player” — identity unknown — coming in for a visit in the near future. I was told it was a d-man who could play right away and is expected to be a top NHL Draft prospect.
But after an offseason that began with far more question marks than answers, the Huskies’ roster is just one piece away from being completed — assuming there aren’t any other unexpected departures of course.