Oliver Wahlstrom
Departed Talent: Remarkably, the Eagles captured the Hockey East regular season crown last year without any seniors on the roster, and only a single graduate student, defenseman Kevin Lohan. However, three players listed on last year's official roster do not appear on this year's. One such player is Casey Carreau, a freshman with the Eagles last season out of high school. After posting disappointing numbers of 1 goal and 4 assists through 33 games with the Eagles, he is headed back to the USHL this year with Des Moines to get some more seasoning. The aforementioned Lohan, a graduate transfer from Michigan, exhausted his eligibility after last season, and took his numbers of 2-6-8 and a +14 rating in 22 games with him to Toledo of the ECHL, Detroit's affiliate. Finally, sophomore forward Mike Booth, who scored one goal and one assist last year, is also not listed on BC's website. None of these figure to be major losses, with only maybe Lohan's absence being felt in any significant way.
Kevin Lohan
Returning Cast: As previously stated, most of BC's roster from last season remains intact headed into the 2018-2019 campaign. Rising sophomore forward Logan Hutsko was the team's leading scorer as a freshman a year ago. He burst onto the scene potting 12 goals and adding 19 assists in 37 games, after paltry numbers in the seasons heading into college. The Eagles will be hoping he can maintain or improve on that level of production, and prove himself a big piece going forward. Finnish forward Julius Mattila was the team's leading goal scorer, tallying 13. His career has also been trending up, with his point total of 27 last year representing an increase from his 16 as a freshman in 2016-2017. Finally, the anchor on the blue line has been senior and team captain Casey Fitzgerald. The third round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2016 should provide leadership on the ice and in the room for a team that's still relatively young, and provide solid minutes on the blue line for his squad. In net, the Eagles can stack up to anyone in the conference, with junior and Maple Leafs third round pick Joe Woll returning once again. For the maroon and gold, he played in 34 games, posting a 2.64 goals against average and stopping 91.3% of the shots that came his way. He was also the starting goaltender for the United States in the U20 World Junior tournament, where he played in 5 games to the tune of a 2.71 GAA and 0.886 SV%, leading the squad to a bronze medal. The Eagles look like a solid team, and without some unexpected regression across the board, this looks like a squad who has improved from the team that won the conference a year ago. Other names to know include David Cotton, Graham McPhee, and Michael Kim, all key contributors from a year ago who will make their return.
Joe Woll
Behind the bench: Not much needs to be said about the man who has been guiding the Eagles for the past 24 seasons. Jerry York is the all time winningest coach in the history of collegiate hockey, amassing over 1000 wins in his illustrious career, 586 of them coming with the Eagles. His remarkable longevity speaks to his ability as both a coach and recruiter, and as long as he wants the post, there should be absolutely no questions asked about York's status as bench boss.
Jerry York
Prediction: The Eagles look like a team with few holes, and little questions that will need to be asked. Expected progression from younger players, the roster cohesion that comes with essentially everyone returning, and the expertise and leadership coming from York as head coach should be plenty for the Eagles to continue their phenomenal run of success. Only three players are gone from last year, all of whom were borderline roster players in Carreau, Booth, and Lohan that should easily be replaced by elite talents in McBain, Wahlstrom, and Samuelsson, respectively.
I project the Eagles to finish first in Hockey East in 2018-2019.
