The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is one of the two newest of all college hockey conferences, opposite the Big Ten. Yet, in its short four-year history, NCHC hockey has arguably become the premier conference in men’s hockey.
The NCHC has already produced two national champions, plus the 2017 runner-up. Equally impressive, it had six teams make the 2015 NCAA tournament, meaning 75 percent of the conference took part in the 16-team national tournament, an NCAA record. Quite an impressive feat for a young conference and a testament to the quality of teams in the NCHC.
A major reason for the eight-team conference’s swift success is that its programs have built strong rosters that include highly-skilled freshmen. Most importantly, they find rookies that are ready to contribute right away, becoming difference-makers for their respective teams.
As the first class to complete four years under the NCHC banner moves on, here is a look back on the most impactful of those rookies.
10. Paul LaDue, North Dakota, 2013-14
Out of the players on this list, LaDue’s rookie season may fall the deepest under the radar. Yet he quickly made an impact on a deep defensive unit in 2013.
Playing behind the likes of Dillon Simpson, Nick Mattson and Jordan Schmaltz, LaDue had five goals and 15 assists in 42 games, while leading the club with a plus-15 rating. He also wasn’t afraid to give up his body, producing 51 blocked shots.
LaDue finished the season on the inaugural NCHC all-rookie team and helped lead UND to its first of three consecutive Frozen Four appearances.
9. Ben Blacker, Western Michigan, 2016-17
Blacker is one of four freshmen from last season to make this top 10. He was the No. 1 goalie for the Broncos, playing a huge role in getting them to their first NCAA tournament as a member of the NCHC.
On the year, Blacker was 17-8-2 with a 2.55 goals against average and .915 save percentage in 29 games. His best game came against powerhouse North Dakota on Feb. 18, in which he saved 44 of 46 shots in a 3-2 win.
The young goaltender received NCHC all-rookie team honors in net over a contemporary freshman goalie whose season also warrants recognition on this list.
8. Dylan Gambrell, Denver, 2015-16
Gambrell recorded 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points, the top point total from any Pioneers freshman in the NCHC era. Gambrell also had a knack for big goals, leading the club with four game winners.
Gambrell stood out most during the NCAA tournament, where he scored three goals and two assists in the West Regional. He was given all-tournament honors, although Denver fell shy of the championship game after losing to North Dakota in the Frozen Four.
Brock Boeser tended to make success look easy when he led North Dakota to the first national championship by an NCHC hockey program. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
7. Michael Davies, Denver, 2016-17
An argument could be made that Davies was the the top freshman in 2016. From the start, the defenseman was the ultimate two-way defender for the 2016-17 national champions. In fact, he produced three goals and 14 assists along with a plus-32 rating, which was first in the conference and second in all of college hockey last season.
At 5-foot-8, 164 pounds, Davies doesn’t boast ideal size for a defenseman, but he was able to grind through all 44 games. In fact, he was the only freshman on the roster to do so.
With Davies and talented senior Will Butcher, Denver had the best defensive pairing in the NCHC. It showed as the Pioneers finished as the conference’s top defensive team, allowing only 80 goals. The next-best was NCAA runner-up Minnesota-Duluth, which allowed 95.
6. Danton Heinen, Denver, 2014-15
Out of all the Pioneers, Heinen is the only one to win the NCHC’s overall scoring title, leading the conference with 45 points as a rookie. In doing so, the Pioneers’ star forward won the second NCHC hockey top-rookie trophy, as well as all-conference second team and all-rookie honors.
Heinen also had a pair of four-point games for the Pioneers. One was a two-goal, two-assist performance against Miami, the other a one-goal, three-assist showing against Brown.
Among NCAA freshmen, Heinen ranked third in assists and points, while tying for second in goals. He went on to play one more season for Denver before signing with the Boston Bruins.
5. Jimmy Schuldt, St. Cloud State, 2015-16
Schuldt could easily rank higher on this list, as his freshman season was one for the books. Unfortunately, he shared his rookie season with the top member on the list.
Even so, Schuldt led the Huskies defensemen with 10 goals while leading the entire team with a plus-31 rating. More impressively, he led the NCHC with 95 blocked shots, also a conference freshman record. Additionally, he contributed two goals and four assists in the conference tournament, helping SCSU win the title and reach the NCAA bracket.
After such an exemplary freshman year, Schuldt was named a team captain for the 2016-17 season, a tremendous honor for a sophomore.
4. Hunter Miska, Minnesota-Duluth, 2016-17
Miska went 29-5-4 with a 2.20 goals-against average and .920 save percentage to go along with five shutouts.
The Duluth goalie showed poise beyond his years in net, leading the team to the national championship game. In the process, Miska stonewalled Ohio State and Boston University in overtime games in the NCAA West Regional. He followed that with a 39-save performance that carried his team to a 2-1 win over Harvard in the Frozen Four.
Although Duluth lost to Denver in the championship, Miska was named to the second all-conference team and signed an NHL contract with the Arizona Coyotes, signs of how highly thought of the former Bulldogs goalie is.
With Duluth goalie Hunter Miska and Denver forward Henrik Borgstrom, two exceptional freshman seasons culminated in a 2017 NCAA championship showdown. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
3. Henrik Borgström, Denver, 2016-17
Next, we have the league’s reigning rookie of the year. Producing 22 goals, Borgström topped all NCAA freshmen while tying teammate Troy Terry for the most of all skaters in the conference. Overall, his 43 points ranked fourth in the conference and third among NCAA freshmen.
Terry ended up overtaking Borgström for the team-lead in points, but heading into the NCAA tournament, he led the Pioneers with 38. Surprisingly, his seven game-winning goals ranked second on the team, but he was reliable in crunch time for the national champions all the same.
2. Jaccob Slavin, Colorado College, 2013-14
Slavin has been the only bright spot for Colorado College since the inception of NCHC hockey. The Tigers boast a 27-113-14 record in the last four seasons.
Putting team success aside, Slavin’s freshman year was fascinating given the circumstances. As a defenseman, he led the team in assists (20) and points (25). Even crazier, he accomplished these unlikely feats while missing five games.
Yet, the most eye-popping statistic is his plus-two rating. This was a year where the team went 7-24-6 and logged a collective rating of minus-47. For Slavin to possess a positive rating is quite an impressive accomplishment, showing how valuable he was to the Tigers.
Fortunately, Slavin was given the recognition he deserved by winning the conference’s first top-rookie award. Nevertheless, one can only imagine what he could have done on a better squad.
1. Brock Boeser, North Dakota, 2015-16
No one can argue that Boeser’s freshman season was unlike any other since the beginning of the NCHC. Adding the young star to a line with Nick Schmaltz and Drake Caggiula equated to one of the top college lines to ever play.
Nicknamed the “CBS line,” Caggiula, Boeser and Schmaltz ranked first, second and third in plus-minus, respectively. Caggiula was the veteran leader, and a great player in his own right, but Boeser was the most skilled. He led the Fighting Hawks with 27 goals, an NCHC hockey freshman record. He also topped the team and conference with 60 points, another best among league rookies.
Scoring more than a point per game, Boeser produced 19 multipoint games, 32 games with a point, and a positive plus-minus rating in 40 of 42 games. He also had a seven-game goal streak that stretched from Nov. 29 to Jan. 16.
In the NCAA tournament, Boeser kept leading the charge, scoring two goals and seven assists. He would go on to win All-Tournament honors, but the greatest honor was bringing UND its first championship since 2000, scoring the clinching goal in the 5-1 final victory over Quinnipiac.
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