By: Jake Reiser<\/p>\n
Just 129 days since their disappointing 5-2 loss to Denver in the NCAA West regionals, the Boston University Men\u2019s hockey team will kick off their 2016-17 season with an exhibition game versus Prince Edward Island. The offseason has seen a lot of turnover with the Terriers, the likes of Matt Grzelyck, Danny O\u2019Regan and Ahti Oksanen out and Clayton Keller, Kieffer Bellows and Dante Fabbro, and company.<\/p>\n
That being said, BU was ranked #1 in the Hockey East media poll. New captain, senior defenseman, Doyle Somerby sees both the positivity of being ranked first but also sets his expectations realistically. \u201cSince I\u2019ve been here, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve had the top spot., it\u2019s really nice to have that honor, but at the same time, it\u2019s something that if you\u2019re not working hard throughout the season, you saw a team like Northeastern go on a long unbeaten streak, they took a run with it,\u201d Somerby said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long season with a lot of things that can happen in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head coach David Quinn believes that while the polls do have a purpose, he needs to keep his guys focused in the short term. \u201cAs a group, you don\u2019t really put any stock into it. Our guys certainly understand what\u2019s in front of us, the challenges we\u2019re going to face just like every other team in our league,\u201d Quinn said.<\/p>\n
Like two years ago, the Terriers will be one of the youngest teams in the NCAA. Coach Quinn believes in the leadership his team has in its new captains\u2019 squad and seniors to set the example early on. Quinn said, \u201cWe certainly feel like we\u2019ve got great leadership in Doyle Somerby, Nick Roberto and Tommy Kelley as our seniors, and JFK and Nik Olsson as underclassman, assistant captains. Those guys have certainly led by example the first three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somerby\u2019s assistant captains will be sophomore Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson and junior Nikolas Olsson. \u201cJFK\u201d, as he\u2019s known by fans, is expected to step up as a mature leader of the forwards corps, possibly centering the top line again. Quinn said, \u201cHe\u2019s matured beyond his years. We\u2019re really anticipating him to make the next step as an all-around player.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a little bit surprised,\u201d Forsbaka-Karlsson said on being named an alternate captain. \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting it, but especially since it\u2019s coming from the guys, I think it\u2019s a really big honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where JFK is making strides in playing, Olsson is just happy to be on the ice. His Terrier career thus far is marred with injuries, most recently a shoulder surgery in early February shutting down the final month of his 2015-16 season. Olsson said, \u201cIt\u2019s been a really long time since I\u2019ve been 100% and fully healthy, so I\u2019m really excited to see what I can do just full go, no restrictions, I\u2019m just very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
While not present at media day, Clayton Keller and Kieffer Bellows will arguably be the two biggest additions to the lineup for Boston University. Coach Quinn said, \u201cThey\u2019ve proven themselves at high levels. There\u2019s a familiarity, they\u2019ve had success against a college schedule. You\u2019re talking about two elite players who work hard, compete and they\u2019re going to suffer the usual peaks and valleys of a freshman, but hopefully not too many of the valleys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinn knows sophomore Jordan Greenway got off to a slow start last season, but expects him to contribute right from the get-go this year. \u201cPhysically, there\u2019s no one like him in college hockey. He\u2019s athletic, he can skate, sees the ice extremely well, makes plays, he can shoot it, so everything\u2019s there,\u201d Quinn said. \u201cAt the end of the day, a lot of guys have the talent, but they have to get it done night in and night out, there\u2019s other characteristics you need to be successful, he\u2019s working on those, he\u2019s getting better and better and I\u2019m really excited for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another sophomore that Coach Quinn expects to produce right away is Charlie McAvoy, the Long Island native who got drafted 14th<\/sup> overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>\n Connor LaCouvee is the only returning goaltender to have had playing time last season, but Coach Quinn says he\u2019s liked what he\u2019s seen not only out of LaCouvee, but sophomore Max Prawdzik and freshman Jake Oettinger. \u201cIt\u2019s early and it\u2019s a small sample, but we like what we\u2019ve seen out of all three of them. With goaltending, there\u2019s not much subjectivity. You stop [the puck], you play.\u201d<\/p>\n Trips early to the University of Denver, the team that knocked them out of the NCAA Playoffs last season, and the University of Michigan will prove to be early tests and bonding moments foe a young team in the month of October. \u201cI think it gives your team a chance to bond and get away, spend some time with each other that you normally wouldn\u2019t spend, We\u2019re going to be on the road, playing some tough games. Team unity, togetherness, work ethic, leadership, all that important stuff can improve when you travel as often as we are early in the year,\u201d Quinn said.<\/p>\n The Terriers first preseason game is at 7:00PM on Saturday, October 1st<\/sup> at Agganis Arena vs Prince Edward Island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Jake Reiser Just 129 days since their disappointing 5-2 loss to Denver in the NCAA West regionals, the Boston University Men\u2019s hockey team will kick off their 2016-17 season with an exhibition game versus Prince Edward Island. The offseason has seen a lot of turnover with the Terriers, the likes of Matt Grzelyck, Danny […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17207,"featured_media":6548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1026,1028],"tags":[1222,1249],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7151"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}