Boston College’s men’s hockey team is stacked with future NHL stars

Jonny Lazarus
Jonny Lazarus
Boston College’s men’s hockey team is stacked with future NHL stars

Ten years from now, we’ll be talking about all the star talent Boston College’s 2023-24 Hockey East team possessed.

In a 16-team tournament that features a ton of the “blue blood” schools of college hockey, nobody has the roster or the overall success quite like BC has. The Eagles enter the NCAA tournament fresh off of their Hockey East Championship, riding a 12-game win streak heading into Friday afternoon’s puck drop against Michigan Tech. 

This Eagles are as hot as it gets right now. They currently have the second-best power play in the nation, scoring at a 29 percent rate. They even converted on six of nine attempts during the Hockey East playoffs. They’ve been the unanimous No. 1 team USCHO poll for six straight polls – something that hasn’t happened since St. Cloud State in 2017. 

With 14 NHL Draft picks, Boston College is well-represented by high-quality talent.

The school has four first-round picks, starting with Anaheim Ducks prospect Cutter Gauthier. The sophomore has tallied 35 goals in 37 games this season and was also a big reason why the USA won gold at the World Junior Championship in January. Few prospects in the game are as good as him right now, and it won’t be long before he’s exploiting the NHL.

Boston also has one of the most dangerous lines in all of college hockey – Will Smith (San Jose Sharks), Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers). All were first-round picks in 2023, having also decimated the USHL ranks with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program last year. At least one of them has notched a point in every game this season and they’ve all had at least one 17-game point streak this year.

Smith currently leads the entire NCAA with 67 points and has notched 24 points in his last nine games, including a five-point effort in the Hockey East final. Gauthier and Smith are both Hobey Baker Award top 10 finalists and should factor into the final three later on.

Leonard and Perreault have had quite a decorated freshman year as well. Leonard is tied for third in the country with 27 goals and is just three shy of tying Brian Gionta for a BC freshman school record of 30 goals. Perreault, on the other hand, is the mitochondria of this line. He missed five games due to injury but had been leading the NCAA in points at one point and was the first player to hit the 50-point plateau. He’s currently riding an 18-game point streak and had three goals with four assists in his first two games back from injury. 

Smith, Perreault, and Leonard complement each other in unique ways. Smith can take over a game, as we saw in the Hockey East Final, while Perreault is one of the most elite playmakers in college hockey. Leonard’s speed, physicality, and goal-scoring ability round them out perfectly. Leonard, in particular, is an interesting specimen. Leonard thrives on the big moments and isn’t afraid to show his personality on the ice while playing with an edge.

Another player to look out for on the BC blue line is Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Eamon Powell. The BC captain is a solid offensive defenseman who can jump in the play and help get this team going in transition – a good compliment to the defensive stylings of Dallas Stars draft pick Aram Minnetian and New York Rangers prospect Drew Fortescue. Neither are afraid to put their body on the line, and they’ve got some added offensive upside, too.

In net, Jacob Fowler has been one of the most impressive freshmen in college hockey. The Montreal Canadiens prospect has a 29-5-1 record, a .925 save percentage, and a 2.19 goals-against average. He was especially good during the Hockey East playoffs, highlighted by an unbelievable diving save.

With Fowler playing at the top of his game and this team clicking like they are offensively, it’s going to be hard for any team to take them down. But stacked lineups don’t always get the job done – the University of Minnesota lost with one of the top lines in the country (Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud and Matthew Knies) to a Quinnipiac with just three NHL prospects at the time – and they’re mostly deep in their respective team’s depth chart.

But with a group this strong? It’s hard to bet against them.


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