Now that the NCCA men’s basketball championship has been decided, it’s time to move on to the next one.
No, the American college hockey Frozen Four doesn’t get nearly the attention that its winter sport counterpart does. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t stories to follow or players to keep an eye on.
The truncated Chicago-based tournament gets underway Thursday with Harvard and Minnesota-Duluth facing off in the first semifinal, while Denver and Notre Dame follow. The winners play in Saturday’s final.
Here are the players to know going in.
Henrik Borgstrom – Denver
Borgstrom is wrapping up his freshman season after being selected by the Florida Panthers in the first round, 23rd overall, last June. He’s played like anything but an NCAA rookie.
The Helsinki native did have the advantage of starting the season as a 19-year-old (he was passed over in the 2015 NHL draft), and he put his experience to good use.
He was named National Collegiate Hockey Conference rookie of the year after leading the Pioneers in scoring. His 21 goals and 42 points in 35 games – including four points in pre-Frozen Four wins against Michigan Tech and Penn State – put him 24th overall in points, right ahead of world junior shootout ace and Denver teammate Troy Terry.
Will Butcher – Denver
The only Hobey Baker finalist in the Frozen Four, Butcher will know if he’ll be named college hockey’s top player on Friday. The Colorado Avalanche draftee is the first blueliner since former Ottawa Senator and current KHLer Matt Gilroy to be named to the top three for the award. Gilroy won in 2009 while with Boston University.
The 22-year-old captain recorded seven goals and 29 assists in 41 games, finishing four points shy of Harvard’s Adam Fox, a Calgary Flames prospect, for most points among defencemen.
As a senior with the No. 1 Pioneers, this is his last – and best – shot at a national title.
Ryan Donato – Harvard
He may be the coach’s son, but Donato’s place as a key Crimson contributor is earned on merit.
Donato, son of Harvard alum Ted, was fifth on the team with 40 points. The six-foot-one, 181-pound sophomore forward was a 2014 second-round pick of the Boston Bruins, the same team for which his dad played 528 of his 796 NHL games.
Cam Morrison – Notre Dame
Boston Bruins prospect Anders Bjork deserves some praise as the NCAA’s ninth-leading scorer with 52 points. Yet, the Fighting Irish mention goes to Morrison, an Aurora, Ont., native.
Fresh off a 2015-16 season in which he played for Canada at the world under-18 championship and was drafted 40th overall by the Colorado Avalanche, Morrison’s freshman campaign has been solid.
The six-foot-three, 212-pound forward has 11 goals and 23 points in 39 games, the highlight coming in a two-goal effort in a Northeast Regional Final victory over UMass Lowell.
Riley Tufte – Minnesota-Duluth
He isn’t the Bulldogs’ leading scorer. In fact, at ninth on the team with 15 points in 35 games, he isn’t particularly close.
But Tufte is someone to watch for no other reason than his status as a highly regarded prospect.
Tufte was selected 25th overall by the Dallas Stars after a solid showing at Minnesota’s Blaine High School where he scored 47 goals and 78 points in 25 games. While his USHL and NCAA offensive contributions have been considerably sparser, Tufte did show signs of progress down the stretch.
The six-foot-five, 215-pound freshman had his second NCAA two-goal game March 10 and had an assist in each of Minnesota-Duluth’s two tournament games to help it reach the Frozen Four.
