(#452) 20 names to watch when the 2024 college hockey recruiting cycle opens on August 1

Mikey Berchild is a Minnesota native and one of the top players available when recruiting opens for rising juniors on Thursday

Thursday is a big day in recruiting. Rising high school juniors can officially begin receiving offers from NCAA programs.

I say officially, but let’s not pretend. Top players in this age bracket have been recruited through backchannels for most of the last year. Don’t be surprised if a handful of 2008-born players fly off the board quickly on Thursday, announcing commitments via social media.

Before we get into the list, I’d like to remind players or families reading this newsletter that if you don’t receive an offer on August 1 and are a rising junior, it’s NOT a big deal. Keep working, and keep grinding. The VAST majority (99%+) of college hockey players did not commit on August 1.

Here are some general thoughts on the ’08 class:

— A handful of the best players in this class have already signed CHL deals. Mathis Preston (Spokane, WHL), Ethan Garden (Windsor, OHL), and Ryan Lin (Vancouver, WHL) are already off the board.

— This group doesn’t have a generational talent at the top of the list the way that the ’06s (Macklin Celebrini) and ‘07s (James Hagens) had, but there is still considerable depth. In particular, I like many of the defensemen in this class. Some project as shutdown defenders, but they have the size and pro measurables. There are some definite NHL defensemen in this group.

— New England is usually a hotbed, but not many of the top-ranked players in this class are from New England. Casey Mutryn is the only player I think will be ranked in the top 50 when it’s all said and done.

Alright, here’s my list of names to watch. This is NOT a ranking. I’ve watched some of these players, but I haven’t put eyes on all of them, so I’m not going to pretend to rank them for you.

But these are some of the names you should become familiar with:

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— I'm also @MikeMcMahonCHN on Twitter.

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