Today’s issue continues my All 64 season preview, looking at teams I have ranked 60-62 in my rankings (Northern Michigan, Ferris State, and Yale).
ICYMI: Yesterday I posted a podcast episode (free to everyone) with Shane Malloy, who hosts Hockey Prospect Radio on NHL Network Radio. Shane is also one of the founders of Fractal Hockey, a firm that specializes in player evaluation and has scouting reports of every CHL player (they’re also a sponsor). We talked about the potential impact of CHL players on NCAA hockey. It’s a great conversation.
NOTE: Tomorrow (Friday), I am going to record a mailbag podcast on the NCAA/CHL lawsuit. If you have questions regarding the lawsuit, or anything related to the NCAA/CHL eligibility issue, please reply to this newsletter to email me. I am only taking questions from subscribers for this special mailbag episode recording tomorrow (Friday).
Here are a few things to remember about my 1-64 season preview:
These projections are all based on Game Score data, weighted by conference strength. As you might remember, I’ve come up with a formula I’ve used over the last couple of seasons to predict the upcoming college hockey season. The 1-64 order is based solely on the math. If I believe the math is wrong and a team could outperform (or underperform) its ranking, I’ll tell you.
Last year, we hit a few teams right on the money and were within five Pairwise spots of more than 20 teams. The math correctly predicted a big drop for Harvard (which I was kicked around for at the time) and a big jump from Colorado College.
The 1-64 projection mirrors where a team will finish in the final Pairwise rankings for the 2024-25 season. A top-16 finish does not mean we are projecting a team as an NCAA Tournament qualifier because automatic bids can move the cut line.
If you have ideas for a future newsletter, tips you want to share, mailbag submissions, or if you want to sponsor a future newsletter, please email mike@collegehockeyinsider.com.
— I'm also @MikeMcMahonCHN on Twitter.
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