College Hockey’s Portal Winners: Gophers, Broncos, and Bulldogs Top the West

Also: Top prospect picks Michigan, staffing updates, and Salve Regina hits rock bottom

We’ll start today’s newsletter by selecting some early “winners” from the transfer portal in the western conferences (B10, CCHA, NCHC) — who upgraded, who filled critical holes, and which rosters now look a whole lot better heading into October.

In case you missed it, I had my winners from the eastern conferences earlier this week:

College Hockey’s Portal Winners: Breaking Down the Biggest Adds in the East

Also in today’s edition (No. 581):

• One of the top prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft has made his call — he’s headed to Michigan, passing on the OHL route.

• Omaha officially stamped Jamie Huffman’s hiring.

• Peter Mannino is on the move, stepping into a new role at Denver.

• And at Salve Regina, the hits keep coming — the program is now searching for a head coach on top of all its other turmoil.

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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Now, onto today’s newsletter …

Programming Note: It’s taken a little extra time to pull together my 2025-26 preseason 1-through-63 rankings. With so many late CHL commitments, I wanted to make sure every incoming freshman class was accurate before putting pen to paper. The good news? The wait is almost over. I’ll begin rolling out the previews and rankings either late next week or, more likely, on Tuesday night after Labor Day.

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