Neutral Zone, the leading independent amateur hockey scouting service in North America, is pleased to release our Top 110 NCAA Freshman. While grading incoming recruiting classes is not a perfect science; Neutral Zone has tweaked and created a reliable, proven algorithm which determines recruiting class rankings based on historical data of how amateur prospects translate to college hockey. This algorithm takes account of a players age, what league they are coming from and most importantly their star rating.
“This list serves three main purposes; we first wanted to share with college hockey fans who the best upcoming freshman are; secondly, we wanted to run some analytics to assess trends in the data and lastly we wanted to have a list before the season so that we could compare/contrast at the end of the season as we have done in the past.”
We have categorized these players, not in order, but in A, B and C. A’s are players ranked 5.0 stars; B’s are players Ranked 4.75-4.5 and C’s are ranked 4.25. We attached HM which means Honorable Mention for the bottom few who are highly talented and poised for big seasons but not quite 4.25 star rating.
Pre-Season Top 110 NCAA Freshman
| Class | Name | School | Star Rating | DOB | Prior League |
| A | Oliver Wahlstrom | Boston College | 5 | 2000 | NTDP |
| A | Joel Farabee | Boston University | 5 | 2000 | NTDP |
| A | Ben Brinkman | Minnesota | 5 | 2000 | MN HS |
| A | Jonathan Tychonick | North Dakota | 5 | 2000 | BCHL |
| A | Mattias Samuelsson | Western Michigan | 5 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Ruslan Iskhakov | UConn | 4.75 | 2000 | INTL |
| B | Sampo Ranta | Minnesota | 4.75 | 2000 | USHL |
| B | J. Bernard-Docker | North Dakota | 4.75 | 2000 | AJHL |
| B | Emilio Pettersen | Denver | 4.75 | 2000 | USHL |
| B | Tyler Weiss | Nebraska-Omaha | 4.75 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Jake Wise | Boston University | 4.75 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | K’Andre Miller | Wisconsin | 4.75 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Ty Emberson | Wisconsin | 4.75 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Jonny Gruden | Miami (Ohio) | 4.75 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Jay O’Brien | Providence | 4.75 | 1999 | NE Prep |
| B | Sam Walker | Minnesota | 4.75 | 1999 | MN HS |
| B | Jack Rathbone | Harvard | 4.75 | 1999 | NE Prep |
| B | Jack Dugan | Providence | 4.75 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Jasper Weatherby | North Dakota | 4.75 | 1998 | BCHL |
| B | Filip Larsson | Denver | 4.75 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Gavin Hain | North Dakota | 4.5 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Jacob Pivonka | Notre Dame | 4.5 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Stanislav Demin | Denver | 4.5 | 2000 | BCHL |
| B | Spencer Stastney | Notre Dame | 4.5 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Jack Drury | Harvard | 4.5 | 2000 | USHL |
| B | Peter Diliberatore | Quinnipiac | 4.5 | 2000 | NE Prep |
| B | Patrick Giles | Boston College | 4.5 | 2000 | NTDP |
| B | Christian Krygier | Michigan State | 4.5 | 2000 | USHL |
| B | Cole Krygier | Michigan State | 4.5 | 2000 | USHL |
| B | D. Koumontzis | Arizona State | 4.5 | 2000 | MN HS |
| B | Jordan Harris | Northeastern | 4.5 | 2000 | NE Prep |
| B | Curtis Hall | Yale | 4.5 | 2000 | USHL |
| B | Jack McBain | Boston College | 4.5 | 2000 | OJHL |
| B | Brett Stapley | Denver | 4.5 | 1999 | BCHL |
| B | Cole Guttman | Denver | 4.5 | 1999 | USHL |
| B | Jachym Kondelik | UConn | 4.5 | 1999 | USHL |
| B | Marc Del Gaizo | UMass Amherst | 4.5 | 1999 | USHL |
| B | Marc McLaughlin | Boston College | 4.5 | 1999 | USHL |
| B | Noah Cates | Minnesota Duluth | 4.5 | 1999 | USHL |
| B | Joshua Maniscalco | Arizona State | 4.5 | 1999 | USHL |
| B | Corey Andonovski | Princeton | 4.5 | 1999 | BCHL |
| B | Tyler Madden | Northeastern | 4.5 | 1999 | USHL |
| B | Robbie Stucker | Minnesota | 4.5 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Mikael Hakkarainen | Providence | 4.5 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Kale Howarth | UConn | 4.5 | 1998 | BCHL |
| B | Anthony Del Gaizo | UMass Amherst | 4.5 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Ty Farmer | UMass Amherst | 4.5 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Dennis Cesana | Michigan State | 4.5 | 1998 | AJHL |
| B | Nick Perbix | St. Cloud | 4.5 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Chase Gresock | Merrimack | 4.5 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | J. Schmidt-Svejstrup | Maine | 4.5 | 1998 | USHL |
| B | Casey Dornbach | Harvard | 4.5 | 1997 | USHL |
| B | Jackson Cates | Minnesota Duluth | 4.5 | 1997 | USHL |
| B | Blake McLaughlin | Minnesota | 4.5 | 2000 | USHL |
| C | Wyllum Deveaux | Harvard | 4.25 | 2000 | USHL |
| C | Adam Samuelsson | Boston College | 4.25 | 2000 | NTDP |
| C | Drew DeRidder | Michigan State | 4.25 | 2000 | NTDP |
| C | Erik Middendorf | Colorado College | 4.25 | 2000 | NTDP |
| C | Jack Randl | Michigan | 4.25 | 2000 | USHL |
| C | Michael Callahan | Providence | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Tyce Thompson | Providence | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Alex Steeves | Notre Dame | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Graham Slaggert | Notre Dame | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Wyatt Bongiovanni | Quinnipiac | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Kamil Sadlocha | Ohio State | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Nate Knoepke | Nebraska-Omaha | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Mick Messner | Wisconsin | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Angus Crookshank | New Hampshire | 4.25 | 1999 | BCHL |
| C | Sam Hentges | St. Cloud | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Ben Copeland | Colorado College | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Adam Dawe | Maine | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | John St. Ivany | Yale | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Graham Lillibridge | Yale | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Seth Barton | Umass Lowell | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Spencer Meier | St. Cloud | 4.25 | 1999 | USHL |
| C | Garrett Wait | Minnesota | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Nick Leivermann | Notre Dame | 4.25 | 1998 | BCHL |
| C | Carter Turnbull | UConn | 4.25 | 1998 | BCHL |
| C | Hugo Blixt | Boston University | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Joshua Dunne | Clarkson | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Brian Hurley | Clarkson | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Cole Gallant | Western Michigan | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Cole Koepke | Minnesota Duluth | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Ryan Verrier | New Hampshire | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Bryan Yoon | Colorado College | 4.25 | 1998 | BCHL |
| C | Grant Cruikshank | Colorado College | 4.25 | 1998 | BCHL |
| C | Carter Long | Vermont | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Cooper Zech | Ferris State | 4.25 | 1998 | BCHL |
| C | Trenton Bliss | Michigan Tech | 4.25 | 1998 | USHL |
| C | Gustaf Westlund | Ohio State | 4.25 | 1997 | USHL |
| C | AJ Vanderbeck | Ohio State | 4.25 | 1997 | BCHL |
| C | Julian Napravnik | Minnesota State | 4.25 | 1997 | USHL |
| C | Chris Van Os Shaw | Minnesota State | 4.25 | 1997 | AJHL |
| C | Grant Hebert | Robert Morris | 4.25 | 1997 | USHL |
| C | Owen Sillinger | Bemidji State | 4.25 | 1997 | BCHL |
| C | Quinn Preston | Ohio State | 4.25 | 1997 | USHL |
| C | Alec Broetzman | Michigan Tech | 4.25 | 1997 | USHL |
| C | Sean Comrie | Denver | 4.25 | 2000 | AJHL |
| HM | Ryan O’Connell | Ohio State | 4 | 1999 | USHL |
| HM | Samuel Morton | Union | 4 | 1999 | BCHL |
| HM | Jordan Timmons | Uconn | 4 | 1998 | USHL |
| HM | Jack DeBoer | Boston University | 4 | 2000 | NTDP |
| HM | Colin Sowyer | Michigan Tech | 4 | 1998 | USHL |
| HM | Dominic Mersch | Wisconsin | 4 | 1998 | USHL |
| HM | Derek Daschke | Miami (Ohio) | 4 | 1998 | USHL |
| HM | Michael Regush | Cornell | 4 | 1998 | USHL |
| HM | Maxim Andreyev | Cornell | 4 | 1998 | USHL |
| HM | Reid Stefanson | UMass Lowell | 4 | 1997 | USHL |
| HM | Matthew Barry | Holy Cross | 4 | 1997 | USHL |
| HM | Michael Ryan | Union | 4 | 1997 | BCHL |
Analytics
We wanted to not only focus on the individual players but the leagues, the age groups and the star ratings to test for correlations and patterns in the data.
Star Rating Breakdown
| Star Rate | # of Players | % of Players |
| 5.0 | 5 | 5.2% |
| 4.75 | 15 | 15.5% |
| 4.5 | 33 | 34.0% |
| 4.25 | 44 | 45.4% |
The median star rating on the site is a 2.85 so these players listed in this report are the best of the best for NCAA prospects. There are only 5 prospects in the 5 star category; there are only 15 prospects in the 4.75 star category and then it jumps to 33 and 44 for 4.5 and 4.25 star players.
Star Ratings & Birth Years
| Rate | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 |
| 5.0 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 4.75 | 60% | 20% | 20% | 0% |
| 4.5 | 39.4% | 27.3% | 27.3% | 6.1% |
| 4.25 | 13.6% | 36.4% | 31.8% | 18.2% |
There is a direct correlation between star rating and age. All of the 5 star prospects are 2000 birth years, the youngest age group among NCAA freshman. Also, 60% of 4.75 star prospects are also 2000’s and there are less no 4.75 star prospects at the 1997 birth year. The chart shows that the best freshman tend to be the youngest freshman and the older the player the less number of highly graded prospects. This isn’t surprising because only high level prospects are able to play college hockey at age 18; also, the 4.5, 4.75 and 5.0 star prospects are already in college, and some already in the NHL.
Star Ratings & Leagues
| Rate | NTDP | USHL | BCHL | AJHL | Prep | MNHS | Other |
| 5.0 | 60% | 0% | 20% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 0% |
| 4.75 | 33.3% | 26.7% | 6.7% | 6.7% | 13.3% | 6.7% | 6.7% |
| 4.5 | 12.1% | 60.6% | 12.1% | 3.0% | 6.1% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| 4.25 | 6.8% | 70.5% | 18.2% | 4.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Last element of the analysis was to look at the league breakdown of where do the top prospects come from. It is clear that the USHL is the largest feeder league of these top 110 prospects; they account for 67% of all the players on the list. The second closest is the BCHL which accounts for 16%. NTDP, which isn’t technically a league but rather a team, accounts for 3 of the 5 top prospects and 9 of the top 15 4.75-star prospects. Lastly, somewhat impressive to see some top prospects and NHL Draft picks like Ben Brinkman, Jay O’Brien, Demetrios Koumontzis and Sam Walker who came right to NCAA out of high school and prep.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images