It has been a busy few days for some of Chicago’s first-round picks. Over the weekend, the Blackhawks signed defenseman Sam Rinzel (a 2022 first-round pick) center Oliver Moore (a 2023 first-rounder) to entry-level contracts and gave them their NHL debuts on Sunday. One of their first-round picks from 2024 will have a new team as well, just not at the professional level.
Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that center Sacha Boisvert has entered the NCAA transfer portal. After spending his freshman year at the University of North Dakota, he’ll be on the lookout for a new school to play for next season.
Boisvert was the 18th-overall selection last June following a solid second year with USHL Muskegon. The 19-year-old recorded 36 goals and 32 assists in 61 games with the Lumberjacks last season which had him ranked in the 20s by most scouting services. Clearly, Chicago felt a little stronger about his upside, selecting him with one of the top post-lottery picks.
On the surface, Boisvert’s decision to play elsewhere is a bit surprising. He had a solid freshman year for the Fighting Hawks, tallying 18 goals and 14 assists in 37 games. His 32 points led the team which is particularly notable among a group of skaters that featured 14 NHL draft picks. Already getting a prominent role, he’ll look to find a better fit somewhere else in the coming weeks.
When he was drafted, Boisvert was viewed as a bit of a project selection who would need several years of college hockey before being ready to turn pro. This news doesn’t accelerate that timeline, instead likely cementing it. But after a strong first season of college, Boisvert seems to be on the right track development-wise, even if he’s setting out to chart a new path.
If he goes to either Michigan School or Boston U as was reported it’s a major step up in his development. Surprised Minnesota wasn’t thrown in there also. But he was a big fish in a smaller pond because he has an NHL body already. Now he just needs to work on the basics. He needed to up his competition.
Great point, as UND has never really produced any NHL players. Up his competition? Where do you come up with this stuff?
If he really wants to up his competition he should go to Denver.
Saying UND is a “smaller pond” for hockey is like saying football at Alabama or Ole Miss isn’t good cause it’s technically a “smaller pond”. This is college not pro. Population density holds zero value.
The coaching change at und was likely a reason he’s leaving.
Think he would have left anyway but we’ll never know now. LOL Be interesting to see how he does against better competition.
UND is one of the top programs in college hockey buddy.
Maybe but the quality of the Big Ten and the Eastern teams is a bit deeper than the area teams where he was. I think you’d have to admit that.
No, not really at all. Not sure how you came to this conclusion. They’re a perennial powerhouse. Top 5 program all time. I think you need to do a deep dive on UND.
The most logical reason Boisvert left is the current instability from the coach getting fired. And in an age when you can just go anywhere you want year after year with no consequences, why not eh?
Yeah when Eddie Belfour played there.
Half of the Frozen Four is made up of teams from the same conference as UND. Last year’s champs too. Sounds like really terrible competition.
I’m not even from North Dakota but I’m trying to understand your frame of thinking. Is it cause they’re in such an unpopulated part of the country that randomly you think that correlates with how good they are? Or maybe you’re a naive 11 year old? Most people who know anything about college hockey would agree the blue bloods of college hockey are; Michigan, Boston Univ., North Dakota, Boston College and Denver.
I am from North Dakota and these arguments about how western teams aren’t good and HockeyEast is the mecca of existence always make me laugh. DU, Michigan and UND all have more titles than anyone in the east. More NHL players come from Minnesota and Michigan than New England. But east coast people all think we care about them, so these brainless arguments will continue.
@chipwest, I know, but dude might have gone to und for the coach for his development and didn’t want to see what a new coach has for a direction.
Coaching change was not even mentioned in the story. Sad.
I wonder if NIL could be a factor as well.
Arizona State.
“Transfer portal” seems like a very fanciful term for some paperwork to change schools.
There’s no teleportation involved, right?
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Expert commentary.
He’s going to HockeyEast. Best conference by far.
The Big Ten, NCHC, and Hockey East are similar and far and away better than the other conferences in college hockey. Outside of those Big 3 conferences there’s a huge disconnect with the rest of college hockey. Obviously from year to year there’s outliers who do well in other conferences.
HockeyEast has BU and BC, and that is pretty much it. None of the other teams are good on a consistent basis.