The Ohio State Buckeyes haven't seen the same success as their football counterparts, but they're working their way back to winning the Big Ten. With a load of freshmen coming in, how can these players help the program get back to its winning ways?
Buckeyes head coach Steve Rohlik is heading into his 14th year with the program, and unlike the football team, he isn’t able to get every top recruit. With a large number of new faces coming into Columbus, who are they, and how can these freshmen make an impact?
All entry years are from CollegeHockeyNews and are subject to change. Players are listed alphabetically by last name.
Jackson Crowder –Center, Chicago Steel (USHL)
Crowder played three seasons in the USHL, and his final one was filled with point production. The six-foot-three center put up 20 goals and 46 points in 45 games for the Steel.
Crowder was drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 draft by the Washington Capitals.
Jakub Fibigr –Defenseman, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Fibigr was able to produce points his entire OHL career, which was mainly with the Brampton Steelheads, where he was an assistant captain before getting traded to Windsor.
In 56 games, he had 10 goals and 40 points this past season. He also had 12 points in 13 playoff games.
Evan Jardine –Left Winger, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
Jardine was selected in this year’s draft in the fourth round by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jardine put up video game numbers in minor hockey, and he was able to bring his high-end point production to junior. In 53 games this season, he had 27 goals and 61 points for the Phantoms.
Maddox Labre –Defenseman, Victoriaville Tigers (QMJHL)
Labre played two seasons with the Tigers, where they weren’t exactly the best team in the Q.
He was named an assistant captain in his second and final season, where in 59 games, the six-foot-four defenseman had 20 points. To show how the team's play affected his numbers, he had a combined plus-minus of minus-77.
Frankie Marrelli –Defenseman, Ottawa 67’s (OHL)
Marrelli played all four of his seasons in the OHL with the 67’s. In his final season, he saw career-highs in goals with 13, assists with 30, and points with 43.
He also had a monster plus-minus of plus-48, which was tied for the team lead. Marrelli brings a lot of physicality to this Buckeye’s blueline even though he’s sub-six feet.
Jake Merens –Right Winger, Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
Merens played six games last season before getting hurt; in those games, he had two points and then joined the team for three playoff games, where in those three games he had one point.
In his last full season in Sioux Falls, he had 18 points in 46 games for the Stampede.
Jakub Milota –Goalie, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL)
Milota only played three games this season, but wow, the numbers were insane. In those games, he had a 0.45 goals-against average and a .986 save-percentage.
Milota was with the Czech World Junior team, where he had a 2.99 GAA and an .884 SP in four games.
Ryan Rucinski –Center, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
Teammate again with Evan Jardine, Rucinski is the son of former Western Michigan captain Jeff Rusinski and the nephew of Steve Duke, who was an assistant captain with Rusinski.
Rucinski is similar to his father in the way that he was Youngstown’s captain last season, where he had 62 points in 59 games.
William Tomko –Center, Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
Tomko spent time with the Chicago Steel before heading to Sioux City, where he saw an uptick in every category.
He had 25 goals and 60 points in 59 games. To add to that, he also went from 47 penalty minutes in the 2024-25 season to 115 with the Musketeers.
