RMI is heading into a year where they will see a lot of new faces on the ice. With 12 freshmen joining the program, can they help, and will it be enough to bring fans their first winning season in a few years?
RPI has seen five losing seasons in a row, and if you expand that to the last nine seasons, fans have also seen two single-digit win seasons. With head coach Eric Lang set to be the bench boss for his second year, how can he and his staff bring these new freshmen into the team and mold them into players who can contribute to winning at the college level?
All entry years are from CollegeHockeyNews and are subject to change. Players are listed alphabetically by last name.
Grayson Burzynski –Defenseman, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
At six-foot-four and 212 pounds, you would expect a player like this to be a more stay-at-home defenseman; Burzynski can bring way more than just the play in his own end.
He won’t be the only Wheat King on this list, and you can see why he was one of them. In 59 games this season, he had 11 goals and 58 points while in Brandon.
Kamyl Chemrouk –Center, Powell River Kings (BCHL)
Chemrouk was all over the place last season; in the BCHL, he played for three different teams during that time frame: the Brooks Bandits and the Coquitlam Express, and he ended with the Powell River Kings.
With all of those teams combined, he played 48 games where he produced 14 goals and 30 points.
Tafari Chingwaru –Defenseman, Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL)
Similar to Chemrouk, Chingwaru spent time with three different teams last season, but they were all in different leagues.
He played with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL, the Vancouver Giants in the WHL mind you, it was only two games, and the Lloydminster Bobcats in the AJHL, where he played the most games. In his 20 games with the Bobcats, he had six points.
Ryan Dwyer –Center, Newfoundland Regiment (QMJHL)
Ryan Dwyer is the son of former NHLer Gordie Dwyer. Dwyer spent most of his time in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. For Ryan, he was traded this past season from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to Newfoundland.
In 30 games for the Regiment, he had seven points during the regular season, and then four points in 12 playoff games.
Josh Evaschesen –Left Winger, Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Evaschesen wasn’t a half-point-per-game player in the 2024-25 season in the BCHL for the Trail Smoke Eaters. He made the move to the WHL look easy with his only season in Kamloops.
In 67 games, he had 33 goals and 73 points; that’s a 28-goal jump from the previous year!
Jordan Gavin –Center, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Gavin played four seasons in the WHL, where he totalled 266 regular-season games in that time frame. He had three 20-goal seasons, with the only outlier year being his final; that said, he also had his highest plus-minus of his career, with a plus-seven.
In his final and only full season in Brandon, he had 16 goals and 58 points while playing a full 68 games.
James Guo –Defenseman, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
From 2021-2024, Guo’s career-high point total was 12. His 2024-25 campaign almost tripled that. He followed up the 2025-26 season with a new career-high in points.
In 63 games for the Spirit, he had eight goals and 39 points, which beat his 2024-25 season by five.
Caleb Hadland –Right Winger, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Hadland is the third and final Brandon Wheat King to join RPI, and he’s somebody the others have already looked up to as he was the team’s captain last season.
After scoring 25 goals in the 2024-25 season, Hadland saw a ten-goal decrease after becoming the captain. He also saw a point increase of two, getting him to 44 on the season, and with nine fewer games played.
Harrison Lodewyk –Left Winger, Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Lodewyk spent four years with the Prince Albert Raiders before getting traded after just four games last season. He was able to double his point totals from the previous season.
Going from 18 to 40, with 36 of them being with the Hitmen, where he also had three points in seven playoff games.
Carter Matthews –Defenseman, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Matthews played 80 games across two seasons in the BCHL for the Trail Smoke Eaters before getting the call to jump in with the Winterhawks.
In his 18 games in Portland, he had two points while playing a small role where he was expected to be better in his own zone than the offensive zone.
Ethan McCallum –Goalie, Penticton Vees (WHL)
McCallum didn’t have great numbers in the first part of the season with the Saskatoon Blades, but when he was traded to Penticton, it all changed.
With the Vees, he had a 2.21 goals-against-average and a .918 save-percentage in 21 games. He also fills up a lot of the net, standing at six-foot-four and 203 pounds.
Ryan Michael –Defenseman, Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Similarly to Hadland, Michael was also a captain in the WHL. Michael will bring another puck-moving, point-producing defenseman to the program.
In 67 games this season, Michael had three goals and 33 points in 67 games, adding to the number of high-end defenseman to join RPI next season.
