Minnesota's portal dominance begins! Six new Gophers, including NHL prospects and a decorated All-American defenseman, signal a fierce collegiate hockey resurgence.
The first day of the NCAA Hockey Transfer Portal has been chaotic.
But there is one team that sticks well above the rest. Brett Larson and the Minnesota Golden Gophers have landed six transfers.
Three of them are jumping ship with the head coach, Brett Larson, from their former home in St. Cloud State, where Larson had left after the head coaching spot opened in Minneapolis after Bob Motzko was removed from the program.
Out of those six landings, four of them have been drafted by NHL teams, with impressive names like Melvin Strahl and Tanner Henricks, both Columbus Blue Jackets prospects, alongside other names in Austin Burnevik and Christian Humphreys as well, respectively under the rights of Anaheim and Colorado, two great NHL teams at the moment.
And on top of that, there is an undrafted senior transfer that sticks out as well.
Evan Murr, an All-American selection and two-time CCHA defenseman of the year, has used his senior year of eligibility on the Golden Gophers, another Minnesota location but northeast of his former home with the Minnesota State Mavericks in Mankato.
The homegrown Minnesota native out of Stillwater is coming off an impressive 30-point season, tacking on to his career number of 83 points before another NCAA season.
Murr is coming from a winning pedigree with the Mavericks, a two-time Mason Cup Champion who saw time in this year’s NCAA tournament, where they would be eliminated by defending national champion Western Michigan.
As an all-American in a new look, it’ll be expected that Murr gets NHL looks, especially if he can smoothly sway into the Big Ten Conference.
Minnesota, under its final year in Motzko, did not go as planned. The Gophers finished sixth out of seven teams in the Big Ten, only ahead of Notre Dame.
But from the looks of the portal so far, foes better to prepare for a new look in maroon and gold.