The Hockey East hasn't seen the same success recently as they have in years prior. With a lot of new faces in the conference, who's the conference's most underrated team entering the season?
Although UConn and Providence were the two lone Hockey East teams to make the national tournament last year, it still feels as though the Providence Friars are underrated heading into the 2026-27 season, but how is that?
Providence didn’t bring in any players like BU or BC; in fact, they don’t have a single player on their roster drafted in the first round, since Roger McQueen made the jump to pro hockey and is expected to play for the San Diego Gulls in the AHL.
The Terriers have nine players drafted in the first two rounds, while Providence has just one, Ryder Cali, who was selected in the second round of this past draft by the Florida Panthers.
The team sneakily brought in North Dakota transfer goaltender Homer Gibson, who will be fighting for the starting spot with Jack Parsons, the team’s lead last season, and it will be hard to take that role from him, given how good he was.
The team isn’t very young, but they only have four seniors, led by captain Graham Gamache, one of the few returning captains in the NCAA this season.
The team may be picked as the best in the preseason by some media outlets, including College Puck NXT, which had him ranked first. But the public perception isn’t the same; many teams have higher expectations for teams like BU, BC, and UMass.
The way I see Providence is that they should be regarded as the best team in the conference and a true national title contender, but why?
Bringing back a captain is so important, and when you have aspirations to win it all, having a true leader who’s been there and done that can do so much more for you come spring.
The next reason is the freshmen they brought in.
As mentioned before, Ryder Cali is joining the program, and for many scouts, he was seen as a first-round talent with immense upside. He’s a big body with a lot of skill and the grit to back up his size.
Blake Zielinski was a sneaky pickup as well, also drafted this year, but in the third round by the L.A. Kings, he doesn’t have the same size as Cali, but when Zielinski wants to hit someone, you can bet their back will be on the ice in no time. He’s a freight train without the puck, and with it, he has silky hands and can make plays with high-end players, making him and Cali interesting chess pieces to move up and down the lineup.
Being able to return talent is super important, and the Friars were able to do that, and with all of those variables at play, I wouldn’t be shocked if Providence were raising the NCAA championship trophy for the first time since 2015.
Although they are one of the favourites in the conference, they are still underrated in the national title conversation, a conversation they will be a part of come 2027.
