So many questions surround this NCAA season: Is Landon DuPonte truly generational? Can Denver repeat? And is the Big-10 on the verge of becoming the best conference in the NCAA for the first time in a while?
As August nears its end, we are that much closer to the start of the college hockey season, and the questions will be answered. But what are the biggest questions heading into the season, and how will those change not just the season, but the future of the NCAA?
Is Denver actually the best team in college hockey, or just the defending champion?
David Carle and the University of Denver have been the best program in the last 10 years, and they’re looking to go back-to-back this season. But going into the season, are they truly the best team heading into it?
The Pioneers will bring in talent like fourth-overall pick Daxon Rudolph and first-rounder Ryan Lin, and they return much of the talent that helped them win it all last year. But with other teams around them adding tons of high-end talent, has Denver actually done enough to solidify themselves as the best team heading into 2026? This question will be answered very early, and a lot of eyes will be glued to their TV’s on October 16th when they play the Michigan Wolverines for what could be a first-place deciding weekend.
Are these CHL freshmen more important than long-tenured college players?
It’s year two with CHL players in the NCAA, and it seems every team has taken advantage of this, some more than others. This season could potentially change the way programs build their teams because some teams may have the top-end talent, but others will have experience, age, and overall maturity.
As programs try to balance experience and talent, if there’s a clear pattern one way or another, it may change the entire landscape in how teams recruit and build their teams, and it’ll happen very quickly. Will these highly touted freshmen be enough for teams to climb the mountain that’s college hockey, or will age and experience reign supreme?
Can Michigan simply out-talent teams?
The University of Michigan arguably has the most talented team in the country, headlined by projected first overall pick Landon DuPont, Michael Hage, who will likely be in the running for the Hobey Baker, 2026 Memorial Cup champion Cameron Reid, and a grocery list of highly talented players.
But will that be enough to help the Wolverines get over a long championship drought? Will the inexperience catch up to them? Will the talent hit its ceiling come the postseason? And is this team built for the style of hockey you need to play come spring? Or can Michigan out-talent the opposition on their way to a national championship?
Do the freshman-heavy teams struggle to start?
Due to the CHL-to-NCAA rules, freshman-heavy teams are more common than ever. You can say it’s more talent; you can say it’s building for the future, but what happens when these teams struggle early on and have to face adversity in the second half of the year?
2025 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna famously had a rough adjustment to the NCAA to start the year and it took him until the new year for him to really find his game, but when there’s a team primarily made of freshman, what happens when that new league wall hits them in the face, will they crumble, or will they have the structure and culture to fight their way out of it.
How many contenders will the Big-10 really have?
The NCHC has dominated college hockey in recent years, but the Big-10 still has some of the biggest brands in the sport. All of these teams have shown contender status at some point over the last 10 years, but with multiple teams not seeing a lot of success, like Notre Dame and Minnesota, will the conference be able to bounce back and have multiple contenders?
Before the conference championships, Wisconsin wasn’t looked at as an elite team, but they found themselves in the national championship, showing that the conference wasn’t top-heavy whatsoever. Will Minnesota and Notre Dame get back to their winning ways, and will the Big 10 provide a full conference of above-average teams, and potentially a national champion?
Which Boston school emerges as a contender
Neither Boston University nor Boston College made the Frozen Four last season or even finished in the top three of the conference. For programs where the expectation is a national championship every year, that was very underwhelming for both.
As BU returns talent like Tynan Lawrence, Jack Harvey, and Aiden Celebrini, they will be expected to head back to contender status, and when you factor in newcomers like third overall pick Caleb Malhotra and second-round picks Xavier Villeneuve and Niklas Aarom-Olsen, they have fresh blood with tons of talent who will help raise their ceiling, but is it enough?
For BC, they’re returning Dean Letourneau, who will be in Hobey Baker conversations, Teddy Stiga, and Oscar Hemming, who will have a full year with the team this time around. Which one of these teams can emerge as the superior program this season, and will it be good enough to be considered a true contender in the college hockey landscape?
