NCAA Scoring Leader Ethan Wyttenbach Is Returning To Quinnipiac With Even Higher Aspirations

HAMDEN, Conn. — Ethan Wyttenbach is not the first freshman in recent memory to lead the NCAA in scoring.

Last season, the Quinnipiac winger went from being a relatively obscure freshman and a fifth-round pick of the Calgary Flames to the nation's points leader with 25 goals, 34 assists, and 59 points. He beat out first-round picks, top prospects, players several years his senior, and more to join that elite club.

Before him, you had now-household hockey names like Paul Kariya (1992-93), Jack Eichel (2014-15), Kyle Connor (2015-16), Adam Fantilli (2022-23), Will Smith (2023-24).

But Wyttenbach does now hold the distinction of being the first freshman to lead the NCAA in scoring and then come back for a second season since Kariya in '93-94.

He did so for a lot of reasons, and it certainly wasn't the lack of options. Wyttenbach, along with a few other teammates with legit pro options, felt like the Bobcats had some unfinished business, and because he wanted to focus more on his individual growth. He considered signing with Calgary, but ultimately decided against it.

"The opportunity was on the table, and I just decided, with my family and my team behind me, that I just wanted to come back for another year or whatever it may be, and just do whatever I can to get myself ready," Wyttenbach told TheHockeyNews.com. "You don't get two chances at turning pro. Just making the most of my time here, especially with how amazing this program is and learning as much as I can before I do make that jump, so that when I get there, I stick."

In Quinnipiac's first two games of the new season, Wyttenbach routinely flashed the offensive instincts that made him such a dangerous scorer a year ago, as his Bobcats rolled to a pair of wins over New Hampshire and Merrimack by a combined score of 16-5.

Wyttenbach contributed to four of those goals (two goals and two assists), but on Saturday alone, he could have easily added two or three more points. He and linemates Mason Marcellus and Markus Vidicek were around the net constantly and didn't have as much puck luck as the night before.

Wyttenbach, Marcellus, Vidicek, defenseman Elliot Groenewold, captain Chris Pelosi, and others were just a few of the Bobcats who, after a second-round NCAA tournament exit, felt they hadn't accomplished all their goals as a team. So they decided, one by one, that they'd like to return to school for at least one more season.

"When you start seeing one guy decided to come back, two guys decide to come back, it's like, 'Okay, we're gonna have a really good team,'" Wyttenbach said. "And that might be a decision to where patience might be the smart play here. 

So, I think for me, when I saw those guys come back, it was kind of a no-brainer."

But of course, preparation for this season starts very shortly after Quinnipiac was eliminated last year, and by the time the Flames' annual development camp rolled around shortly after the NHL draft, Wyttenbach was ready. He missed the previous year's camp with an injury shortly after being drafted. He used the time to build a relationship with the club that controls his rights, and potential future teammates, rather than trying to impress the brass. By then, he'd already decided to return to school.

Once camp was over, Wyttenbach returned home to Long Island, where he regularly played with professional players — including plenty of NHLers — and felt it informed how he approached each college game this season.

It's not about being able to just figure out a way to score when you're out against the other team's fourth line after an icing, or piling up points against weaker opponents. It's about rising to the challenge every opponent provides every time he comes over the boards.

"It's a smaller gap when you get to that pro level, where the best guy and the worst guy is a way closer gap than it would be in college or in junior," Wyttenbach said. "It's just about learning how to maneuver that, and obviously there's some shifts here where you're going against a weaker opponent and you kind of know where to pick your spots. 

And I think when you get to pro, like first line, fourth line, everybody's a really, really good hockey player."

Quinnipiac, with a deep roster of returning talent, solid prospects, and noteworthy transfers like Jack Stockfish and Rorke Applebee, is in a position to keep testing him in practice, much like off-season pickup games with established NHLers.

"All the kids that came back, they made new decisions," said Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold, who won a national title in 2023. "They realized pro hockey's going to be there for them a year from now; they need to get bigger, stronger, and obviously they're progressing well here with a great strength coach. Our practices are really at tempo, at pace. We push our kids, we develop our kids."

Last season, Wyttenbach said he came in hoping he could be a point-a-game player. He obliterated that and led the nation with 1.475 points per game. More than current NHLers like Gavin McKenna, Porter Martone, or James Hagens; more than Hobey winner (and another player who returned to college this year) Max Plante. Now, maybe last year's number is more of a baseline.

"Obviously I have bigger expectations, especially after what I did last year, but I think just as I'm getting ready to hopefully play in the NHL one day, it's just about getting better every day and learning as much as I can while I'm here to become a full-time NHL player," he said. "Obviously, when you get to that next level, it's a big step up, and you gotta be really prepared for it. So I think just taking it day by day and just staying where my feet are, it's been something I've been focusing on."

Through the first two games, he's got four points and, just as importantly, his team has two wins. Given their track records, those numbers ought to rise significantly.

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