Player Previews: 2014-15 Boston College Hockey Freshmen

With the new hockey season fast approaching, now just ten days away from puck drop, we meet the 2014-15 Boston College hockey freshmen.

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Even without Sonny Milano’s “it’s not you, it’s me” reversal for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the newcomers to Jerry York’s hockey program look like a fine group who have a lot to add to this team. It would be great if they did, anyway, as Boston College just lost its best forward line in program history.

(To be said in a Jerry Seinfeld voice) Who are these incoming freshmen people?

2014-15 Boston College Hockey Freshmen:
Zach Sanford

Forward | Auburn, NH

Sanford comes to Boston College from junior hockey, having most recently played out in Iowa for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. One may recall that Johnny Gaudreau played for local rival Dubuque back in the day.

This 6-foot-4 let wing totaled 35 points last season with a +15 rating for Waterloo in his most recent season. He was taken by Washington with the last pick of the second round in the 2013 NHL Draft.

2014-15 Boston College Hockey Freshmen:
Noah Hanifin

Defenseman | Norwood, MA

Hanifin, a big 6-foot-3, 205 pound defenseman from Norwood, was most recently a member of the US National Under-18 team. He took a gold medal with the United States at the 2014 IIHF World U-18 Championships earlier this year in Finland.

17-year old Hanifin, who is one of the youngest players in program history — even younger than Thatcher Demko when he came here — seems to have done some good work as an “offensive defenseman.” CBS Sports called him a “gifted two-way” player, and he can contribute immediately to Boston College.

2014-15 Boston College Hockey Freshmen:
Alex Tuch

Forward | Baldwinsville, NY

From the same hometown as Eagles football’s Tyler Rouse comes Alex Tuch, a right wing and a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild back in June.

Tuch’s hockey career so far has been a notable one on the international circuit. On the US National Under-18 team, he was the third-highest scorer with 64 points in 61 games played. Like Hanifin, his teammate, he was also a gold medalist at the 2014 IIHF World U-18 Championships in Finland, and also performed well on the national U-17 team.

He and Milano were taken only two picks apart in the first round, but in the latter’s absence, Tuch is the most highly-touted freshman coming to Boston College this Fall.