Some good games on this past week in the Hockey East, the gold standard of hockey conferences. UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell put on a hell of a game that has some serious implications for the Frozen Four tournament with the Minutemen squeezing on by the River Hawks 4 to 3. Meanwhile, Connecticut put an absolute beating on BU at Agganis Arena winning 6 to 1 over the Terriers.
Additionally, looking at some of the players across the entirety of Division 1, there are some nice prospects that would be cool to see the Bruins try to pick up either through signing to pro deals or trying to get in the upcoming draft in the later rounds. Junior forward Johnny Walker from Arizona State come to mind as he is 6'1", has a nose for goal, and a right shot winger that has netted 20 goals in consecutive seasons for the Sun Devils who could be a nice player to sign up after they year is done and give a chance to since no team holds rights to him. Another player who looks like there is some potential is Connecticut freshman Yan Kuznetsov. The kid is 17 and is already 6'3" and is eligible to get drafted in this upcoming draft. I know the Bruins are tight on picks, but he looks like a nice stash and develop piece that will be available in the late round who the Bruins can keep a close eye on in Storrs, fill any void left behind in the prospect pool should the Bruins offload another defense prospect at the deadline and could become a moose of a defenseman that the Bruins kind of need on the blue line when Chara retires. Also, Junior center Alex Limoges from Penn State would be a great player for the Bruins to try and sign out of college. Like Walker, Limoges went undrafted so his rights are up for grabs and the kid is a decent sized Center prospect that has the ability to get points. Last year Limoges got 50 points in the Big Ten in 39 games, was a plus 23, and as a bonus the kid has decent size at 6'1" and weighing 201 lbs. Couldn't hurt for Sweeney and company to take a flyer on Limoges.