College hockey season set to start

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Two players from last season's Saint John Sea Dogs team could make their first college hockey appearances as early as this weekend.

Olivers Murnieks and the Boston College Eagles are travelling to Michigan State for an intriguing exhibition contest on Friday followed by a matchup against the USNTDP on Saturday. 

Everett Baldwin and the Providence College Friars, meanwhile, are set to host Stonehill College on Friday, which is also an exhibition contest.

Both Boston College and Providence begin regular season non-conference play next weekend. The Eagles will host Alaska while the Friars host St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

It will be interesting to see how much Murnieks and Baldwin play as freshmen – especially Baldwin given that he is a 19-year-old defenseman on a good team.

"I’m really excited to see what Lightning prospect Everett Baldwin can do on defense," wrote Tyler Kuehl of Daily Faceoff. "He established himself as a two-way threat with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs.

It looks like there will be eight former Sea Dogs playing NCAA hockey this season. Murnieks and Baldwin will be the only freshmen while the other six played college hockey last season – the first where CHL players were eligible to play.

Here's where the eight former Sea Dogs are playing this season.

Hockey East

Boston College: Olivers Murnieks

Providence: Everett Baldwin

New Hampshire: Cam MacDonald

CCHA

Lake Superior State: Matteo Mann and Charles Savoie

Michigan Tech: Noah Reinhart

ECAC

Quinnipiac: Nate Tivey

AHA

Niagara: Charles-Edward Gravel

In the USCHO pre-season poll, Quinnipiac (seventh), Providence (ninth), Boston College (12th) and Michigan Tech (19th) were all ranked.

In the College Hockey News pre-season top-10, Quinnipiac (fourth) and Providence (ninth) were ranked.

Other Sea Dogs draft picks from over the years that are expected to play NCAA hockey this season include Anthony Biakabutuka (Holy Cross), Will Felicio (Union College), J.J. Monteiro (Providence), Davide Patella (Colgate), Duncan Ramsay (Vermont), Michael Callow (Harvard), Nick Roukounakis (Boston University), Jaiden Moriello (UMass Lowell), William Elias (Holy Cross), Patrick Murphy (Stonehill) and Ben MacDonald (Harvard).

Defenseman Julien Wasmer, who played with the Sea Dogs last season, was committed to the University of Maine for this season but does not appear on the Black Bears' roster.