Amid summer NCAA ‘chaos,’ Quinnipiac gets five grads
HAMDEN — In his first 27 years as Quinnipiac’s men’s hockey coach, Rand Pecknold had one graduate transfer. He has five this season.
COVID-19 quirked up life in so many ways, and it has sure quirked up college athletics rosters.
The NCAA granted last year’s players an extra year of eligibility and allowed for transfers with immediate eligibility on the other side. It made for a wild summer in the transfer portal; while they welcomed some in, they also saw off a handful to programs like Northeastern, Maine and Sacred Heart.
“It’s chaos. It’s pure chaos,” Pecknold said at a preseason media availability down the hall from the team’s dressing room at People’s United Center.
“Everyone gets a fifth year now: that’s crazy. I think it’s a great rule for kids in college and a terrible rule for high school kids . ... It’s not a winwin scenario.”
And he said the Bobcats were thinking of taking two or three at most graduate students. Five, he said, just kind of happened.
They’re an interesting group, with former Notre Dame goalie Dylan St. Cyr and UMass national-champion forward Oliver Chau perhaps the more prominent.
Quinnipiac also picked up defensemen Griffin Mendel from Denver and Brendan Less from Dartmouth. Defenseman Tony Stillwell is listed as a senior after spending four years at Brown.
“The transfer rule, that changes everything,” Pecknold said. “I’m not in support of that. I worry about bigger programs going in, trying to steal other kids. You just have to kind of deal with that.”
Quinnipiac’s regulars have, for the most part, stuck around, except for those who graduated or signed to play pro hockey.
The newcomers will start to fill those holes. Chau, a playmaker, isn’t a perfect match to Odeen Tufto, but he’ll go a long way toward filling the gap left by the nation’s second-leading scorer’s departure for the Tampa Bay Lightning. With Keith Petruzzelli gone to the AHL, St. Cyr becomes a solid goalie with experience.
Pecknold said the staff did their homework on the transfers and got top-notch reports on their character. And returning players say the new guys, coming from a variety of programs, have meshed quickly with this group.
“It’s been super-smooth,” said captain Wyatt Bongiovanni, who said he’s 100% after losing most of last season to injury.
“These guys are eager to win, eager to learn, and they’re getting acquainted really quickly. A lot of guys spend a lot of time in the summer with (strength and conditioning coach Brijesh Patel) in the weight room. They’ve taken it on themselves to come in with a seamless transition.”
The season begins Oct. 8 in Worcester, Mass. After games against Boston College, Northeastern and Vermont, the Bobcats’ homeopener weekend is a twogame set against North Dakota, Oct. 22-23. They’ll return the visit to North Dakota next year.