Brown brings 19 players back in 2025-26 while adding three transfers and six freshmen to the mix.

After a long offseason, the Brown men’s hockey team is finally set to return to the ice next week, as head coach Brendan Whittet enters his 16th season at the helm (where does the time go???). It’s an exciting time on College Hill, as the 2024-25 squad improved their year-over-year win total by six and hosted a home playoff game for the first time in six years. While the Bears lost three of their six most important players, the returning talent on hand and some of the players Whittet and the staff brought in as freshmen and via the transfer portal could keep Brown firmly in the middle of the ECAC standings.

Co-captains Ryan St. Louis and Alex Pineau have been leaders both on the scoreboard and in the locker room for two years now, and their elevation to the captaincy is indicative of how this team will play, which is maybe a bit of a change of pace compared to past Brown teams: fast, skilled, but still unafraid to get to the greasy areas.

Let’s dig in on the Bears’ roster for the 2025-26 season.

The Forwards

Starting up front, Brown brings back two proven stars, while hoping for a couple transfers to make immediate impacts and for some younger players to step into bigger roles. To me, it seems as though there’s a clear top four:

Senior forward and co-captain Ryan St. Louis has led the Bears in scoring the past two seasons after coming over from Northeastern by way of a gap year in the USHL. He’s a dynamic and versatile winger who will be the clear focal point of Brown’s offense. Despite missing nine games due to lingering injuries last year, St. Louis was the team’s top scorer both in total points (29) and in points per game (1.26, which was good for second in the ECAC after Clarkson phenom Ayrton Martino).

The son of legendary NHL player and current Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, Ryan’s game is similar to his dad’s in some ways: despite his slight frame, his core strength allows him to play fast, avoid hits, and absorb contact when it does find him. He excels in transition, but can also keep the forecheck moving in the offensive zone and get to the front of the net. His shot, while not ostensibly the most powerful, is very accurate and sometimes feels like it has a magnetic attraction openings in the opposing goalie’s stance. St. Louis is also a good passer and serves as the quarterback on Brown’s top power play unit.

Rising sophomore Brian Nicholas returns as an assistant captain, which is a fitting role for a young player who showed great leadership abilities last season while also being one of Brown’s most productive players. Nicholas missed a handful of games toward the end of the season due to injury, but still finished with 25 points in 28 games, good for second on the team in PPG (.89). He was a very deserved All-ECAC Rookie selection. He works hard on every shift, creating chances for his linemates and engaging in puck battles.

Nicholas was a prized freshman recruit coming off an excellent 2023-24 season in the USHL in which he scored 57 points in 62 games. As the presumed first line and top power play unit center this season, he’ll be tasked with building on his impressive start and working on rounding out his two-way game. While he wasn’t a liability defensively by any means last season, he did have the luxury of playing behind since-departed center Max Scott, who was one of the best two-way players in the ECAC. Nicholas will now go up against each opponents’ top line every night. It’s a role he appears to be well-suited to succeed in as one of the conference’s best sophomores.

Northeastern transfer Ben Poitras comes to Brown after a tough freshman season for the Huntington Hounds in which he was mostly relegated to bottom-six forward minutes. The Huskies also struggled to live up to their talent, as they received almost no depth scoring after their top line and top three defensemen. However, Poitras’ pedigree is no joke: he put up 53 points in 51 games for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers in 2023-24, which was slightly better than Nicholas’ output by PPG. If Poitras can take a big step forward in his age-20 season, as St. Louis did coming from Northeastern in 2023, the Bears’ top-six will have some serious scoring punch.

Poitras has good speed, good hands, and a sneaky good shot. He was strong in transition at Northeastern, though he has room for improvement in terms of structured play at both ends. Still, the Bears could use another dynamic winger who can create chances off the rush after Tyler Kopff’s departure to the pros. If things go right, Poitras can be that guy.

Northeastern transfer Ben Poitras celebrates a goal against Boston College in the Beanpot. Poitras will have an elevated role at Brown as a sophomore. Photo credit to Northeastern.

Sophomore Ivan Zadvernyuk displayed titillating talent at times as a freshman, despite only scoring 10 points in 32 games. He has a big frame, at 6’3” and 200 pounds, and he uses it well to box out defenders along the boards. Zadvernyuk has smooth hands and a decent (at worst) shot, and his skill level was obvious as a freshman, but he struggled with consistency and decision-making. He led Brown in penalty minutes, often taking frustration penalties or misplacing his stick as he tried to win puck battles. He also often tried to do too much with the puck, relying on his skill to beat defenders instead of finding an open teammate and coughing up the puck as a result.

However, these are all correctable issues, and he has clear upside as a big-bodied winger with some serious sauce to his game; at his best, he looked like Tyler Kopff-lite last year. I can envision him becoming a key player on the power play and possibly as a creator on the St. Louis/Nicholas line, depending on how Whittet chooses to utilize the top four forwards listed here. I’m looking for a breakout season for Zadvernyuk as he grows into the NCAA game.

As for the rest of the forwards, it’s a bit murky as far as who can step up and provide depth scoring.

Redshirt freshman Michael Salandra scored at a PPG clip in the BCHL two years ago, but sat out at Quinnipiac due to their glut of talent and comes to Brown as a bit of a mystery. Can he provide a spark to the top six, assuming he earns a spot there? From the (very sparse) highlights of his career in juniors that I was able to find on YouTube, he appears to be fairly skilled and quick, much like St. Louis and Poitras but without the same level of pedigree. We simply don’t know enough about him at the college level to say what his impact can be at this point in time, and not playing in games for a whole year could mean he starts the year with some rust.

But, on the other hand, it’s not the worst thing in the world to spend a year practicing with one of the best teams in the country and learning from one of the very best coaches of the 21st century in Rand Pecknold. We’ll see how that translates as he steps into what should be a big role at Brown.

Sophomore Charlie Gollob played as an effective third-liner last year, forechecking hard and getting to the net, but he had similarly modest production to Zadvernyuk, putting up 9 points in his 27 games. He played some top-six minutes and didn't look overwhelemed, but was more of a passenger to players like Kopff and Scott than an offensive play driver. Still, I think there’s upside as a good two-way player there. He uses his size well and offers some bite with his physicality. I’d like to see him improve his point production while growing into a quality penalty killer and forechecker. He’s a useful player as is, but there’s room for improvement if he wants to stick in the top six.

Senior center Ryan Shostak has carved out a nice role for himself over his three years to date, serving as a Swiss Army knife type of bottom six forward who defends well and kills penalties. However, he only has 18 career points in 91 games. If he’s to challenge for a top-six spot in the lineup, he’ll need to better than double his six-point output from a year ago. If not, you can slot him into that third-line center role again, which may better suit his game.

Assistant captain Zack Tonelli plays the feisty, undersized forechecking role, though he hasn’t scored much in his career (9 points in 72 games). Can he take a Brendan Clark-esque step forward as a senior and give the Bears a little more offense? It would be a welcome development for a forward group that's crying out for depth scoring.

Hard-hitting junior Mike Cataldo carved out a consistent role in the bottom six last season, chipping in just 3 points but giving the Bears a physical edge and providing some energy in the offensive zone. He’s also a sneaky good passer — some of the plays he made last season after winning puck battles were impressive. He likely won’t improve his offensive production all that much, but he remains a valuable forechecker.

Senior Tanner Hartman was one of the top scorers in Division III as his Hobart team won back-to-back national championships. After transferring to Brown prior to last season, he showed some flashes of offensive skill and willingness to dig pucks out of the corner to set up other forecheckers. However, he only potted 3 points in 23 games (while battling injuries, to be fair), and was clearly a step slower than some of the other players. At times, the game seemed too fast for him. He’s a bit of a dark horse for me — if he can read the game more quickly and find his scoring touch at this level, I think he has the skill to potentially step into the top six.

Big bruising junior winger Dean Bauchiero scored three goals in 18 games last season, in addition to providing a physical presence. I view him as more of a situational player in games against heavy teams in which Brown may need some bigger bodies, but the staff clearly likes him enough to keep him in the mix.

Sophomore Andrew King played in 14 games last year, tallying just one point but appearing to have good skating skills and puck instincts. He was a bit sloppy handling the puck, however, which is likely why his playing time was limited (he may also have suffered an injury, but I'm not positive on that). If he can clean up his game, he may have a path to more bottom-six minutes.

Junior Matthew Brille played in just four games last season, after seeing time in 11 as a freshman. His game is somewhat similar to Cataldo’s, but he’ll need to take a step forward if he’s going to find his way into the lineup.

The incoming freshman class doesn’t have any high-end standouts, but the Bears may have found a few diamonds in the rough if they can develop well.

Matt Cataldo, the younger brother of Mike, comes in after scoring 31 points in 54 games in the BCHL. While those numbers don’t exactly pop, he was a rock star at St. Sebastian’s in his last year of prep hockey one season prior, putting up 49 points in 27 games. The adjustment to the college game after just one year of juniors may take a while, but there’s some scoring upside there.

Trip Pendy had similar production in the BCHL last season, with 32 points in 54 games. If those two can slot into bottom-six roles early on, Brown could have some a number of interesting options to work with. Both Cataldo and Pendy are over 6’0” and 200 pounds, so they have the size to play a strong forechecking game that could entice Whittet to give them some looks early in their careers.

Brendan Tighe rounds out the freshman forward group. He’s a bit slighter than the other two, measuring in at 5’11” and 180 pounds. Tighe is a year younger than his classmates, and he didn’t produce much as an 18-year-old in the USHL (12 points in 54 games). However, his age and the caliber of play in the USHL suggest that he could develop into a quality college player. I’m not expecting him to take that step as a freshman, but Whittet does tend to tinker with his bottom six throughout the season, so it’s certainly possible he earns a role.

The Defensemen

Moving on to the defensive corps: Brown brings back two stud defensemen in Alex Pineau and Ethan Mistry, as well as seasoned veteran shutdown defender Nick Traggio, and adds very impressive freshman Matt Desiderio to the mix.

Pineau has been nothing short of a home run since arriving at Brown two years ago. He was second team All-Ivy as a freshman and was a finalist for ECAC Defensive Defenseman last season. He’s big and strong, he skates very well, he moves the puck, he has a good shot, and he dictates the terms of the game when he’s on the ice. He was named an assistant captain as a sophomore and a co-captain as a junior for good reason: he leads by example every time he’s on the ice and impacts the game in many different ways.

Pineau plays top power play and penalty kill minutes in addition to anchoring the blue line at 5-on-5. His 27+ minutes (!!!) of ice time per game last season were second in the country, and he figures to have just as big of a role this season. The only concern with Pineau is whether or not those huge minutes wear him down by the late stages of the season. Playing nearly half of each game is a gargantuan task. Ideally, staff will try to cut that number down by a few minutes per game given the arrival of some strong freshmen defensemen who could provide more depth on the back end.

Mistry is much smaller in size, at 5’10” and 175 pounds, but his impact on the game is nearly as large as Pineau’s. Our good friend Stephen over at The Fieldhouse, RPI’s preeminent hockey blog (I did a really fun playoff preview podcast with him this spring), wrote an awesome in-depth ECAC preview a couple weeks ago. He has a custom model that rates Mistry’s defensive play very highly. That’s in addition to what he provides as a skater, puck mover, and offensive creator. Though his point totals haven’t been eye-popping — 11 as a freshman and 12 as a sophomore — he serves as a big part of Brown’s transition game, routinely looking to hit stretch passes through the neutral zone, and keeps the offensive cycle moving when the Bears are on attack.

Ethan Mistry is a critical component of a Brown blue line group that figures to be one of the better units in the ECAC. Photo credit to Ben, aka CoffeeCake, from the College Hockey discord group.

The headliner of Brown’s 2025 recruiting class is clearly defenseman Matt Desiderio, who looks like an immediate impact player on the back end. Projecting high school and juniors production to the NCAA level can be finicky (look no further than the aforementioned Ben Poitras putting up big numbers in the USHL but struggling to find the net at Northeastern as a freshman). A simple method I like to use is comparing recruits to current Brown players at the same age to set a baseline.

Co-captain Alex Pineau is arguably Brown’s most important player due to his two-way impacts from the blue line, and Desiderio’s USHL production blows Pineau’s out of the water. In their respective age-19 seasons in the USHL, Pineau put up 8 points in 56 games. Desiderio scored 38 in 62 last season. It’s never an apples-to-apples comparison, as development isn’t always linear for different players, but that kind of production bodes very well. This is a dynamic player who should provide a huge boost to the Bears’ top 4 defensive pairings and help Brown pin teams in their own zone.

Traggio returns as one of Brown’s steadiest defensemen in his three seasons to date. He isn’t flashy or super skilled with the puck, but he excels at cutting down on passing and shooting lanes, blocking shots, and forcing turnovers that lead to breakouts in the defensive zone. He has good size, at 6’2” 210, and he uses it effectively in puck battles while rarely crossing the line — he only had 10 penalty minutes last season. Traggio will likely start the season in the top four, but he may be better suited as a third-pairing player long-term if a couple of the freshmen or sophomores provide a little more offense. Regardless, he will almost certainly play every game.

Rising sophomores Leo Schwartz, Tristan Zarsky, and Jackson Hewitt each got some opportunities last year to claim roles in the bottom six. Zarsky and Schwartz both played 20 games, with Hewitt checking into 12. Zarsky seemed to be in favor for the first half of the season, but eventually was supplanted by the other two freshmen. Schwartz finished with 2 points, Hewitt with 1, and Zarsky with 0.

None of these three particularly stood out last season, although I did think Schwartz had some good moments. Hewitt didn’t look overwhelmed by the pace of play for the most part, and the big-bodied Zarsky started strong but seemed to lose confidence midway through the season and started making positional and stickwork mistakes that led to goals. With the staff bringing in three freshman defensemen who could challenge for minutes, it seems as though these three sophomores will be battling for playing time.

Freshman Ashton Bynum brings some size to the blue line at 6’4”, 200 pounds with the potential to add a bit of scoring. He produced 30 points in 47 games in the NAHL last season, while also serving as the captain of the Austin Bruins. While the NAHL is a step down from the USHL, that’s solid production for a defenseman who figures to be a bottom-pairing option, at least as a freshman.

Bynum’s classmate Owen Dyer, another big-bodied defenseman clocking in at 6’3” and 225, joins the Bears after serving as the captain of the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers. His point production (6 points in 61 games) was relatively modest, but only a slight step down from Alex Pineau’s at the same age in the same league. While I’m certainly not expecting Dyer to be an offensive dynamo, there’s a good chance he plays solid minutes as a freshman — at least on the bottom pairing, if not the top four — due to his experience from playing two full seasons in the USHL and his leadership qualities.

The Goalies

The loss of Lawton Zacher will certainly sting, but Brown may not take as big of a hit from the departure as initially expected due to an intriguing transfer and a steady veteran returnee:

Transfer Freddie Halyk was a good get for the Bears out of the transfer portal coming from the nation’s preeminent program over the past half-decade or so, the Denver Pioneers. While he mostly backed up DU legend Matt Davis, he did play in 22 games over two seasons. After putting up an underwhelming .883 save percentage when cast into a bigger-than-expected role due to injuries as a freshman, Halyk was much improved last year, sporting a .915 save percentage that was much closer to Davis’ .924.

Halyk appears to be a high-ceiling, low-floor type. His 6’6” frame and flexibility make him tough to beat when he’s playing well. However, in watching highlights of some of the games he appeared in last season, he does appear to have some lapses in judgment with regard to positioning and stopping off-speed shots.

The drop down in quality of competition from the loaded NCHC to the much more forgiving ECAC could facilitate a breakout season for Halyk. Working with goaltending savant Evan Moorhouse, who helped turned previous Brown netminders Mathieu Caron and Lawton Zacher into two of the best goalies in the conference (allowing them to transfer up to Hockey East schools after their sophomore seasons), should only help Halyk grow into a bigger role than he had at Denver.

Returning senior Tyler Shea is kind of the opposite of Halyk — he’s diminutive for the position, listed at a (very questionable) 6’0” and 180 pounds. As a result of his size, he plays a feisty style, challenging shooters and fighting his ass off to claim rebounds. He’s provided a spark to the Bears a number of times over the past couple seasons (including replacing Lawton Zacher on an off night against Harvard in the last game of the regular season, a game in which Brown would rally from a 3-0 deficit to win in a shootout), and his teammates seem to rally around him. While limited to just six games behind Zacher last season, he was rock solid in relief, posting a .936 save percentage on 156 shots. Oddly enough, his record was 0-4-1 despite those numbers. Go figure!

Senior Tyler Shea has been a spark plug at times for the Bears in his two years on College Hill and now looks to compete for the starting job as a senior. Photo credit to Ben/CoffeeCake.

Coach Whittet said at ECAC Media Day a couple weeks ago that he expects Shea and Halyk to battle for the starting role, indicating we could possibly see a rotation early in the season until one of the two establishes himself as the starter.

Junior Ryan Kazmouz returns for his second season as the third-string goaltender. He didn’t play in 2024-25, and likely won’t in 2025-26, either, barring injuries to the top two options this coming season. Kazmouz was added to the team as an emergency replacement after Mathieu Caron left following the 2024-25 season, and it’s nice to see him earning a spot on the roster again.

Stay Tuned

So, there you have it! A player-by-player breakdown of the 2025-26 Brown men’s hockey roster. We’re eagerly anticipating the start of the season next week, and I (Kevin) will be on hand tonight to watch the Bears take on a Czech all-star team in an exhibition. I’ll have some quick updates from my observations of the game later this week, and then next week (time permitting), I’ll have a season preview up next week in the same vein of the excellent women’s preview Stefan posted yesterday.

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