As the college hockey season officially concluded play with a Denver University 2-1 win over the Wisconsin Badgers in the national championship game, the offseason only begins to ramp up. The transfer portal for all players opened officially on April 13, and will remain available to all players until April 27. For several teams in the CCHA, significant roster changes are already underway. The Northern Michigan Wildcats have seen seven total players enter their names so far, and a few in key roles for the ‘Cats.
Among the several former Wildcats searching for a home, Jakub Altrichter, Anthony Cliche, Aidyn Hutchinson, and William Gramme have all entered their names. Tyler Stern, Evan Johnson, and Landon MacDonald have also left the program for a new team. For now, Altrichter is the only former Wildcat committed elsewhere, joining the St. Thomas Tommies as they prepare to move from the CCHA to the NCHC beginning next season. At the time of writing, NMU has yet to claim any eligible players out of the portal for the 2026-27 squad.
Activity continues to whirl for other teams in the U.P. as well. Michigan Tech has a total of five players in the portal, with Brayden Boehm being the only Huskie currently in the portal to play more than double digit contests for MTU. Tech has picked up one player so far, Giovanni Morneau from Lindenwood University.
Lake Superior State has remained the busiest of the three U.P. schools in the offseason, with a total of 10 players transferring out and three incoming so far. LSSU took a big blow to their defense with sophomore netminder Rorke Applebee leaving Sault Ste. Marie for Qunnipiac. The second-year goaltender logged a 2.96 GAA in his two seasons with the Lakers, and a total of 1,818 saves including six total shutouts. William Ahrik, Braden Piku, and John Druskinis have all announced their departure, with all three playing at least 30 games this past season for Lake Superior State.
LSSU has been busy adding to their roster, picking up two 7th round draft choices in the 2023 NHL Draft. Casper Nässén and Mateo Mann each announced their commitment to the Lakers. Nässén spent the 2024-25 season with Miami of Ohio, where the Swedish defenseman logged 18 points in 36 appearances for the Redhawks. Mann comes to the Lakers off a lone season with the Colorado College Tigers. The 6-6 freshman from Sackville, New Brunswick appeared 28 times, logging just two points in this past season. Lake Superior State’s final addition as of now is Charles Savoie, a sophomore forward from Lindenwood. The Saint-Eustache, Quebec native tallied 27 points in 23 games for the Lions, and logged his season high in points with three when Lindenwood clashed with LSSU early in the year.
Even with slow activity from several schools, the transfer portal will remain open to all players for two weeks until April 27. Graduate players seeking a new home still have the option to enter at anytime, even after the deadline for undergraduates closes.
