Trio of New Yorkers named to Hockey East All-Rookie Team

Boston University forward Luke Tuch was the lone unanimous pick to Hockey East's All-Rookie Team. (Matt Woolverton/BU Athletics)

The Hockey East All-Rookie Team, highlighting the top-seven freshmen from the 2020-21 season, was released on Thursday featuring a trio of players from New York.

The group, as well as the six other season-long awards announced by the league on Thursday, was voted on by each of the league’s 11 men’s head coaches as part of the 36th annual Hockey East Tournament, which began on Wednesday.

Boston University forward and 2020 second-round Montreal Canadiens draft pick Luke Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) was the lone unanimous selection in the seven-player field. In 14 games, the ’02 winger has six goals and four assists for 10 points, the most of any Terrier freshmen.

Tuch, who spent time with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres and U.S. NTDP before BU, also potted a pair of game-winners in his first NCAA season, helping the Terriers to the No. 2 seed after a 10-3-1 regular season. Aided by Tuch, BU boasts the league’s second-best offense, producing an average of 3.50 goals per game.

Across the street, Boston College forward and 2019 Minnesota Wild sixth-round draft pick Nikita Nesterenko (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished the season as the league’s highest-scoring freshman, racking up 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists to get the all-rookie nod.

In 21 games with the Eagles, the former New Jersey Jr. Titans and Lawrenceville School star, who spent a season in the BCHL before matriculating to Hockey East, recorded the league’s seventh-best plus/minus rating at plus-14, as the Eagles soared to the No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff bye. Currently, BC sits at No. 1 as the top-ranked team in the country.

Sticking with the Eagles, freshman defenseman Eamon Powell (Marcellus, N.Y.) was the only blueliner featured on the list.

In 21 games, the 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning fourth-round draft pick finished the season as the league’s seventh-highest scoring freshman – one of only two defensemen in the top-10 scoring list – amassing 13 points on 11 assists and a pair of goals. For fellow Eagles, only sophomore standout and 2019 Colorado Avalanche second-round draft pick Drew Helleson finished the year with more points as a BC defenseman.

The four others on the 2020-21 Hockey East All-Rookie Team, not from the Tri-State Area, include BU goaltender Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.), and forwards Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass., Merrimack), Josh Lopina (Minooka, Ill., UMass) and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I., Northeastern).

Other Tri-State Ties

Also on Thursday, Connecticut junior forward Jonny Evans (North Delta, B.C.) was officially named the 2020-21 Hockey East scoring champion. In his third season in Storrs, C.T., Evans, who spent four years in the BCHL before arriving at UConn, recorded 28 points in 22 games (14 G, 14 A) as the upstart Huskies finished the season in fourth place and received votes to appear in the national top-20 polls.

UMass junior forward and Long Island native Bobby Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y.) was one of three runners-up named for the scoring champion award. In 22 games, the Minuteman captain finished the season in a three-way tie for the league lead in points with 24. Fellow UMass junior Marc Del Gaizo (Basking Ridge, N.J.) was named a runner-up for the ’47 Best Defensive Defenseman Award, as well.

Hockey East’s 2020-21 All-Star Teams will be released on Friday, while finalists for the Player, Rookie, and Coach of the Year awards will be released on Sunday.

The winners of those awards will be revealed on Wednesday, March 17, prior to the league’s championship game on Saturday, March 20 to decide the winner of the 2021 Lamoriello Trophy, as well as an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Liam Flaherty can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.