2025-26 Hockey East Season Preview: Providence Friars

With October underway, Hockey East is back in action although one team in particular played a pair of exhibition games with Providence College dispatching Simon Fraser 7-1, and then edge nationally-ranked Quinnipiac 2-1.

Were they a sign of things to come with the Friars this season? Probably. There's a lot of promise to look forward to with the men’s hockey team in 2025-26.

In the Hockey East preseason poll, conducted by the 11 head coaches of each team, the Friars were picked to finish second, receiving three first place votes behind Boston University’s seven.

Out of the 26-man roster, seven players have been drafted by NHL teams already. That's one of the better ratios in Hockey East this year. The belief is this group will play with their professional potential and take a massive leap in growth to not only be a top team in the league, if not nation this season.

In terms of their incoming players, there are a total of 11, which consists of 10 freshmen. These first-year players include Donovan McCoy, Jonathan Fauchon, Beau Jelsma, Quinn Mantei, Julius Sumpf, Alex Rybakov, Martin Masa, Jack Parsons, Aaron Matthews and Roger McQueen. 

The remaining player is the only transfer from another university, which is rather small for a team in the modern landscape of collegiate athletics: sophomore forward Brendan Ross, who came across the country and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

However, the player to watch this season is clearly McQueen. The highly-touted forward, was selected 10th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2025 NHL Draft, and has the potential to be a franchise cornerstone at the next level.

Before being drafted McQueen spent time with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League (WHL). In 127 games, McQueen totaled 86 points on 35 goals and 51 assists. During the 2024-25 season,he tallied 10 goals and 10 assists in just a mere 17 games, a ludicrous number for a player who is still so young. 

His excellent play earned him a spot on Canadian national teams. and he excelled on the international stage at the 2022 U17 World Hockey Challenge, the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and the 2024 U18 World Championship, winning gold medals in the latter two events. Not only is McQueen an extremely talented player, he is a winning one as well who should make a huge impact for the Friars.

Another player to look out for is senior goaltender Philip Svedeback. Last year he may have only played in 26 games, but posted a .911 save percentage, while making 647 saves and earning 14 wins.

Svedeback’s play before and during his time at Providence, has made him a true NHL prospect. In 2021 he was drafted in the fourth round, 117th overall, by the Boston Bruins. A solid year would not only make him a player the fans won't forget anytime soon, it might also earn him a spot on one of the Bruins minor league affiliates, if not more.

The last area of focus circles back to the offensive front, and it isn’t necessary on one player this time, rather an entire line. In what could potentially Providence's second unit, sophomore forwards John Mustard, Logan Sawyer and junior Hudson Malinowski have all been NHL draft selections. 

Mustard was taken with the 67th pick in the third round last year y the Chicago Blackhawks. Sawyer was taken 11 picks later in the same round by the Montreal Canadians. Malinowski was drafted two years ago by the Toronto Maple Leafs, in the fifth round, 153 overall. 

On the whole, the group, which played a combined 89 games, netted 24 goals, eight of which were on the power play and five were classified as the game-winning goal all while connecting on 35 assists as a unit. These three are the main top contributors on the entire team, and they will have to get better if they want to make a run at some hardware this season. 

It figures to be the group that will make or break the Friars, not necessarily in terms of winning and losing, but in staying in contention in Hockey East. Can they keep pace with conference favorite Boston University, or will they lag behind and be in the mix for a high seed finish? There's too much talent on this team for Providence to finish in the bottom half of the standings.

Head Coach Nate Leaman has been able to recruit some of the best young players in Hockey East (outside of both Boston schools), but the ability to play together as a team could be a big plus for the Friars. Maybe it'll lead to something special for the Friars, a chance at their first Hockey East title since the Clinton administration, but nothing is given in hockey, especially in this league. 

The Providence Friars will be the team to keep an eye on, especially when the snow begins to melt away in March.  

SEE ALSO: 2025-26 Hockey East Season Preview: UMass Amherst Minutemen