Impactful transfers from the NCAA — Headlines around hockey
Hockey Friday with The Ice Garden, Aug. 2, 2024
Happy August everyone! As we head into the dog days of summer what better way to kick off the weekend than another Hockey Friday from The Ice Garden? Emma Sullivan here and today we’re talking all about the NCAA, specifically the deep transfer pool that saw a lot of movement this summer. Let’s hop in!
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Five transfers to watch for immediate impact on their new teams
Tindra Holm, G — University of Minnesota Duluth (from Long Island University)
Honestly, this is a move that both surprises me and makes total sense from an on-ice perspective. Over her first three NCAA seasons, Holm has been one of the best goaltenders in the country, helping LIU cement themselves as a top contender in NEWHA. She finished last season with a .940 save percentage across 32 starts, good for 12th best in Division I.
In the beginning of April, Holm entered the transfer portal and will be moving from NEWHA to the WCHA, joining now-sophomore Ève Gascon as the netminder duo for the Bulldogs. The question now is just how much will Holm play in tandem with Gascon.
Both goaltenders have similar numbers on paper, however Holm has just a few more years worth of experience at the DI level, and also brings international experience with Team Sweden and in the SDHL before she started in the NCAA. It’s a great situation for the Bulldogs, with two reliable starters in net, similar to their game plan last year. Plus, it’ll give both goaltenders a chance to grow further. I’m excited to see how Holm grows as a goaltender, and how she fares against the top teams in the WCHA behind the UMD defense.
Natálie Mlýnková, F — University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (from University of Vermont)
Look I’ll say it, Mlýnková was one of my favorite athletes throughout all of NCAA college hockey last year. The speed she has on the ice, coupled with the skill in her hands — she’s almost unstoppable. Hence why she was one of the highest scorers in Hockey East this past season, the conference’s Player of the Year and led UVM with 17 goals and 32 points.
UVM didn’t have the highest octane offense especially following the departure of forward Theresa Schafzahl, and I think the move to a high scoring team like Minnesota will be outstanding for Mlýnková’s production. Alongside 30 goal scorer Abbey Murphy and offensive powerhouses like Ella Huber and Josefin Bouveng, adding Mlýnková is going to raise Minnesota’s production to an even higher rate.
It’s as good of a fit as Mlýnková was going to find heading into her fifth season. I’m excited to see her on the ice for Minnesota, and Gopher fans should be too.
Maddi Wheeler, F — The Ohio State University (from University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Now this one… this one is a bit spicy.
It’s no secret Wisconsin and OSU have a high stakes rivalry, especially after the last two years. And to see Maddi Wheeler, a consistent 20+ point scorer for the Badgers over the last three seasons move to OSU for her fifth year, it’s only going to make the rivalry more interesting moving into 2024-25.
While Wheeler didn’t play too high in the Wisconsin lineup – mainly finding herself on the third line for much of last season – she provides solid skill for an already insanely deep Buckeye team. She also has winning pedigree, both as a two-time national champion with the Badgers, and on the U-18 Canadian national team who she scored the gold-medal winning goal for in 2019.
OSU picked up a lot of great players in the transfer portal, as they often do. I’m most excited to see how Wheeler performs, especially in OSU’s first game against Wisconsin on Nov. 15.
Sydney Morrow, D — University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (from Colgate University)
Three seasons, three teams for Morrow as she heads off to Minnesota, making a return to the WCHA following her freshman season at OSU.
Although the defender had a solid season in 2022-23, with eight points and a +5 rating on a lower pair for the Buckeyes, her sophomore season saw her meteoric rise offensively coupled with a stronger defensive game as well. She finished 2023-24 with 39 points in 34 games with the Raiders, the highest scoring defender on the team and finished with a +48 rating.
I think the strongest part of her game though is her ability to defend without taking penalties. Over 70 games in the NCAA, Morrow has taken just three infractions, on teams that were often in the penalty box overall.
Now she’ll be joining a loaded Minnesota team who, while still one of the best NCAA programs in the country, could benefit from some experienced, well-rounded defenders. Head coach Brad Frost called Morrow “incredibly gifted offensively,” and we’ll see that come out on the ice starting in September.
Casey Borgiel, D — Colgate University (from Holy Cross)
Let’s not beat around the bush, Holy Cross is not as much of an NCAA powerhouse as some of the other schools mentioned above.
But one of the biggest reasons they’ve grown as a program involved Borgiel, who was the highest scoring defender this past season, and had one of the best +/- statistics on a team that had a goal differential of -38. She was also third on the team in blocked shots with 44, clearly demonstrating her ability to get in the way of the puck when necessary.
Now, Borgiel will move to a defensive powerhouse in Colgate, and I think it’s a great fit for her. While she probably won’t be on the top pairing, she’ll slot in as one of the more experienced defenders on a relatively young blue line. It’ll be interesting to see how she’ll adjust to the ECAC style of play from Hockey East, and once she does it’ll be a thrill to see her grow into her role throughout the season.
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