As the 2025-26 University of Denver Pioneers hockey team took to the ice at Magness Arena for its first official practice earlier this week, DU fans finally saw the 10 new freshmen in Pioneer helmets and pads for the first time.  DU will be a young team again, with only three seniors, but being young has not stopped the Pioneers from strong finishes in recent years, including NCAA titles in 2022 (t-2nd youngest in Division I) and 2024 (2nd youngest).

With DU’s season-opening exhibition game against UNLV only about three weeks away, the coaching staff now has some time to see how its office wall depth chart translates to flesh-and-blood on the ice.  Of course, as Pio fans have seen over the last 15 years, head coach David Carle (like coach Jim Montgomery before him) is quick to shift players into new lines and configurations from shift to shift during the season, so no DU line chart is even set in jello, let alone in stone. That said, it’s always fun to think about how DU might line up as the season begins.

The biggest question mark for the Pioneers will play up front on offense and in the crease, where almost all of the 10 new Pioneer players must be quickly integrated.  That said, assuming rosters stay the same between now and October (which, these days, seems to be a massive assumption), DU will have 14 NHL draftees on this year’s team, which is third in the nation only to Boston University’s 19 and Michigan State’s 15  NHL picks. That’s a lot of talent.

Let’s tackle the biggest challenge first – offense.  DU led the nation with 174 goals last season, scoring four goals per game as the nation’s top offense.  Will DU get back to that kind of scoring level?  Probably not quite, but given how experienced DU’s defense figures to be, even 3.5 goals per game should vault DU right back into the NCAA title hunt this season.

Picking the top 6 forwards

Last year’s top line has now moved on.  Senior All-American and NCAA leading scorer Jack Devine’s (57 points) and his linemates — NCAA second-leading scorer junior Aidan Thompson (55 points) and senior Carter King (who chipped in with 43 points) are all pro hockey players this year, so there will be plenty of top line offense for DU to replace.

Fortunately, DU still has Junior left-winger Sam Harris, a fifth-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2023, who scored 23 goals last year and is the NCHC’s leading returning goal scorer. At the end of last season, he flourished on DU’s second line and was paired with rising two-way senior center Samu Salminen. Salminen (a big 6-2, 205 lbs Finn), a third-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2023, had 28 points last year and became a strong faceoff man in the middle. Speedy right winger James Reeder, who had 21 points last year as a mid-size freshman draft pick of the LA Kings (2024), completed the line. Given how well those three players played together last season as DU’s second line, it makes sense to pencil them in on the top line. The experience of playing together last season may help a great deal early on, as many on the young Denver team will need time to adjust to NCAA hockey.

As for DU’s second line, expect big senior Rieger Lorenz (6-3, 210) with 20 points last year to finally step up from third-line checking line duties last year into a top six role this year as the second line left winger.  He’s a second-round pick of the Minnesota Wild and scored some big goals last season (in addition to his important insurance goal in the 2024 national title game). That said, his production could be likely be higher in a more offensive role and now as a senior, he should feel the need to produce more reliably in a top six role vs. a checking line role.

The second-line center battle could be interesting. Lorenz had some chemistry with Kieran Cebrian (15 points last year) on the 3rd line last season, so they could both step up to the top six together. That said, Jake Fisher, a 6-2, 195-pound freshman forward last season, really came on at the end of last year with 15 points on the fourth line.  Fisher could replace Cebrian (who is more of a natural checker/faceoff man) as the second-line center as a sophomore this season. The third member of last year’s third line, Jared Wright, has since moved on to pro hockey, so his right wing spot on the second line is also now open.  Hagen Burrows, a big-body (6-2, 176 lbs) draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning who started producing toward the end of last year with nine points, will probably be the one who will fill that second right wing slot, although he could very well be challenged here by some newcomers.

Picking the Bottom Six and The Black Aces (depth players who rarely dress for games)

The third line at DU is historically a checking line.  We could see Cebrian back again as the third-line center (or perhaps Fisher, if Cebrian indeed moves up), but the winger roles here are likely up for grabs among the newcomers. DU has a lot of natural left-shot left wingers among its incoming recruits, but not all of them are going to see left wing minutes, and we’re sure the coaches have other positions in mind for some of these players:

Kristian Epperson, a third-round pick of the LA Kings, scored 80 points in just 58 games last season with Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League. Known to be a tenacious player on the forecheck, Epperson is a mid-size natural left winger, so it feels like third-line left winger is where he’ll start. On the right side, Kyle Chyzowski, another mid-size nuisance-like player, was captain of the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL and could fill that checking role on the right side or could challenge Hagen Burrows for a second line job in the top six. Given Chyzowksi’s advanced age (21) and the awesome 105 points he put up last season in Portland in just 66 games, a second-line job at DU is also certainly a possibility. While he is a left shot, the log jam of natural left wingers may make Chyzowski a possible fit on the right side.  We’ll see how and where he fits.

While Epperson and Chyzowski are pencilled in for now on the hypothetical third line, four or five other newcomers could battle them for third-line spots among the top nine forwards.  

First, Clarke Caswell is a natural left winger and was captain of the Swift Current Broncos last season, racking up a very strong 84 points in 65 games in the Western Hockey League. A mid-size player, Caswell was taken by the Seattle Kraken in the fifth round of the  2024 NHL Draft. Scouts like his hustle, vision, and playmaking ability. Given he could have gone back to Swift Current this season as its captain, he’s now hoping that playing against bigger, stronger, and older players in the NCAA will help his development. He and Epperson will be in a battle for the third-line left wing, although given his playmaking ability, Caswell might also be a candidate to play center but for now, it seems he’ll start on the 4th line.

The second challenger is another natural left winger, Brendan McMorrow, who is described as a “two-way workhorse”. At 5-11, 180 lbs, McMorrow, a seventh-round pick of the LA Kings (2025), comes to DU via the Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) and the US National Development Program. While his 42 points in 58 USHL games don’t blow anyone away, he might be very useful in a third-line checking role out of the gate. All told, he’ll probably start on the fourth line as a banger on his off (right) wing for now.

Brady Milburn is a big body (6-2, 205 lbs.) left winger who comes to Denver from the BCHL, where he was a point-per-game player (52 points in 49 games last season).  Given that point-per-game players from the BCHL translate widely at the NCAA level in terms of future point production (BCHL is a level below the WHL), it’s hard to project whether he can make Denver’s top 12 forwards right out of the gate. He can play center and has some good size, so he certainly adds some versatility to his outlook, but he’ll likely need to play his way into a larger role as he gains experience at this higher level.

Reid Varkonyi is another mid-sized left-shooting left winger who has a “high battle level” (are you noticing a pattern?) according to scouting services. Another player whose junior numbers were just adequate rather than sensational (52 points in 59 USHL games last year with Sioux Falls), Varkonyi gives the coaches a high-motor puck retriever who can fill roles as needed. Given his average junior points output, though, it would be surprising if he can win a top nine job in his first season with the Pios, but stranger things have happened. For now, he’ll probably be an extra winger.

Payton Nelson and Peter LaJoy are local products who grew up in the Denver area, who are likely slated to be depth forwards – black aces who will likely struggle to crack the top 12 forwards dressing for DU this season, unless there are injuries. LaJoy played in 5 DU games last year, while Nelson comes into DU as a low-production (17 points in 53 games last season in the BCHL) forward. Neither of these players will likely beat out the aforementioned other forwards who have proven higher point totals in junior and/or NHL-drafted pedigrees coming into their first year in Denver.

Defense

With most of the Pioneer defense returning after losing only all-American and Hobey Hat Trick finalist Zeev Buium to an NHL contract, the DU coaching staff will be relying on their very experienced defensive corps. With so much experience back, the Pioneers could and probably should be a top 5-10 defense nationally this season after ranking #18 nationally in goals allowed last year, assuming the goaltending is up to snuff.

Junior Eric Pohlkamp, a San Jose Sharks draft pick, will likely move into the spotlight in the starring role as the Pioneers’ power play quarterback and will play a key leadership role on the back end. The right-shooting Pohlkamp had the second-best plus/minus (+35, though it’s important to remember that this is a wildly flawed metric) in the nation last year, and was the fourth-ranked nationally in scoring among defensemen with 35 points in 44 games last year. He can move the puck, play offense with his heavy shot, and his thick body (5-11, 215  lbs) combine to make him a top-notch college defenseman who figures to replace Buium in the first-team All-American/Hobey Baker Award conversation. Pohlkamp may be paired with different defensemen depending on team needs. While Pohlkamp played on the second pairing primarily with Boston Buckberger last year, and when Buckberger got hurt in the playoffs, he played with Cale Ashcroft. Expect Pohlkamp and Buckberger to be back together and step up and play on the top pairing this season.

Buckberger was playing the best hockey of his life down the stretch last year with nine goals and 30 points while also adding 21 assists before he got hurt in the first overtime of the NCHC title game against Western Michigan. Both players have good offensive instincts and should also see significant special teams minutes.

The second pairing this season could well be last year’s third pairing. Ashcroft, a 5-11, 190-pound high-motor defenseman, was DU’s most improved player last season, especially in the clutch. While Ashcroft’s 12 points were not elite offensive production, he paired well with Garrett Brown, a big (6-3, 190 lbs.) Winnipeg Jets draft pick,  and they can step into a second pairing role with greater ice time and responsibilities. Brown is a rangy, stay-at-home defenseman who can hit and proved he can skate very well for a big player.

Filling out the top six d-men will be the third pairing. Kent Anderson, a big and strong (6-3, 215 plus) undrafted d-man, did an outstanding job as a stay-at-home partner to Buium last season on DU’s first pairing. Anderson’s steady play allowed Buium to skate anywhere he wanted. This season, Anderson will be without Buium, so there will be competition for the final spot in the top three pairs.

The competition will likely pit Colorado Avalanche draft pick Tory Pitner, a 6-1, 190-pounder who saw spot duty last season, against incoming freshmen Eric Jamieson, a big (6-2, 204 lbs.) Calgary Flames draft pick who captained the Everett (Wash.) Silvertips of the WHL last year. Expect both Pitner and Jamieson to see a lot of action this year.

Expect Alec Whipple, who saw six games of action last season, including in the NCAA Regionals, to likely be the seventh or eighth defenseman this season who can move up as needed.

Goaltending

With Denver’s all-world goaltender Matt Davis now graduated into professional hockey, Denver’s tradition of strong netminding will be thrown into a competition to name a starter this season.  The three-way competition will be between a rarely-used junior backup Paxton Geisel, and two new freshmen goalies with Major Junior experience, Quentin Miller and Johnny Hicks.

Geisel, a big goalie at 6-2, 195 lbs., spent most of last year sidelined with a lower-body injury and did not see any game action for the Pioneers. The season before, in 2023-24, he appeared in two games and made one start, winning his collegiate debut at Western Michigan, where he made 31 saves on 36 shots in the overtime win.  That said, his career save percentage in his two DU games is .857, which is simply not good enough at this level.

While Geisel does have the most minutes in a Pioneer uniform of the three goalies, it would be surprising if he won the starting job. Why? Freddie Halyk, the primary backup last year, had far better stats than Geisel in his nine games last year as DU’s netminder, with a 2.08 GAA and .915 save percentage, yet still transferred to Brown University for this season. While Brown is a fantastic academic school, the move suggests that the DU coaching staff may have more confidence in the incoming freshman netminders.

Miller has the best resume on paper to win the starting job.  A native of Montreal, he is a big goalie at 6-3 and 190 lbs and is a 2023 fourth-round draft pick of his hometown Montreal Canadiens. He spent the 2024-25 campaign with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL after spending the previous two seasons playing Major Junior in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts and Rimouski Oceanic. Miller was strong with Chilliwack, with an 8-2-0 record, 2.29 goals-against average, and .923 save percentage in 10 regular-season games before going 14-9-0 with a 2.40 GAA, and a .925 save percentage in the 2025 BCHL Playoffs.  In the QMJHL in 2023-24, Miller began the year with the Quebec Remparts and recorded a 12-13-1 record, 3.04 GAA, and .901 save percentage before finishing the year in Rimouski with a 10-4-0 mark, 2.60 GAA, and .917 save percentage. The year prior in 2022-2023, he went 14-4-0 with a 2.11 GAA, a .911 save percentage, and had two shutouts with Quebec, while being coached by Avalanche legend Patrick Roy and winning both the QMJHL Championship and CHL Memorial Cup.

Hicks is a small goalie at 5-10 and 157 pounds and split the 2024-25 campaign between the Brooks Bandits of the BCHL and Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League. He began the season with Brooks and recorded an 18-3-0 record, 1.37 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in 21 games and played in the BCHL All-Star/Top Prospects Game.  He finished with the highest GAA and SV% in the BCHL during the year, despite only playing half of the season. He then moved up a level and joined Victoria (Major Junior) on Jan. 3 and went on to produce a 10-4-1 record, 2.69 GAA, .909 save percentage in 14 regular season contests, and was twice named WHL Goaltender of the Week.  

We’ll see who wins the starting job, but Miller probably has the inside track, if only because of his size.

Here is an early prediction of how the depth chart might look:

Forwards

Harris – Salminen – Reeder
Lorenz – Fisher – Burrows
Epperson – Cebrian – Chyzowski
Caswell – Milburn – McMorrow

Extras: Varkonyi, LaJoy, Nelson

Defense:

Buckberger – Anderson
Ashcroft – Pohlkamp
Brown – Pitner

Extras: Jamieson, Whipple

Goaltending:

Starter: Miller
Backup: Hicks
3rd: Geisel

Top photo courtesy of C. Morgan Engel/Clarkson Creative via Denver Athletics