CJ Regula commits to RPI
Big defensive defenseman will be key in revitalizing RPI's defense
https://twitter.com/cj_regula/status/1642315399520739331?s=20
Soon after Ryan Brushett committed, RPI picked up another commitment from the transfer portal when Ohio State senior defenseman CJ Regula committed to the Engineers. Regula is a big, physical RD listed at 6’3” and 205 LBs. He mostly played on Ohio State’s 3rd pairing as a shutdown defenseman. He had some of the best defensive metrics on the team via InStat, and Ohio State was a top 10 team in the country with a lot of good players.
As I said, Regula is a big, physical defenseman who is relied on as a key penalty killer and deployed in a defensive role. He didn’t get much ice time on a good Ohio State team, but he was always really effective in his role with the minutes he did get. At RPI, you can expect him to essentially take Mason Klee’s role as the two are pretty similar in terms of their style and skill set. He’ll get top 4 minutes and be one of RPI’s go to defensemen to match up with other teams’ top lines. I also think we’ll get to see a bit more offense from him at RPI with his increased role. Regula used to be a forward and switched to defense before his last season in junior hockey, so he has the ability to produce offensively.
Regula is a big addition for the Engineers considering their defensive struggles last season. I expect him to have a big impact on the blue line and help RPI get back to its strong defensive identity that we had seen in the couple years prior to this one. This gets RPI to 7 defensemen projected to be on the roster next season. I expect the team will add one more through either the portal or junior hockey. Right now though, I’m looking forward to seeing Regula wearing the Cherry and White this fall. Congratulations to CJ and his family! As always, Let’s Go Red!!