Mid-Season Recruiting Update
A look at RPI's committed prospects halfway through the year
It’s halfway through the season, and we’ve got a little break here with college hockey in their Christmas break. With that, it’s time to look at how recruits are doing. We have a nice little chart for you all with the future rosters laid out (which will be pinned to the top of the recruiting section on the site). We’ll do our best to keep that updated as commitments come in.
2024
Easton Adrian
Adrian has been having a fantastic season with the Drumheller Dragons in the AJHL. He chose to return to Drumheller instead of playing with the Madison Capitols in the USHL. He has elevated his game this year to become one of the best defensemen in the league. Adrian started out scoring 2 points per game and earned AJHL Player of the Month in September. He has since cooled off, but he is 7th in points among defensemen. Among U19 defensemen, he is 2nd in points, only 1 point behind the current leader. This strong play led to Adrian making NHL Central Scouting’s Watch List for the 2024 NHL Draft. He was rated as a potential late round pick. With his strong play, I am expecting Adrian to enroll this fall.
Xander Babich
As an ‘03 birthyear, Babich must enroll at RPI this fall because he will be aging out of junior hockey. Babich doesn’t have the same production as last year, but he is a valuable leader as one of Spruce Grove’s captains. His role at RPI won’t be defined by points either because he is expected to be a gritty, hard-nosed bottom 6 player who can kill penalties.
Mathieu Bourgault
Bourgault moved over to the Corpus Christi Ice Rays of the NAHL this year, and he’s been having a good year. He has 5 goals, 16 assists and 21 points in 30 games, and his assists count leads the team. Honestly, he is owed more goals too. Bourgault has 62 shots on net, and based off of his skill set and track record of scoring goals, he should have at least 3-4 more. I would expect that to even out over the rest of the season. Bourgault’s hard skill will make him a good bottom 6 player when he arrives in Troy next year, and he has the potential to develop into more of a scoring role after that.
Felix Caron
Arguably RPI’s best recruit in the pipeline despite not being ranked by NHL Central Scouting, Caron is having an excellent year in West Kelowna in the BCHL. He is 7th in the entire league in points, and every player ahead of him is older than him. Caron’s 18 goals actually leads the league. He has a special one-timer and shot, and his skill, skating and IQ combine with that to make him a diverse offensive threat. Caron will come to RPI next year and should immediately make an impact in the top 9 and on the power play.
Jimmy Goffredo
RPI’s most recent commit, Goffredo is having a good year with the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL. He is playing in all situations and can really skate and move the puck. I expect he will play a similar role for the Engineers next year.
Jackson Kyrkostas
Kyrkostas is having a really good rookie season playing for West Kelowna with Caron and Hilditch. He has 13 goals, 9 assists and 22 points in 28 games. His 13 goals are 12th in the league, which is great for a rookie. Among rookie players in the league, he is 9th in points and 3rd in goals. Kyrkostas is really talented with outstanding skating, vision and creativity. He creates a lot of offense, so despite only playing his first year of juniors, I am still expecting him to come to RPI in the fall.
Brody Maguire
Maguire is a player who won’t ever be judged by his points. He’s a defensive defenseman who once again has been steady and reliable in his own end for the Okotoks Oilers in the AJHL. He will be a good depth defenseman next year as a freshman and ideally can develop into a top 4 shutdown defenseman like a Brady Ferner or an Anthony Baxter over the course of his career.
Jagger Tapper
I’m not sure if Tapper will end up coming in 2024 or if he will delay to 2025. For now, I’m going to keep him as 2024, but I think he could use another year. Tapper is having a very good year in Okotoks with 15 goals, 13 assists and 28 points in 33 games. His speed and skill will make him an asset in Troy when he arrives. If he does come next fall, he will likely struggle initially like Sullivan has.
2025
Matt Hanscom
It’s been a bit of a rough first year of juniors for Hanscom. He had 2 points in 15 games for the Blackfalds Bulldogs before moving to the New Hampshire Mountain Kings in the NAHL. He has only played 2 games there, so we will have to see how he fares there the rest of the season.
Noah Heinrich
Heinrich was traded from Bonnyville to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons towards the beginning of the season. He has played better since being traded with 10 points in 24 games. Heinrich is a really good skater, but he’s undersized and has to continue to add weight and muscle to his game.
Landen Hilditch
Hilditch is a very good player. He’s a huge RD and an excellent skater who can really defend. I think he has some offensive upside too. He has taken a step forward this year with 9 points so far in 28 games while keeping his defensive play good. He is also wearing an “A” for West Kelowna showing strong leadership abilities. With another year of junior hockey after this one, I think Hilditch will come to RPI ready to play top 4 minutes right away in 2025.
Luke Janus
Janus has had a weird year. He started with 8 points in his first 10 games for the Maryland Black Bears in the NAHL. Then, he went 15 straight games without a point. Recently, he has been playing well again with 8 points in his last 7 games. Hopefully, he can keep up that level of play for the remainder of the year. I originally had Janus slated for a 2024 arrival, but his inconsistency shows that he needs another year of junior hockey.
Dylan Lariviere
Lariviere is having an excellent year as a rookie ‘05 in the BCHL. He was not getting ice time with the Brooks Bandits, so he left early on in the season to join the Merritt Centennials. He has 9 goals, 12 assists and 21 points in 26 games. Those marks put him 11th in points for U19 players and 10th in the league for rookie skaters. When he committed, I thought Lariviere had one of the highest ceilings for our commits, but he was also very raw and needed time to develop. He appears to be progressing faster than anticipated, and next year, he could be one of the top players in the BCHL.
Lucas Lemieux
Lemieux is the 2nd RPI commit to be named to the NHL Central Scouting watch list as a potential late round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He has good size and can really skate, which immediately stands out, but he also has offensive skill to go with it. With his status as a possible NHL draft pick, he could potentially come to RPI a year earlier than projected in 2024, but I think he still needs another year of juniors. He should be an awesome two-way defenseman throughout his career in Troy regardless of when he comes.
Carter Oakenfold
Originally projected to enroll in 2024, I expect that Oakenfold will be delayed a year. He had to battle injuries early on in the season. He is healthy now and has 17 points in 36 games overall. Hopefully, he can get on the scoreboard more in the second half of the year with more time at full health.
Ryan Sanborn
Sanborn is having a tough year in his first year of junior hockey with the Prince George Spruce Kings in the BCHL. His numbers aren’t very good, but I do think it should be noted that he has very little support. PG is last in their division and has the worst goal differential in the league. Sanborn will play another year of junior hockey before coming to RPI.
Ryan Shaw
Shaw did not end up making it onto Youngstown’s final roster. He ended up choosing the Blackfalds Bulldogs in the AJHL as his team. He has 11 points in 32 games while playing on their 3rd line as he has been getting acclimated to junior hockey.
Jack Ziliotto
It’s been a tough adjustment for Ziliotto moving over to the BCHL from the OJHL. He has 5 points in 22 games so far. Ziliotto is a good and talented player; it was only a year ago that he made it onto NHL Central Scouting’s watch list. It seems he will need more time in junior hockey than initially anticipated, but I still believe in his talent. I think he can still be an impact player at RPI.
2026
Carter Matthews
RPI’s first ‘06 commit, Matthews is having a solid first year of junior hockey with the Camrose Kodiaks in the AJHL. He has 8 points in 31 games, which is among the better marks for his age group. With 2 more years of junior hockey, Matthews should be a good two-way defenseman in Troy.