College Sports

Why Cole Reschny is on track to become UND’s latest first-round NHL Draft pick – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — Cole Reschny interviewed with 27 teams at the NHL Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., earlier this month. How many asked him about his decision to leave Canadian major juniors for UND? “Twenty-seven,” he said. A day will soon come when a high-end player leaving the Canadian Hockey League for college is as routine […]

Published

4 weeks ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

GRAND FORKS — Cole Reschny interviewed with 27 teams at the NHL Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., earlier this month.

How many asked him about his decision to leave Canadian major juniors for UND?

“Twenty-seven,” he said.

A day will soon come when a high-end player leaving the Canadian Hockey League for college is as routine as when a United States Hockey League player does it.

But Reschny, the Victoria Royals star center, was one of the first elite players to make that jump after a November NCAA rules change allowed major junior players to retain college eligibility. Questions have followed Reschny everywhere this summer.

“All the teams asked why,” Reschny said. “I just told them I thought it was the best decision for me. They supported it.”

Reschny officially signed with UND this week.

“We’re excited for a lot of reasons,” UND head coach Dane Jackson said. “He’s such a sharp young man with a ton of presence, a great team guy, an elite talent. One of the things we’ve talked about is trying to get guys that match our identity. We think he’s a real tenacious, two-way, really strong hockey player overall. It’s kind of how we want to build our team — guys who want to compete hard, are good teammates and have really good ability. We want guys who have all that character and substance to their games as well.

“When you get a good player, it’s a home run. But when you get a really good player and person and teammate, that’s a grand slam. We’re really excited about adding Cole to our group for the player and person he is.”

Reschny is on track to become UND’s 24th first-round NHL Draft pick.

The first round is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Reschny will attend the draft with his parents, grandparents, two brothers and two sisters.

“It’s very exciting,” Reschny said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s also what we all work our whole lives for. To see that it’s finally here and the time has come, it’s crazy.”

The Herald polled a handful of scouts asking if Reschny could drop out of the first round. They all said, “No.”

Several draft experts have projected Reschny to go in the middle of the first round.

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and TSN’s Craig Button have Reschny going No. 13. FloHockey’s Chris Peters has him going No. 15. TSN’s Bob McKenzie has Reschny at No. 19. Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News has him at No. 28.

“He’s very talented, skilled and has a great release,” an NHL scout told the Herald. “All of the skill categories, he’s going to grade out very well. He’s got creative playmaking ability. He’s extremely poised. He’s a very quick thinker. I really like that he’s not the biggest guy, but he’s willing to get to the net and go to the hard areas. His effort is good. He can forecheck and force turnovers.”

So, what’s the downside?

“He’s not a very big guy,” the scout said. “He’s going to have to fight through some stuff, but talent-wise, he’s very, very skilled.”

Reschny is listed at 5-foot-10.5, 183 pounds.

His stature didn’t matter last season. Reschny was one of the top players in the Western Hockey League in several categories.

He finished ninth in the league with 92 points in 62 games. During the playoffs, he tallied 25 points in 11 games, finishing second in points per game (2.27). Only Gavin McKenna, who is expected to go No. 1 overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, had more (2.38).

Reschny was third in offense-generating plays (928), behind McKenna (1,000) and last summer’s No. 8 overall pick Berkly Catton (981). Reschny was fourth in pass completion percentage among WHL forwards (78.1%).

Reschny also won 57.2% of his faceoffs, including 62.9% in the offensive zone.

The Macklin, Sask., product is projected to be one of UND’s top two centers this season.

“He distributes the puck well,” Jackson said. “He has great vision. He executes with a high level of playmaking. He has a real elusiveness to him. He makes nice stutter steps and pauses. He slows the game down at times. He uses his teammates really well. He can score. He has a good shot. He goes to hard areas. He has a lot of innate offensive instincts that allow him to create and make players around him better.”

Cole Reschny takes a faceoff for the Victoria Royals against Gracyn Sawchyn of the Edmonton Oil Kings during the 2024-25 season.

After Victoria was eliminated from the WHL playoffs, Reschny was added to Canada’s IIHF World Under-18 Tournament roster. He served as an alternate captain for the Canadians, who won gold.

“I thought he was one of Canada’s drivers at the U18s,” an NHL scout said. “In their most important games in the medal round, he was one of their top players. He’s a guy who can rise to the occasion. If you look at what he did in the (WHL) playoffs, and you combine that with what he did at Worlds, he seems like a big-game player.”

Reschny said he tried not to focus on the draft during the season.

“I think it’s always in the back of your mind,” Reschny said. “I tried to play my game and stick to it and stay focused on the team-first game. That was going to help me out more than playing as an individual.”

Reschny has a busy summer ahead.

After the draft, he’ll attend development camp with whatever team selects him. Then, he’ll go to Canada’s World Junior Championship summer evaluation camp before arriving on campus.

Reschny plans to live with freshman defenseman Keaton Verhoeff at UND.

They were teammates last year in Victoria. Verhoeff is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

“We’re close buddies coming from Victoria,” Reschny said. “He’s going into a big year, too. I’ll get to watch him go through that. He got to watch me go through it. It will be great getting to live with a guy like that. We’re both striving for the same goals. He’s a driven guy.”

Where: Peacock Theater, Los Angeles.
First round: 6 p.m. Friday, ESPN and ESPN Plus.
Second-seventh rounds: 11 a.m. Saturday, NHL Network and ESPN Plus.

Cole Reschny.jpg — UND forward Cole Reschny of Macklin, Sask., has represented Canada on the international stage.

UND’s first-round NHL Draft picks

2024 — Sacha Boisvert, No. 18, Chicago Blackhawks; E.J. Emery, No. 30, New York Rangers
2020 — Jake Sanderson, No. 5, Ottawa Senators
2018 — Jacob Bernard-Docker, No. 26, Ottawa Senators
2016 — Tyson Jost, No. 10, Colorado Avalanche
2015 — Brock Boeser, No. 23, Vancouver Canucks
2014 — Nick Schmaltz, No. 20, Chicago Blackhawks
2012 — Jordan Schmaltz, No. 25, St. Louis Blues
2010 — Derek Forbort, No. 15, Los Angeles Kings; Brock Nelson, No. 30, New York Islanders
2006 — Jonathan Toews, No. 3, Chicago Blackhawks
2005 — Brian Lee, No. 9, Ottawa Senators; T.J. Oshie, No. 24, St. Louis Blues; Joe Finley, No. 27, Washington Capitals
2004 — Drew Stafford, No. 13, Buffalo Sabres; Travis Zajac, No. 20, New Jersey Devils
2003 — Zach Parise, No. 17, New Jersey Devils
2000 — David Hale, No. 22, New Jersey Devils
1993 — Landon Wilson, No. 19, Toronto Maple Leafs
1989 — Jason Herter, No. 8, Vancouver Canucks
1986 — George Pelawa, No. 16, Calgary Flames
1981 — James Patrick, No. 9, New York Rangers
1968 — John Marks, No. 9, Chicago Blackhawks

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College Sports

Local trampoline gymnast, West Fowler, competing in World Championship

Published

24 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – West Fowler, a 16-year-old trampoline gymnast from Gulf Breeze, Florida, is officially headed to Spain this fall as a member of Team USA. He’s been selected to compete at the 2025 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships, taking place November 6 through 9 in Pamplona. West will represent the U.S. in the Double Mini Trampoline event, where he’s already recognized as one of the top athletes in the world. He’ll also serve as the alternate for the tumbling competition.

West began gymnastics at just one year old, growing up in the sport thanks to his parents, Blain and Alie Fowler, who own a gym. He currently trains at Panhandle Perfection Gymnastics in Gulf Breeze and on the Pensacola State College campus. In addition to his trampoline success, West is also a standout in artistic gymnastics. He was the regional Level 10 All-Around champion this season and took home individual titles on pommel horse and vault.

A student at Florida Virtual School, West balances intense training and travel with his education. His goal is to compete at the highest level in both trampoline and artistic gymnastics, and with his upcoming appearance at the World Championships, he’s well on his way.

Good luck, West!

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College Sports

Men’s Hockey Announces Full Slate of 2025-26 Games

HANOVER, N.H.—Reid Cashman, the Koenig Family Head Coach of Dartmouth Men’s Hockey announced the full schedule for the 2025-26 Dartmouth men’s hockey season on Tuesday. The Big Green start the season with a scrimmage against Norwich University (NCAA DII) on Sunday, Oct. 26 at Thompson Arena. Dartmouth kicks off the regular season on the […]

Published

25 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HANOVER, N.H.—Reid Cashman, the Koenig Family Head Coach of Dartmouth Men’s Hockey announced the full schedule for the 2025-26 Dartmouth men’s hockey season on Tuesday.

The Big Green start the season with a scrimmage against Norwich University (NCAA DII) on Sunday, Oct. 26 at Thompson Arena.

Dartmouth kicks off the regular season on the road against Stonehill on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Warrior Ice Arena in Boston, Mass.

The following day the Big Green take on Yale in a non-conference game at Thompson Arena which is the first of three straight games at home. Faceoff is slated for 5 PM against the Bulldogs.

ECAC play opens on Friday, Nov. 7 at Thompson Arena as Colgate travels to Hanover. The Big Green close out the early three game homestand the following day against Cornell, both faceoffs are scheduled for 7 PM.

Dartmouth travels to the North Country for a pair of games against St. Lawrence and Clarkson the following weekend. The Big Green and Saints play on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 PM while Clarkson and the Big Green square off the next day at 4 PM.

Following a weekend off, the Big Green play a pair of home non-conference games starting on Friday, Nov. 28 against former ECAC rival Vermont. Merrimack travels to Hanover on Saturday, Nov. 29 to take on the Big Green for the second straight season.

Dartmouth plays six games in the month of December with five of them coming at Thompson Arena. The Big Green open the month against Brown on Friday, Dec. 5 at home before hosting Yale on Saturday, Dec. 6 in the final ECAC game of 2025.

The Big Green play a pair of non-conference games before the holiday break. Dartmouth hosts Army for the first time since the 2018-19 season on Friday, Dec. 12. Dartmouth then travels to Durham to take on UNH on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 4 PM.

Following the holiday break, the Big Green welcome Arizona State to Thompson Arena for the 36^th Annual Ledyard Classic. The first game of the two-game series is on Saturday, Dec. 27 with the second game coming against the Sun Devils on Sunday, Dec. 28.

Dartmouth opens the new year with a road trip to Princeton on Friday, Jan. 2 before taking on Quinnipiac on Saturday, Jan. 3 in Hamden, Conn.

Following the road trip, the Big Green return to Hanover for three straight ECAC games starting on Friday, Feb. 9 against Harvard at 7 PM. Dartmouth then closes out season series’ against Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Friday, Jan. 16 and Saturday, Jan. 17.

Seven of the final 11 regular season games are road games for the Big Green, starting on Friday, Jan. 23 at Cornell. Dartmouth takes on Colgate on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Dartmouth closes the month of January at home to take on New York State capital region foes Union and RPI at Thompson Arena. Dartmouth faces on the Garnet Chargers on Friday, Jan. 30 before taking on RPI on Saturday, Jan. 31.

The Big Green open February with five straight road games beginning on Friday, Feb. 6 at Harvard. Dartmouth travels to Yale and Brown to close out the season series’ against the Bulldogs and Bears on Feb. 13-14.

For the final road trip of the regular season, Dartmouth takes on RPI on Friday, Feb. 20 and Union on Saturday, Feb. 21.

The Big Green close out the regular season at home against Quinnipiac and Princeton on Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28. The last time Dartmouth and Princeton squared off in the regular season finale was on Mar. 4, 1995, in which the Big Green won 3-2 at Thompson Arena.

Dartmouth is coming off an historic 2024-25 season in which it won the outright Ivy League Championship for the first time since the 1979-80 season. It was the first Ivy League title since 2007. The Big Green return three of their top five scorers from a season ago including leading scorers CJ Foley and Nikita Nikora who each had 30 points in 33 games last season.

Season ticket deposits are open for Dartmouth men’s hockey and can be purchased by clicking here.

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College Sports

Trump bulldozing his way into NIL business? College sports must have ‘real boundaries’

According to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, despite Donald Trump‘s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, the president apparently still has time to butt into college sports’ name, image, and likeness legislation. During a recent round of golf with the president, Sankey says Trump reaffirmed his goals to implement what Sankey dubbed “real boundaries” on the […]

Published

43 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

During a recent round of golf with the president, Sankey says Trump reaffirmed his goals to implement what Sankey dubbed “real boundaries” on the polarizing new system.

“It’s not a secret. I had a chance to visit with the President, along with Pete Bevacqua, the athletics director at Notre Dame,” Sankey bragged, via ESPN. “We met and played golf at Bedminster, and his interest is real. My takeaway: he wants to be supportive of college athletics, make sure that it’s sustainable, the Olympic program, and the Olympic development.”

He added: “Work that’s done on college campuses was on his mind. The support of women’s athletics was on his mind, but having some kind of real boundaries, and we’ve been in active conversations.”

The proposed executive order aims to create national standards for NIL, address athlete compensation, and provide clarity on the employment status of college athletes, according to WIBC. It also seeks to grant antitrust exemptions to the NCAA and other governing bodies to provide more stability.

Since July 2021, college players have controlled how their identities are used in marketing and promotional activities, and in some cases, earned large sums of money, essentially making them professionals who play on college courts and fields.

The NCAA’s prior restrictions on student-athletes being paid for their likeness led to legal challenges, culminating in the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling, which found that these restrictions violated antitrust laws.

This paved the way for the NCAA to adopt an NIL policy and for states to enact legislation allowing student-athletes to monetize their NIL.

While the system is imperfect and has irked old school coaches — like seven-time national champion coach Nick Saban, who left the University of Alabama in Jan. 2024 due to NIL — some feel players deserve at least some of the immense revenue spawned by the thrills they provide.

Nonetheless, NIL has sparked an ethical debate surrounding its free-agent nature, and lack of leverage coaches have versus paid players, who can transfer as many times as they please for bigger paychecks. And Trump appears to have found way to leverage it all.

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College Sports

Will players leave New England prep hockey early for the CHL?

Rian Chudzinski signed with Moncton in the QMJHL. (Dave Arnold/NEHJ) In Part 1 of the boys’ prep coaches survey, we focused on the players and teams of this past season. Part 2 looked ahead to next season. But a large cloud of uncertainty hangs over prep entering this coming season, and that’s what Part 3 […]

Published

45 minutes ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Rian Chudzinski signed with Moncton in the QMJHL. (Dave Arnold/NEHJ)

In Part 1 of the boys’ prep coaches survey, we focused on the players and teams of this past season. Part 2 looked ahead to next season.

But a large cloud of uncertainty hangs over prep entering this coming season, and that’s what Part 3 is focused on.

The CHL ruling.

Beginning last November, CHL players became eligible to play NCAA Division 1 hockey. This means many things.

For starters, NCAA programs have brought in quite a few current CHL players to begin this fall. They have also committed future CHL talent. There are, at least for now, fewer spots in Division 1 college hockey. More on that in a separate story.

But where this could really impact prep is that players now have the option of going to the CHL for junior hockey. Around here, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has regional rights to New England players.

The CHL also includes the Ontario Hockey League, which has rights to players from states like New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the Western Hockey League.

So, we asked prep coaches what they think the fallout will be. All coaches were granted anonymity.

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College Sports

Men’s Ice Hockey: Sixteen Cadets Earn AHCA Krampade Scholastic All-American Recognition

Story Links NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) announced its annual list of Krampade Division II/III All-American Scholars. Across the country, 664 men’s hockey players were recognized, with 16 of them representing the Norwich Men’s Ice Hockey team. The honor is awarded to student-athletes who achieved a minimum 3.75 GPA […]

Published

1 hour ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) announced its annual list of Krampade Division II/III All-American Scholars. Across the country, 664 men’s hockey players were recognized, with 16 of them representing the Norwich Men’s Ice Hockey team.

The honor is awarded to student-athletes who achieved a minimum 3.75 GPA during both semesters and participated in at least 40 percent of their team’s games with exceptions for backup goaltenders and injured players including:

Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, On.)

Jed Brazo (Homer, N.Y.)

Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, On.)

Holden Doggett (Oakville, On.)

Colin Elliott (Peterborough, On.)

Owen Hains (Lebanon, Pa.)

Matt Harvey (Fort Covington, N.Y.)

Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, On.)

Harris Hilfiker (Middletown, N.J.)

Clark Kerner (Kansas City, Kan.)

Sami Molu (Toronto, On.)

Zach Ophoven (Burlington, On.)

Adam Schuchart (Marietta, Ga.)

Devon Thibodeau (Pelham, On.)

Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, On.)

Jared Weisert (Southlake, Texas)

The AHCA Krampade All-American Scholar program, now in its ninth year, celebrates academic achievement among student-athletes from all NCAA divisions. Krampade, a performance drink company, sponsors the award as part of its mission to promote athletic success and recovery.

Fourteen of the sixteen representatives were also given New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) All-Academic team recognition for their stellar performance in the classroom.

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College Sports

Men's Soccer Releases 2025 Slate

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Entering year 15 under the direction of head coach Carlos Somoano, the North Carolina men’s soccer program has released its schedule for the upcoming fall season. The schedule features 16 regular-season contests with 10 matches played at Dorrance Field. The 2025 slate includes five teams that finished in the top 25 […]

Published

1 hour ago

July 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Entering year 15 under the direction of head coach Carlos Somoano, the North Carolina men’s soccer program has released its schedule for the upcoming fall season.

The schedule features 16 regular-season contests with 10 matches played at Dorrance Field.

The 2025 slate includes five teams that finished in the top 25 of the final United Soccer Coaches poll last season, highlighted by home games against No. 5 SMU and No. 6 Wake Forest. Including those two, UNC’s opponents feature seven NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago.

Carolina’s schedule includes home Atlantic Coast Conference matches against Wake Forest (Sept. 12), SMU (Sept. 20), Virginia Tech (Oct. 19) and Duke (Oct. 31). The Tar Heels will hit the road against conference foes NC State (Sept. 5), Virginia (Sept. 27), Louisville (Oct. 3) and Syracuse (Oct. 25).

The Tar Heels open the regular season on Aug. 21, hosting UCF, and wrap up the weekend against Seattle (Aug. 24). The following weekend, the program welcomes Evansville (Aug. 28) to Dorrance Field before hitting the road to Charleston (Sept. 1).

Carolina will also face Memphis (Sept. 16), Lipscomb (Oct. 7), and St. Thomas (Oct. 11) at Dorrance Field, rounding out non-conference play by hosting UAB (Oct. 15).

Prior to the start of the regular season, UNC will head to Campbell for its first preseason test on Aug. 9. The Tar Heels will then host VCU on Aug. 15, for their final exhibition.

North Carolina produced a 9-4-5 (4-3-1 ACC) mark in 2024, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 31st time in program history.

Ticket information for the 2025 campaign will be available soon. For more information visit GoHeels.com/Tickets.