Coming off a season that showed flashes of hope, the Northeastern Men’s Hockey program enters another season with a new freshman class and four transfer additions signed in April. The Huskies look to build on the glimpses of success that they saw last season, highlighted by a four-game winning streak over ranked opponents in October.
Northeastern enters the season with 16 returning players, compared to just 13 a year ago. The incoming group of new Huskies features seven freshmen and four transfers arriving from four different conferences. Here’s a look at the 11 new faces set to wear a Huskies sweater this season:
Transfers
Miguel Marques – F (So.)
On the first morning of the transfer portal window, it was reported that Northeastern was in the mix to land the former third-round NHL Draft pick. The next day, Marques was announced as one of three transfer additions after spending one season at Maine. In 33 games with the Black Bears, he recorded 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. He finished fourth on Maine in scoring and ranked second among the team’s freshmen, trailing only forward Justin Poirier. Marques will likely have a solidified top-six role for the Huskies this upcoming season, as they look to replace Dylan Hryckowian, who signed an entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars this past spring.
Alex Pineau – D (Sr.)
The most experienced of Northeastern’s April transfer additions, Pineau spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Brown, which included two seasons as a teammate of current Northeastern goaltender Lawton Zacher. The right-handed defender served as one of Brown’s captains last season and backed up that leadership on the ice, leading the Bears with 58 blocked shots while averaging 25:49 of ice time per game, the fifth-highest mark in the NCAA.
Pineau’s defensive reliability should help fill the gap left by Vinny Borgesi, who led the NCAA in ice time last season at 27:11 per game and led the Huskies with 75 blocked shots. Pineau took a step back offensively last season, producing only nine points after having 15 and 16 in his freshman and sophomore years, respectively. His leadership, defensive awareness, and ability to handle heavy minutes should make him an immediate contributor on Northeastern’s blue line.
Joel Kjellberg – D (Jr.)
Northeastern continued to strengthen the right side of their blue line with the addition of Joel Kjellberg. The Swedish defender played his first two seasons at Arizona State, recording 11 points in each season. Similar to Pineau, Kjellberg made his biggest impact in the defensive zone, blocking 60 shots last season while providing a steady presence in front of the net. With only two defenders returning from last season’s roster, Kjellberg gives Northeastern another experienced option on the back end and eases the pressure on an incoming freshman class that otherwise would have been asked to shoulder significant minutes immediately.
Charlie Pardue – F (So.)
Pardue was a late portal addition for Northeastern, as his signing was announced in mid-June, long after the busy period of portal activity had passed. The sophomore forward appeared in just one game during his freshman season at Notre Dame, logging just under nine minutes against Western Michigan. Before arriving at Notre Dame, Pardue spent the 2023-24 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program before splitting the following year between the Chicago Steel and Tri-City Storm of the USHL. Pardue joins the Huskies as a designated student-athlete, meaning that he will not count against Northeastern’s 26-man roster limit. He will likely serve to add depth to Northeastern’s forward group, as the roster had dealt with its fair share of injuries last season.
Freshman Class
Sam Caulfield – G
Following the loss of Quentin Sigurdson to the transfer portal, Caulfield appears to be the frontrunner to take over as Lawton Zacher’s primary backup. Caulfield arrives after spending the past two seasons across three different junior leagues, including the 2024-25 campaign with the New Hampshire Mountain Kings of the North American Hockey League. With the Mountain Kings, he posted a .921 save percentage and a 3.08 GAA, finishing the regular season with a 10-10-1 record.
Last season, Caulfield opened the year in the USHL with the Chicago Steel, recording a .889 save percentage, a 3.13 goals-against average, and a 4-3-2 record with one shutout. He finished the season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, where he recorded a .926 save percentage, a 2.72 GAA, and a 5-8-1 record, with two shutouts.
While Zacher is expected to shoulder the bulk of the workload once again, Caulfield gives Northeastern a capable backup with experience across multiple junior leagues and the potential to push for starts throughout the season.
Trey Jefferis – F
Having committed to Northeastern back in March of 2025, Jefferis now holds a unique position in this year’s freshman class. He is the only incoming freshman to come directly from the USHL, which served as the primary pipeline to NCAA hockey before CHL players became eligible for college competition.
Jefferis played three seasons for the Sioux City Musketeers, where he skated alongside current Northeastern forward Giacomo Martino and fellow incoming freshman defenseman Owen Keefe. Last season, he recorded 27 goals and 24 assists for 51 points in 55 games. This ranked him 30th in the league in points among four others, and 12th in goals among two others.
With his scoring touch and familiarity with a pair of current Huskies, Jefferis has the opportunity to compete for a role in Northeastern’s middle six as a freshman.
Marcus Kearsey – D
Kearsey announced his commitment to Northeastern last summer, making him the first defender to come out of Northeastern’s now well-established QMJHL pipeline. Kearsey spent his last two seasons as the captain of the Charlottetown Islanders, where he played his entire major-junior career. He has been recognized for his community involvement off the ice, being awarded QMJHL Humanitarian of the Year in 2024 and 2026.
In his final season, Kearsey recorded 15 goals and 40 assists for 55 points in 62 regular-season games before adding a goal and three assists in seven playoff contests. His 55 points tied for fifth in the QMJHL among defensemen this season. Kearsey brings an intriguing blend of offensive production and leadership to a largely rebuilt Northeastern blue line, giving the Huskies another experienced option who could contribute in all situations from day one.
Owen Keefe – D
Despite being the son of Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe, Owen Keefe originally committed to Boston University before flipping his commitment to the Huskies in February 2024. Keefe played three seasons in the USHL, first with the Muskegon Lumberjacks before joining the Sioux City Musketeers. He then made the jump to the QMJHL for his final junior season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
Keefe was able to find his stride offensively during his time in Drummondville, scoring 10 goals and 24 assists for a total of 34 points in 63 games, which was a massive step up from his 10 points in 57 games during his final season of USHL play.
Noah Laberge – D
Laberge enjoyed an offensive breakout last year with the Newfoundland Regiment of the QMJHL, which was formerly known as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He recorded seven goals and 49 assists for 56 points in 62 games, which put him fourth in the QMJHL in point scoring. He also scored one goal and 12 assists in 12 playoff games. He is one year removed from his draft year in 2025, where he was selected in the fifth round at 135th overall by the Buffalo Sabres.
Laberge joins Marcus Kearsey and Owen Keefe as part of a complete overhaul of Northeastern’s blue line, while also helping address the team’s lack of left-shot defensemen. Joaquim Lemay, who missed the majority of last season due to injury, is the only returning left-handed defenseman on the Northeastern roster this season, allowing Laberge to compete for significant minutes immediately.
Dawson Sharkey – F
Sharkey was a later commitment for Northeastern, as the news was broken less than two weeks before his signing was announced. He spent three years with the Newfoundland Regiment/Acadie-Bathurst Titan, where he was teammates with fellow incoming freshman Noah Laberge. After going undrafted in his first year of eligibility, Sharkey was selected by the Dallas Stars in the sixth round (190th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft. Last season, Sharkey recorded 33 goals and 29 assists in 60 regular-season games, while contributing an additional six goals and five assists in 10 playoff games.
While Sharkey has showcased an ability to be a top offensive contributor, he will need to work on his discipline at the college level. He led the league in penalty minutes in each of the past two seasons, recording 128 last year after totaling 124 the year before. Despite the penalty concerns, he still has the upside to develop into one of Northeastern’s top goal-scoring threats, and if he can channel his aggressive style effectively, his physical presence could become a valuable asset for a Huskies team that has struggled at times against bigger, more physical opponents.
Jordan Tourigny – D
At 21 years old, Tourigny enrolls as the oldest member of Northeastern’s freshman class, having played an overage year in the QMJHL last year. The right-handed defender spent his first four years of juniors with the Shawnigan Cataracts, where he was named captain in 2024. He was traded before the trade deadline last season to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, where he helped the team capture the Gilles-Courteau Trophy as QMJHL playoff champions. Between Shawnigan and Chicoutimi, Tourigny scored 13 goals and 42 assists in 57 games, tying fellow incoming freshman Marcus Kearsey for fifth among QMJHL defensemen in scoring. In the playoffs, he had eight goals and eight assists in 20 games.
The championship earned Chicoutimi a spot in the Memorial Cup, where Tourigny appeared in three games before receiving a game misconduct against the Kitchener Rangers that resulted in a suspension for the remainder of the tournament. Tourigny will need to focus on staying out of the box, as he has exceeded 50 penalty minutes in each of his last four seasons. Regardless, he adds to a trend of incoming blue liners who could function as threats in the offensive zone. Like Kearsey, his previous captaincy experience also gives the Huskies another young player with proven leadership qualities.
With these additions, Northeastern boasts a strong incoming class of players, with nearly every newcomer coming off a season where they played a significant role at the junior level. For many of them, the biggest question now is how quickly they can translate that success to college hockey. If these newcomers can live up to the capabilities that they have displayed in the past, the Huskies could finally see themselves take a more decisive step in the right direction.
Kabir Singh is a third-year student at Northeastern University. He is a hockey writer and broadcaster for WRBB Sports. Read all his articles here.