Although DU hockey fans will now have to wait until Nov. 20 at the earliest for the 2020-2021 season to kickoff, Denver fans have plenty to get excited about. It is time to meet this year’s incoming freshman class of athletes.
Antti Tuomisto: Tuomisto comes to Denver from Pori, Finland, where he boasts an impressive resume from playing on junior Finnish national teams. Tuomisto was selected for the First All-Star Team for the U20 league in Finland in the 2019 season and has played over 70 games on the national level. The 19-year-old 6’4” defenseman was drafted 35th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Draft, his selection immediately following Denver sophomore forward Bobby Brink (Minnetonka, Minn.) who was picked 34th by the Philadelphia Flyers.
McCade Webster: Prior to arriving in Denver, Webster, this forward from St. Louis spent three seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League. With the Gamblers, Webster recorded 18 goals and 37 assists in 88 games. Webster also served as team captain for the Gamblers last season. He was selected 213th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 NHL Draft, which is the same team that picked up sophomore goaltender Magnus Chrona (Stockholm, Sweden) in the 2018 draft.
Carter Savoie: Savoie ranked 50th among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2020 NHL Draft and spent two seasons with the Sherwood Park Crusaders of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). During his stint with the Crusaders, Savoie was a two-time all-star and became the second-highest scorer in the league this past season. The 18-year-old forward and St. Albert, Alberta native is eligible for this year’s 2020 NHL Draft and expected to make a big splash in his rookie year for DU.
Mike Benning: Also hailing from St. Albert, Alberta is Benning, who played alongside Savoie with the Sherwood Park Crusaders and was named the 2019 AJHL Defenseman of the Year. Benning comes from a big hockey family. His brother Matt currently plays for the Edmonton Oilers, his dad played for five different NHL teams throughout his career and his uncle is a former NGL stand-out and current general manager for the Vancouver Canucks.
Reid Irwin: Irwin is the third incoming freshman to have spent time playing in the AJHL with the Sherwood Park Crusaders. The 6’1” defenseman from Victoria, B.C. also spent two seasons with the Lloydminister Bobcats before his stint with the Crusaders and totaled 175 games in the league between the two teams.
Connor Caponi: Caponi is a forward originally from Nashville, Tenn. and spent two seasons with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL in Iowa prior to coming to DU. He won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2019 World Junior A Challenge and played for Culver Military Academy in Indiana in high school. Caponi recorded 22 goals in 74 career games with the Black Hawks.
Jack Caruso: Caruso is the lone incoming goalie for DU and will likely spend a couple seasons shadowing Chrona before having a shot at being the primary starter. Caruso most recently played for the Fairbanks Ice Hogs of the North American Hockey League. The St. Louis native will be one of three goalies on the roster alongside Chrona and senior Devin Cooley (Los Gatos, Calif.).
Also joining the roster this year alongside the freshman are senior forward Steven Jandric (Prince George, B.C.) and senior defenseman Bo Hanson (Boise, Idaho), who bring an impressive history of their own to DU from their previous programs and whose prior collegiate experience will be a huge asset to a team that lost some of its top talent to the pros last year.
As of now, the exact schedule of the season remains unknown. Whether or not Denver will play the same teams as originally scheduled in the same order is to be determined, as is whether or not fans will be allowed in Magness Arena in any capacity.
