When seniors Cruz Lucius, Bennett Schimek, Tucker Ness and Connor Hasley embraced on the ice at Magness Arena in ASU's final game of the 2025-26 season, fans knew they had seen the four put on an ASU jersey for the final time, as these players said goodbye to college hockey.
However, those players were not the only members of the roster who would not play for ASU again.
Since the transfer portal opened, 10 players decided to transfer out of Tempe per College Hockey News, meaning just 11 of the 25-man roster would be returning in the fall.
The first news to hit was the blow most fans feared. The day before the portal opened, news of 2025 NHL Draft first-round pick Cullen Potter looking to enter the portal started to bounce around. Those reports were confirmed the next day, with the sophomore forward set to leave ASU, and Michigan State being the pick for the Calgary Flames prospect.
READ MORE: BREAKING: ASU hockey star forward Cullen Potter set to enter transfer portal
Following Potter, the position group hit the hardest was defense. Sophomore Joel Kjellberg and sophomore Brasen Boser, who spent most of the season on the first line, would enter the portal, with Northeastern and North Dakota being the new homes for the pair.
The two were not the only defenders to enter the portal. When all was said and done, six ASU defensemen transferred schools, leaving freshman Lincoln Kuehne as the only defender from 2025-26 left in Tempe.
However, forwards were still impacted by the portal. With Carmelo Crandell, Sam Alfano and Ty Nash leaving after Potter, eight forwards remained for ASU.
It's not all doom and gloom, despite losing players to the portal. ASU still has some hope for returners, with the two biggest names being junior captain Kyle Smolen and freshman Jack Beck.
Beck only played 10 games as a freshman due to not being eligible to play at the beginning of the season and being injured at the end, but he ultimately recorded eight points.
On the other hand, Smolen has recorded 106 games for ASU in his first three seasons, racking up 20 points as a captain last season.
The returners are not the only group ASU fans can look forward to for next season, as the 10 players picked up in the portal look to replace the production the 10 who transferred out left.
One of the earliest names to commit to ASU was junior forward Ben Muthersbaugh, who racked up 36 points in 36 games for Union last season.
The primary theme of the players joining the Sun Devils in 2026-27 is youth.
All of the players joining from the portal are either freshmen or sophomores. Despite their youth, some players transferring in will be familiar faces to the Sun Devils, as forwards Cade Littler and Daniel Shlaine joined from other NCHC teams.
At North Dakota last season, Littler put up 13 points en route to a Frozen Four appearance with the Fighting Hawks. Shlaine is a familiar face for multiple reasons. Not only did the freshman put up 10 points at Minnesota Duluth, but he is the brother of former ASU forward Artem Shlaine, who put up 38 points in his senior year in Tempe.
The list of familiar faces does not end with the two in-conference transfers. Two players, Nic Chin-Degraves and Sam Hillebrandt, took a trip to Tempe to play against ASU last season. Chin-Degraves faced the Sun Devils when Penn State swept them in the season's opening series. Hillerbrandt's Ohio State faced the opposite result at ASU, being the victim of the Sun Devils' only sweep of the season.
Not only will ASU bring in 10 transfers, but 14 freshmen will join the Sun Devils for 2026-27, per CollegeHockeyNews. Of the freshman set to join, two were 2025 NHL draftees.
The first of the two off the board was Nathan Behm. Taken in the third round by the Chicago Blackhawks, Behm recorded 86 points last season with the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL.
One round later, Scottsdale native Brandon Gorzynski heard his name called by the Dallas Stars. In 65 games in the WHL last season, Gorzynski racked up 69 points.
The focus on younger talent on next season's roster will only continue the theme established by the 2025-26 group, where 14 of 25 players were underclassmen.
Now, ASU looks ahead to next season, hoping to bounce back from the 14-21-1 record that saw the Sun Devils miss out on the NCHC Tournament.
Edited by Niall Rosenberg, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at aswift10@asu.edu and follow @alexswiftsports on X.
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