Few expected Arizona State to have immediate success upon joining the NCHC for the 2024-25 season, surpassing all predictions en route to a 2nd place finish and a berth in last year's Frozen Faceoff where they fell to eventual national semifinalist Denver.
The stakes were higher in 2025-26 for many reasons. NCHC media voted the Sun Devils to finish in 4th place in the preseason poll, with Cullen Potter receiving pre-season all-conference honors. Strong returning leadership in Bennett Schimek and Kyle Smolen looked to be the anchor in the locker room, while incoming transfers Connor Hasley, Logan Morrell, and Noah Powell gave the roster teeth in goal and at forward.
Changing eligibility rules looked to benefit the Sun Devils as well with players from the Canadian Hockey League now being granted the opportunity to play NCAA hockey, opening the door for players like Sam Alfano, Braxton Whitehead, and Ty Nash, the son of former Coyotes player Tyson Nash. A further added wrinkle in eligibility came with the addition of Jack Beck, younger brother of former Arizona State defenseman Noah, after 36 games in the professional ranks with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.
While touted by head coach Greg Powers as the deepest roster that the team has ever had, it was undeniably a very young team. 11 freshmen were rostered for the season opener against Penn State, throwing an untested team into the fire right away against not only a team coming off its first Frozen Four appearance, but the hype surrounding the probable No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna. The growing pains were evident, as the Sun Devils stumbled to a 4-7-1 record in the opening third of the season.
Due to Jack Beck's transition from minor league hockey to the college level, he was ruled ineligible for the first six games of the season, a major loss of a top-six forward. Arizona State did take care of business against Notre Dame and Alaska to win the Ice Breaker tournament that was hosted at Mullett Arena, but a difficulty in playing complete games was shown early. 4 of the 7 losses in the first 12 games saw Arizona State either leading or tied after 40 minutes but unable to secure the win.
A 7-1 thumping at home against Denver in late November served as a possible wake up call as the next 12 games looked to be a revival of the magic that led the Sun Devils to fight for the Penrose Cup in 2024-25. Arizona State would go 8-4-0 over the middle of the season, rising to a tie for 5th place in the NCHC standings with a real shot at securing home ice in the conference tournament. Weekend splits with highly ranked teams in Denver, Minnesota-Duluth and Dartmouth, plus a 5th straight in-season tournament championship dating back to the 2023 Adirondack Winter Invitational had the record on the upward trajectory. However, roster depth would start to run thin in this stretch.
When the NCAA House Settlement went in to effect at the start of the 2025 athletic year, schools that opted in were bound to a 26 player roster cap under revenue sharing guidelines. That allows for flexibility when 21 players dress on any given night (19 skaters, 2 goalies in most cases), but can create some unwanted shuffling in the event of injury or other situations. Both started to take place mid-season, when Austin Zemlak and Justin Cloutier both returned to the CHL. To make matters worse, Jack Beck was lost to season-ending injury in early January after being out of the lineup since the Ohio State series over Thanksgiving. The biggest blow came after the series split with Miami when it was announced that Cullen Potter would undergo season-ending surgery on January 21st. Adding insult to injury, it was reported that Johnny Waldron would also be leaving the program after scoring his first goal of the season against North Dakota on January 23rd.
Down to just 21 players remaining on the roster, Coach Powers was forced to call up Hunter Mullett from the ACHA roster for an extra practice body, despite not being able to dress him in a game due to the roster limitations. The final 12 games was a painful stretch, going 2-10-0 and claiming only 5 points in the standings, sinking to 9th place in the conference and missing out on the NCHC tournament entirely.
How does such a deep and talented roster stumble to a last place finish after competing for the regular season championship a year prior? It comes down to inexperience. Give credit where credit is due for the 11 freshmen on the roster, but the Sun Devils showed an inability to close out games all season long. 7 of the team's 21 losses came when leading or tied after 40 minutes of play, getting outscored by 27 goals in the final period throughout the season. Weak special teams play was difficult to overcome, ranking in the bottom-20 nationally with a 77.3% penalty kill rate and tying with Northern Michigan and Providence for most shorthanded goals against with 7. Offensively, an over-reliance on play from the perimeter failed to yield many quality scoring chances, while poor net-front defense left both goaltenders out to dry, giving up 132 goals against (4th-worst nationally).
There were bright spots in this speed bump of a season. Cruz Lucius put together a career year after missing most of 2024-25 to injury, setting career highs with 15 goals, 31 assists, and 46 points. Bennett Schimek added 13 goals of his own, also setting career highs in assists (30) and points (43) to join Lucius as Hobey Baker Award nominees for the Sun Devils. Both scoring totals will finish in the top-5 for single season scoring, just behind Lukas Sillinger's 48 point season in 2023-24. Sam Alfano led Arizona State freshmen in scoring (7 G-11 A-18 P), joined by a late-season surge by fellow freshman Carmelo Crandell (7 G-5 A-12 P). Logan Morrell emerged as a reliable weapon for face-offs, ranking 7th nationally with 369 face-off wins (57% win rate).
Defensively, Justin Kipkie led Sun Devil defensemen in scoring (4 G-9 A-13 P), while Brasen Boser and Joel Kjellberg finished 1st and 3rd in the NCHC in blocked shots (76 and 60, respectively). Goaltenders Samuel Urban and Connor Hasley finished near the top of the NCHC in saves per game with over 28 per game.
With the offseason arriving earlier than expected, where do the Sun Devils go from here? To focus on the immediate knowns, Arizona State will lose four seniors to graduation: Connor Hasley, Cruz Lucius, Tucker Ness, and Bennett Schimek. As for the remaining players, we can only speculate at this point. The transfer portal window has narrowed to 15 days this season, only open from April 13th to 28th. Coach Powers has expressed his confidence that Cullen Potter will return for his junior season; same for returning sophomore Jack Beck.
On the recruiting side of things, verbal commitments from CHL stars such as Jonas Woo and Jimmy Egan, defensemen Ryland Randle and Noah Lapointe, and goaltenders Marko Bilic and Lukas Sawchyn are just a glimpse of the 15 players that could potentially arrive in Tempe for the 2026-27 season.
A 9th place finish was not the ideal start to Coach Powers' contract extension, but this season should serve as a reality check and learning experience moving forward. A 10-team era of the NCHC is set to begin in the fall, with a new opportunity to show that the state of hockey in the desert is a force to be reckoned with.