On the evening of February 18th, Boston College undergraduates, alumni, and administrators had the privilege of attending an engaging, interview-style lecture with men’s hockey Coach Greg Brown. The discussion, led by Boisi Center Director Mark Massa, S.J., covered topics such as hockey team culture, the integration of the Jesuit tradition, and the importance of BC during Brown’s time as both a player and coach for the Eagles.
A key theme during this portion of the interview was the evolution of college hockey, with a particular focus on recruiting and its impact on campus. He talked about how BC, as a Jesuit institution, had no negative impact on recruiting efforts since it is an incentive for players from Catholic backgrounds.
He also discussed how the game has evolved so that the program could recruit players from outside the US on a much broader scale. Brown placed a particular focus on Canada thanks to a rule change that took place in November 2024, where the NCAA Division I Council approved a rule change allowing players with Canadian Hockey League (CHL) experience to compete in Division I men’s ice hockey. Previously, participation in the CHL rendered players ineligible for NCAA competition due to amateurism rules.
Massa then proposed an interesting question: Has BC’s status as an elite institution made the recruitment process harder? Brown responded with a simple “no,” alluding to the fact that BC’s rich hockey history trumps this recent development.
Finally, the topic of name, image, and likeness, or more simply “NIL,” which allows players to receive money, got brought into the conversation. Brown held a firm belief that the culture of the sport is shifting. Prior to the introduction of NIL and open transfers, players would grind out all four years of their college careers if they were not immediate starters.
Now, if players struggle to receive playtime, they transfer almost immediately instead. He calls attention to the newfound “financial battles” with students, as nothing is stopping them from transferring. He ended this segment with a prediction that this aspect of the sport will eventually evolve to where players will have multi-year contracts similar to how it is in the NHL.
Despite Brown’s hesitancy, he did discuss how NIL and the transfer portal have had a positive benefit on BC. Having the youngest team in the NCAA, and having the ability to grab graduate transfers out of the portal has helped stabilize the team. Nevertheless, he emphasized the importance of not relying too heavily on the portal, as it could affect the development of the team culture.
The most surprising moment of the conversation came when Coach Brown confirmed that this would be Ryan Leonard’s final season with the team, revealing that he would be joining the Washington Capitals, who selected him 8th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The latter half of the conversation allowed for members of the audience to pose their questions for Brown to answer. I took advantage of this opportunity and asked if it was common for his players to prefer certain teams in the draft process, specifically citing the Cutter Gauthier situation.
Brown said that his players are usually open and excited to play for whoever drafts them. However, Gauthier was the exception to this, exclaiming that he was excited to play for the Flyers but “a couple of things went wrong behind the scenes.” He continued by saying that usually, players hope to escape organizations that are loaded in a bid for more playtime, but Cutter would not have had this problem.
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