Aug. 17, 2010

Front Row: Sahir Gill, Garrett Noonan, Adam Clendening Back Row: Matt Nieto, Charlie Coyle, Patrick MacGregor, Yasin Cisse, Matt Ronan

2010-11 Roster

BOSTON - The Boston University men's ice hockey program will welcome eight freshmen to its roster for the 2010-11 season, head coach Jack Parker announced today. Forwards Yasin Cisse (Westmount, Que.), Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass.), Sahir Gill (Terrace, B.C.), Matt Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) and Matt Ronan (Woburn, Mass.) will join defensemen Adam Clendening (Wheatfield, N.Y.), Patrick MacGregor (Hamden, Conn.) and Garrett Noonan (Norfolk, Mass.) to make up this year's class.

Two of the incoming freshmen were selected in last month's NHL Entry Draft. Coyle became the 10th Terrier to be drafted in the first round when San Jose picked him 28th overall and Cisse was taken by the Florida Panthers with the final pick of the fifth round (150th overall). Clendening and Nieto, who joined Coyle at the U.S. Junior National Team Development Camp earlier this month, were two of the top scorers for the U18 program that has won each of the last two World U18 Championships and both are among the group of 33 top 2011 Draft-eligible prospects that will be attending the NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp this week (Aug. 18-19) in Toronto.

Gill and Noonan helped the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL claim their second consecutive RBC Cup this past spring, MacGregor was a key member of the Avon Old Farms team that won the 2010 New England prep title and Ronan will become the third member of his family to play for the Terriers, joining his brother, Dan, and his cousin, Ed.

"We're obviously very pleased with the incoming freshman class," said Parker. "It's a big class - both figuratively and literally - and we filled a lot of shoes with a good balance of forwards and defensemen. It's a young class, too, with a lot of 18-year-olds that are projected to be real good players."

Yasin Cisse

Yasin Cisse -- F • 6-3 • 210 • Westmount, Que. • Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)

Played for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL for the past two seasons, totaling 15 goals and 12 assists over the course of 49 games ... Had his 2009-10 season cut short after only 18 games due to injury ... Selected in the fifth round (150th overall) by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft ... Top rookie scorer in 2007-08 in the Quebec midget AAA ranks with 58 points (20g, 38a) in 44 games for the Lac St. Louis Lions ... Helped the Lions reach the 2008 AAA finals and was named the league's top 15-year-old ... Rated the fourth best prospect for the 2008 QMJHL draft ... Played for Quebec at the 2008 World U17 Challenge in British Columbia.

Parker on Cisse: "Yasin's a really physical forward with great size, but he also has good hands and can make plays and score goals from the right wing. He was held up by an injury last year, but we expect him to come right in and be an important freshman."

Adam Clendening

Adam Clendening -- D • 5-11 • 190 • Wheatfield, N.Y. • U.S. National Under-18 Team
Helped the United States capture back-to-back gold medals at the World Under-18 Championship in 2009 and 2010 ... Tied for team lead in scoring at 2010 tournament with 10 points and was named to all-tournament team ... Totaled 45 points (13g, 32a) in 63 games for the U.S. U18 Team during the 2009-10 season ... Named the top defenseman at the Six Nations Tournament in Belarus this past February ... Tallied 14 points (1g, 13a) in 39 games with the U17 squad during the 2008-09 campaign before being promoted to the U18 team ... Recorded 37 points (4g, 33) in 50 games with the Toronto Marlboros AAA squad before being selected to the USNTDP in 2008.

Parker on Clendening: "The best way I can describe Adam is that he's very similar to Kevin Shattenkirk. He's a real good offensive defenseman who sees the game and moves the puck well. He's a top-notch defenseman who will be a high draft pick next year."

Charlie Coyle

Charlie Coyle -- F • 6-2 • 207 • East Weymouth, Mass. • South Shore Kings (EJHL)
Named the 2010 EJHL Rookie of the Year after finishing fifth in the league in scoring with 63 points (21g, 42a) in 42 games ... Drafted in the first round (28th overall) by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft ... 2010 recipient of the John Carlton Award, given annually to the most outstanding high school or junior player in Eastern Massachusetts ... Skated for U.S. Under-18 Select team in Slovakia and the Four Nations Cup in Finland ... Former standout at Thayer Academy, where he posted 40 points (18g, 22a) in 2008-09 ... Tied for goal-scoring lead with five at the 2008 USA Select 16 Festival ... Graduated from Weymouth High School, where he played for one season before enrolling at Thayer ... Helped the Wildcats upset Malden Catholic in the 2007 Super 8 Tournament to earn a spot in the title game.

Parker on Coyle: "Charlie's an NHL first-round pick with good size and great hands. He's a talented playmaker with great vision who can play either center or right wing. He's has all the attributes to make him a real good college player and give him a chance to play in the NHL."

Sahir Gill

Sahir Gill -- F • 5-10 • 180 • Terrace, B.C. • Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
Helped Vernon claim back-to-back RBC Cup titles in 2009 and 2010 ... Totaled 51 points (21g, 30a) over 71 games in his two seasons with Vernon ... Tallied seven points (3g, 4a) in the 2010 RBC tournament ... Played in 26 contests with the USHL's Chicago Steel at the beginning of the 2009-10 season and averaged a point per game (8g, 18a) before returning to Vernon ... Teammate of current Terrier Ryan Santana with Vernon in 2008-09 ... Played midget hockey for the Okanagan Hockey Academy and posted a 43-56-99 line in 58 games.

Parker on Gill: "Sahir's a very clever player who can play both center and left wing. He makes the people around him much more productive, but he can score on his own as well. It's possible that he could center an all-freshman line this year."

Patrick MacGregor

Patrick MacGregor -- D • 6-4 • 210 • Hamden, Conn. • Avon Old Farms
Blueliner for the 2010 New England Prep championship team at Avon Old Farms ... Tallied three goals and 18 assists for the Winged Beavers as a senior ... Earned a pair of assists in the 4-1 title game win over Northfield Mount Hermon ... All-state defenseman at Hamden High School before playing two seasons at Avon Old Farms ... Played in the Western New England Fall Prep Elite Hockey League in 2009.

Parker on MacGregor: "Patrick gives us great size, skating ability and skill on defense. He had a great prep school career and we're really looking forward to getting him out on the ice for us and seeing what he can do."

Matt Nieto

Matt Nieto -- F • 6-0 • 180 • Long Beach, Calif. • U.S. National Under-18 Team
Helped the U.S. National Under-18 Team claim consecutive titles at the World Under-18 Championship in 2009 and 2010 ... Led the U.S. NTDP in scoring during the 2008-09 season with 67 points (26g, 41a) in 64 games ... Spent 51 of those contests with the U17 team before getting called up to the U18s ... Tied for third on the U18 team this past year with 54 points (28g, 26a) in 61 games ... Four goals in seven games at 2009 World Championship ... Spent his sophomore year at The Salisbury School in Connecticut ... Also played for the LA Selects.

Parker on Nieto:"Matt is a big recruit for us, especially since he had no ties to Boston. He's a great skater who really generates offense and he'll be a big-time scorer. He'll be picked high in next year's NHL draft and we think he can be a 50-point guy for us."

Garrett Noonan

Garrett Noonan -- D • 6-1 • 205 • Norfolk, Mass. • Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
Tallied 27 points (6g, 21a) last season with the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL to help them capture their second consecutive RBC Cup title ... Former standout and co-captain at Catholic Memorial High School, where he posted 34 points (12g, 22a) in 30 contests during the 2008-09 season ... Was named the co-MVP of the Catholic Conference in 2009 after helping Catholic Memorial win the Massachusetts Super 8 Championship ... 2009 Boston Globe All-Scholastic honoree.

Parker on Noonan: "Garrett's a Brian Strait, stay-at-home type of defenseman with a great sense of how to defend and how to get the puck out of the zone. He can also make some plays on the offensive side of the blue line."

Matt Ronan

Matt Ronan -- F • 5-11 • 175 • Woburn, Mass. • Valley Jr. Warriors (EJHL)
Recorded 12 points (6g, 6a) in 39 games for the Valley Jr. Warriors of the EJHL last season ... Former standout at Belmont Hill School, tallying nine goals and 10 assists during the 2008-09 campaign ... Also played for the Eastern Mass Senators U18 squad ... His brother, Dan (`99), and his cousin, Ed (`91), played for Coach Parker at BU.

Parker on Ronan: "Matt's a smart forward who we think will be an important player for us down the road. He's had a good prep school career and I'm looking forward to having another member of the Ronan family join the program."