Miami hockey’s 2025-26 roster begins to take shape on the back of a large recruiting class

The Miami University RedHawks hockey team finished with a 3-28-3 record (0-23-1 in-conference) in the first year of Anthony Noreen’s tenure as head coach.

The result was an underwhelming start to a college coaching career, but a program that has not finished with a record above .500 since 2014-15 can’t be fixed with a magic wand. Instead, it takes rigorous amounts of research, adaptability, consistency, persuasion and a little bit of luck.

The Miami hockey program looks to restore itself to its former glory with an influx of players who meet the new standard, which includes the 15 members signed in the 2025-26 class.

“We’ve seen what the formula is for the winning teams,” Noreen said. “Now it’s on us to go out and sell our product and make sure that we fill our room with that pedigree of players while also not cutting corners on character and culture.”

A mass exodus of players from the previous year's roster to the transfer portal or because of signing on with a professional team leaves plenty of spots for the recruits to fight for heading into 2025-26. This gives the returning players a chance to show what is expected of everyone who dons the jersey and walks through the Goggin Ice Center doors.

“I think the strength is the returning group,” Noreen said. “Although it’s small, I think those are the right people we want leading Miami hockey. Those guys live to a T what we want Miami hockey to be about. When the new guys walk in, they’re going to look at those guys and go, ‘OK, that’s what Miami hockey is.’”

For assistant coach and recruiting coordinator David Nies, the incoming class has a good mix of player archetypes. The group contains players from all across the United States Hockey League (USHL) and a couple from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) who play many different roles and score at different rates.

Artemi Nizameyev (Tri-City Storm, USHL) and Kocha Delic (Sudbury Wolves, Ontario Hockey League) are the two players with the best scoring track records in the class.

Nizameyev is a 19-year-old Russian who played under Noreen in his first year at Tri-City. He hit the 50-point plateau for the first time in his junior career in 2024-25 with an even split between goals and assists. He completed the task in 49 games.

But Nizameyev’s scoring ability does not shy him away from fighting for every puck and making the hard plays, making him the perfect player for Noreen’s incoming group.

On the other hand, Delic was a late addition to the signing class, but after rule changes made CHL players eligible for the NCAA, he was the first player from that pool to join the RedHawks.

Over the four full seasons Delic played with the Wolves, he averaged over a point per game in three-straight years, including a 30-goal season in 2023-24. This past season, his 54 points in 46 games ranked fifth on the team, sitting behind four drafted players as the highest undrafted player in that category.

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“You look at a guy like Kocha, and he’s played a lot of games in major junior, and he’s had a lot of success,” Nies said. “But what we love about him is that he’s a 200-foot forward, too. He’s responsible, but he also can make you pay on the power-play.”

The 2025-26 class includes other names like David Deputy, who Nies described as a leader in many different fashions, whether scoring or shutting down teams’ top lines. The class also has players like Michael Phelan and Brad Walker, who have made huge improvements since Miami first began scouting them and became impact players.

All 15 players may not make the roster depending on what happens with the transfer portal. For a 16-year-old player like Ilya Morozov, who officially signed and is technically part of the class, he will undoubtedly go back to juniors for the next couple of seasons.

Still, the future will be built on the backs of the outgoing group and incoming class.

The RedHawks coaching staff also plans to use the transfer portal to supplement the roster and add more veteran players with experience, just as Noreen did last summer after being hired.

“We’re looking to supplement with some transfers and add them to our roster,” Nies said. “It’s going to be guys who are going to help our culture and continue to push that along, but also have a little bit of experience to help some of our younger guys and first-years who will have to go through things first-years go through.”

Last offseason, Noreen brought in Colby Ambrosio, Miami’s Hobey Baker nominee from this season, from Boston College as well as Christophe Fillion, a national champion with Quinnipiac University, and Matt Choupani from Northeastern University to spearhead a group of veteran transfers, and they fulfilled their duties.

Suppose the RedHawks can come away with a transfer portal like that as names continue to roll in from different programs. In that case, next season’s roster may look almost entirely different. Still, it is closer to where the coaching staff wants it to be to compete for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference trophy.

@jjmid04

middleje@miamioh.edu