Flurry of commitments as Aug. 1 opens offers for juniors

August 1 was the first day juniors in high school were allowed to receive scholarship offers and verbally commit to programs, and many players announced their commitments before noon.

Coaches have been allowed to speak to and recruit those players since Jan. 1, but Sunday was the first day offers can be made.

The biggest name to keep an eye on is still Adam Fantilli, who is the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. The Chicago Steel product has reportedly visited at least North Dakota and Michigan, and perhaps other schools as well.

Perhaps the most surprising commitment was Ryan Leonard choosing Boston College over UMass, where his brother, John Leonard, was a star. Ryan is a Western Mass. native and played this past season with the U.S. NTDP.

In total, as of this writing, 26 players have announced their commitments since Sunday. Boston College leads all teams with four of those additions.

Here’s a complete list of juniors who made commitments since the scholarship period opened on Sunday …

Boston College (4): Aram Minnetian (D), NTDP; Ryan Leonard (F), NTDP; Nolan Joyce (D), St. Sebs (Prep); Drew Fortescue (D), NTDP

Boston University (2): Michael Chambre (G), NTDP; Gavin McCarthy (D), Muskegon (USHL)

Connecticut (1): Thomas Klochkov (F), NJ Rockets (AAA)

Denver (1): Cooper PIerson (F), Shattuck (AAA)

Harvard (3): Logan Renkowski (F), Long Island (AAA); Salvatore Guzzo (F), NTDP; Ben MacDonald (F), Nobles (Prep)

Maine (1): Patrick Raferty (F), Colo. Thunderbirds (AAA)

Massachusetts (2): Chris Delaney (F), Jr. Bruins (NCDC); Michael Burchill (F), Wind City (AAA)

Michigan (1): Jack Wilson (D), Honeybaked (AAA)

Minnesota Duluth (2): Zam Plante (F), Hermantown (MN-HS); Jayson Shaugabay (F), Warroad (MN-HS)

North Dakota (3): Jayden Perron (F), Chicago (USHL); Andrew Strathmann (D), Tri-City (USHL); Jake Livanavage (D), Chicago (USHL)

Notre Dame (1): Carter Slaggert (F), NTDP

Quinnipiac (1): Chris Pelosi (F), Mt. St. Charles (AAA)

St. Cloud State (1): Austin Burnevik (F), NTDP

Wisconsin (2): Brady Cleveland (D), NTDP; Tanner Walos (F), Fargo (USHL)

Yale (1): Beanie Richter F, Penticton (BCHL)