By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
While college hockey prospects take the winter break to practice, rest, or spend time with family, Chris Pelosi spent his in Switzerland, competing in the Spengler Cup. The Quinnipiac forward went abroad after being named to the U.S. Collegiate Selects, an all-star roster of NCAA players assembled to face European pro-level competition, a nod to his standing at the college level.
Pelosi earned his invite to Davos off what would become a near point-per-game sophomore campaign, with 18-16-34 in 35 games by season’s end, ten points better than his freshman year. He was one of the key engines of the second-best offense in the nation, driving play at even strength, wreaking havoc in the opposing crease, tying for the team lead in power-play goals (6), killing penalties, and winning over 200 faceoffs. There’s a maturity to Pelosi’s two-way game, something that BNG’s Tom Calautti described as “one of those players who has a knack for scoring goals but also does all the little things well.”
Pelosi’s captain this upcoming year at Quinnipiac, Mason Marcellus, has experienced that maturity firsthand. As an undrafted free agent, Marcellus had his choice of multiple NHL development camp invitations and came to Boston because of Pelosi and their teammate Elliott Groenewold. In a role reversal of sorts, the senior captain talked about how the two underclassmen are now teaching him: “They’re both so mature and such good guys, so I’m just trying to be a sponge with them, and learn what they know from here,” he told the Boston Globe.
While he had talks with the Bruins over the summer, both Pelosi and the organization decided that another year at Quinnipiac would be best for his development. As a result, the Bobcats are retaining all seven of their top-scoring forwards from last season: Ethan Wyttenbach, Markus Vidicek, Antonin Verrault, Andon Cerbone, Aaron Schwartz, Pelosi, and Marcellus, staving off interest from the NHL and the transfer portal. On top of that, they’ve also added senior center Jack Stockfish from Holy Cross to their embarrassment of riches up front.
Pelosi still projects to be a fixture in Quinnipiac’s top six, having been entrenched as either their first or second line center since the second half of his freshman season, and was one of their most heavily deployed forwards in the NCAA tournament last March. The arrival of Stockfish will eat into Pelosi’s expected role at the faceoff dot following Victor Czerneckianair’s graduation, as Stockfish was the Crusader’s best taker last season with 57.2%, compared to Pelosi’s 51.6%.
With nearly every piece of an elite offense returning, along with reinforcements on the back end, the Bobcats should once again be national title contenders this coming season. That continuity will take some pressure off any one player to be “the guy”, while allowing Pelosi’s mature style of play to stand out the most on the biggest stages, and when the Bruins will be paying very close attention.
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