By Tim Healey/DFP Staff

During the 2011 NHL Draft in St. Paul, Minn. last weekend, 211 young men saw a lifelong dream realized. And as far as Boston University rising-sophomore forward Matt Nieto is concerned, it was a long time coming.

“When I was really young, I made a little book for school, and it was a little hockey book with crayons,” Nieto said. “On the last page it said, ‘One day I’m going to play in the NHL,” and there was a picture of me in a NHL jersey.”

More than twelve years after making that book, he’s one big step closer: On June 25, Nieto was drafted in the second round and 47th overall by the San Jose Sharks.

Nieto prepared for those 12-plus years both on and off the ice – right through the night before his draft day. On the ice, Nieto most recently tallied 23 points (10 goals and 13 assists) in 39 games his freshman year for the Terriers.

Off the ice, Nieto has been doing everything from resting up – “The night before I tried to get a good night’s sleep knowing the next few days were going to be pretty long,” he said – to taking the time to pick out his all-important draft day suit.

By Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff

It was supposed to be one of the most exciting weekends of his life, but if anything, the 2011 NHL Draft started off a bit boring for Boston University defenseman Adam Clendening.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound defenseman was drafted in the second round (36th overall) on Saturday by the Chicago Blackhawks, but first he sat through a very long first round of the draft at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday.

“There was only one pick every fifteen minutes,” Clendening said. “It was kind of nerve-wracking as it got later because you think you might go, but my name didn’t get called.”

Clendening expected either his or teammate Matt Nieto’s name to be the first BU name called in the draft, but they were in for a surprise on Friday. Right before the 18th pick of the night, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that forward Charlie Coyle would be traded alongside Devin Setoguchi and a first-round 2011 draft pick to Minnesota in exchange for Brent Bruns and a second-round 2012 draft pick.

“We were all in shock,” Clendening said of hearing Coyle’s name first. “Me and Matt texted each other about it. I called Charlie to see if he had heard the news and stuff so I talked to him a little. He was pretty cool about it.”

By Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff

When Charlie Coyle sat down to watch the 2011 NHL draft, he expected it to be a relaxing evening. After all, Coyle had been drafted 28th overall by the San Jose Sharks the year before, and his only concern on this year’s draft night was sending the Sharks his flight itinerary for development camp, which was supposed to start on July 10. But somewhere near the 20th pick of the night, Coyle received a phone call.

“I literally had just sent the e-mail to them with my itinerary and they called me 15 seconds after I sent it,” Coyle said. “I was like what are you doing? Telling me to send it? I just sent it. And then they were like yeah, we’re trading you. We just wanted to let you know [NHL commissioner Gary Bettman] is going to announce it.”

The Sharks sent Coyle along with forward Devin Setoguchi and their first-round (28th overall) pick this year to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman Brent Burns and a second-round pick in the 2012 draft. Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher noted in his press conference, “there is no way this deal gets done if Charlie Coyle’s not in it. We feel he’s one of the top power forwards in the game.”

By Tim Healey/DFP Staff

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced this afternoon that they have hired Northeastern University coach Greg Cronin as an assistant coach, ending Cronin’s six-year tenure at NU. The Boston Herald first reported the move this morning.

“Coaching in a city like Toronto, which is just dripping with hockey, I thought is a wonderful opportunity,” Cronin said during the Leafs’ press conference. “The timing of this opportunity is just perfect for me, and I’m thrilled to be here in Toronto.”

Cronin’s departure comes just four months after NU handed down a six-game suspension for recruiting violations.

This will be Cronin’s first position in professional hockey since serving as the head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the New York Islanders' AHL affiliate, from 2003-05.

Cronin finishes his time at NU with an 84-104-29 record, highlighted by a 2008-09 campaign that saw the team tie a program record for wins in a season (25) and make it’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 1994.

According to an official statement from NU, assistant coach Sebastien Laplante, who coached the team to a 2-2-2 record during Cronin’s suspension, will serve as the interim head coach.

The full statement from NU: http://www.gonu.com/news/2011/6/20/MHOCKEY_0620111451.aspx

By Meredith Perri/DFP Staff

The Boston University women's hockey team has not played a game since losing in the Frozen Four final to Wisconsin at the end of March, but freshman phenom Marie-Philip Poulin has been plenty busy. In the last three months, the Hockey East Rookie of the Year earned a silver medal in the International Ice Hockey Federation Women's Championships and visited Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

In April, the rising sophomore joined fellow Terrier defensemen Catherine Ward and Tara Watchorn as well as forward Jenn Wakefield in Switzerland as a member of the Canadian National Team for the IIHF World Championships. Poulin previously played for Team Canada in the World Championships in 2009 and won gold in 2010 with the Canadian Olympic team. Poulin scored both Canadian goals in the gold-medal Olympic game, helping the Canadians top Team USA, 2-0. The Canadians earned a silver-medal finish in this year's World Championships, and Poulin led the BU quartet in scoring with three goals and an assist through five games.

About a month after the World Championships, Poulin traveled to Greece with Jayna Hefford, a three-time gold medalist who played alongside Poulin in the Vancouver Olympics and TSN broadcaster Gord Miller.

During their time in Athens, the trio met up with Calgary Flames captain and two-time Olympic gold medalist Jarome Iginla to take pictures at the original Olympic Stadium. While there, the group spent time with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who asked the group to join him on a brief trip to visit Canadian troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

By Arielle Aronson/DFP Staff

Former Terrier Andrew Glass will begin the next chapter of his hockey career by joining the Carleton University Ravens next season.

Glass played in 54 games in his Terrier career and totaled 10 points before he was dismissed from the team in the middle of the 2010-11 season for “missing meetings and being late”, according to head coach Jack Parker.

Glass finished his junior year at BU and will complete the classes for his economics degree at Carleton University, which is located in Ottawa, Ontario. He will still receive his degree from BU, however, through a visiting student program.

“It’s a fresh start,” Glass said. “It’s a place where I can start over and get away from all of this, move on and just start pursuing a future with hockey and academics somewhere else.”

Glass chose to pursue Canadian collegiate hockey because of eligibility issues. If Glass transferred to an American college, he would have to sit out for a full season before becoming eligible to play. At Carleton, Glass will have two seasons of eligibility, although he is currently taking it year-by-year. Glass first heard of Carleton through his mother, who is from Canada and briefly attended the university.

“We started looking at what was available and what were some good options and Carleton looked like a good fit,” Glass said. “The coach there was a real good guy and my mother actually went there. It just made sense.”

For Glass, transferring to Carleton will finally allow him to put what has been a difficult year behind him. After his dismissal from the team, Glass remained at BU and continued to live with players from the hockey team while he finished the school year. He did not attend any men’s hockey games during the second half of the year. Glass stayed in shape while at BU by working out twice a week with a trainer.

“Obviously [second semester] was much different,” Glass said. “Clearly it was a change of pace. My routine through the past few years over the summer and before I came to BU pretty much was class during the day, hockey at night, workouts in the morning, the basic routine. It was a big change of pace and it was a lot different.”

The Wrentham native is currently taking a full load of summer courses at BU while working out four times a week with a trainer near his home. He said he is excited about his future and is ready to move on from BU.

“It’s something where I love the guys on the team for the most part, but the whole situation, it is what it is,” Glass said. “There’s no turning back now. It basically comes down to the fact that either way, I was going to have to change things up eventually. I have family and friends who have supported me throughout the whole process and that was very important. It was definitely a learning experience and I am trying to do the best I can with it.”

Glass's decision was first reported on Twitter by Scott McLaughlin of the College Hockey News.