College Hockey: Coaching Changes, Prospects, NHL Signing

St. Cloud State named Mira Jalosuo head coach and assembled the program's first all-women coaching staff. College hockey is attracting elite prospects, including 17-year-old Gavin McKenna whose commitment to Penn State will be nationally televised on the NHL Network, and preseason watch lists feature numerous draft picks. Minnesota opens at home against a retooled Michigan Tech that added many CHL players under new coach Bill Muckalt and faces a tough early slate including Boston College and North Dakota. UMaine will play an exhibition against New Hampshire at Bowdoin — its first game there since 1986 — with 13 newcomers including Flames draft pick Jaden Lipinski, and Augustana held media day as coach Garrett Raboin emphasized learning in exhibitions. In the NHL, the Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Jackson LaCombe to an eight-year, $72 million extension through 2033–34, the largest total guarantee in franchise history.