The 2026 NCAA Men’s Hockey transfer portal officially opened on Monday and it was a busy day across the nation as players from nearly every school in the country jumped in looking for a fresh start. As is expected with a coaching change, the Minnesota Golden Gophers saw many players moving in both directions. In fir first 24 hours of the portal the Gophers lost six additional players to the one who had previously entered, and they had signed five newcomers who will play roles on the 2026-27 Minnesota squad.
With the portal remaining open for players to enter until April 27th, it’s possible that we may see more players currently on the Gopher roster decide to look for a new start as well. Here as of Wednesday April 15th is is the current situation for the Gophers in the portal:
Players Leaving Minnesota:
Nathan Airey—G—1 Year Remaining—Undecided
Former Gopher goaltender Nathan Airey entered the portal as a grad transfer back in late March. Airey was supplanted by Michigan State transfer Luca DiPasquo as the #1 goaltender mid-season and will look for a location where he can play more in his final season on eligibility.
Jimmy Clark—F—1 Year Remaining—Michigan State
Junior forward Jimmy Clark jumped into the portal after three seasons with the Gophers. Clark who was a 7th round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2023 regressed a bit from his sophomore season stats. In 2025-26 Clark recorded four goals and 12 assists down from 5 and 16 in 2024-25. The Edina native never fully blossomed to what Gophers fans hoped he would. He will stay in the Big Ten for his final season of eligibility and will head to East Lansing to play for Michigan State next season.
Erik Påhlsson—F—2 Years Remaining—Ohio State
Pahlsson is another player who Gopher fans were hoping would have a big leap from his freshman to sophomore seasons but it never happened. Pahlsson recorded five goals and nine assists last season after scoring three goals and adding 15 assists in 2024-25. The Sweden native never lived up to the hype when he was brought in a few years back. He also will remain in the Big Ten as he is heading to Ohio State next season.
Leo Gruba—D—2 Years Remaining—Notre Dame
Gruba was someone that the Gophers had super high hopes for. He was the 2023-24 USHL Defenseman of the Year and ae in an be an immediate offensive threat for the Gophers. That never happened as he recorded just three points his freshman season and seven last year a sophomore after scoring 57 in his final USHL season. Gruba was just average defensively as well and ended his sophomore season an -8 for the Gophers. The Lake Elmo native will also stay in the Big Ten as he heads to Notre Dame for his junior season next fall.
Max Rud—D—2 Years Remaining—Undecided
Max Rud did not play much in his three years with the Gophers. Brough into be an extra defenseman off the bench he played in 20 games his freshman season and did not record a point, then took a redshirt year before playing in 23 games last season scoring one goal and one assist. he now has two years left to find a school where he can play more regularly.
August Falloon—F—2 Years Remaining—Undecided
Falloon was a late pickup after he played well in the USHL and was through the give the Gophers a bit of scoring bunch from deep in their lineup. It never really developed as he also delt with injuries in his two years with the Gophers. He played 24 games as a freshman and 20 this past season and struggled to find the scoresheet. He will have two years left to find a new spot.
Finn McLaughlin-D—3 Years Remaining—St. Cloud State
McLaughlin joined the Gophers last spring after decommitting from Denver who wanted him to play one more year of juniors. Minnesota brought him in and he looked incredibly raw as a freshman who probably NEEDED to play another year of juniors. In 32 games for Minnesota he recorded just one assist and was a -13 on the season. He heads up to St. Cloud State to try and revitalize his career.
Players Joining Minnesota:
Evan Murr-D-Minnesota State — 1 Year Remaining
Murr was the highest profile pickup the Gophers added in the portal. The back to back CCHA Defenseman of the Year and 2026 Second Team All-American had a great three seasons in Mankato. In his three seasons Murr has played 116 games scoring 23 goals and adding 60 assists. He will be expected to captain the Gophers power play and has a rifle from the point. The Stillwater native is slightly smaller at 5’11 but will be the most skilled offensive defenseman the Gophers have had in some time.
Austin Burnevik—F—St. Cloud State — 2 Years Remaining
Burnevik was the top forward last season for the Huskies scoring 20 goals and adding 18 assists. The Ham Lake Native played on the US Junior squad last winter and played on the US Development team with Brody Ziemer and LJ Mooney. At 6’4 201 he provided a power forward aspect to the Gopher lineup something they have missed since the graduation of Jaxon Nelson.
Finn Loftus—D—St. Cloud State—2 Years Remaining
Loftus will be playing for his third school in three seasons next fall with the Gophers. He started his career at UMass playing one season there before transferring to St. Cloud State for his sophomore season. The Blaine native saw his scoring jump from just one point with the Minutemen to 16 with SCSU last season. He projects as a third D pair member for the Gophers and should be a major improvement on the Gophers back end.
Tanner Henricks—D—St. Cloud State—3 Years Remaining
Henricks joins Minnesota after an injury filled freshman year in St. Cloud that saw him play in just 14 games and record six points. At 6’4 Henricks has NHL size which led to him being selected in the 4th round by Columbus in 2024. The California native should slot in on the second D pair for the Gophers in the fall.
Melvin Strahl—G—Michigan State—3 Years Remaining
The Gophers poached the Spartans backup goalie after last season, and that seemed to work well, so they went back to the same well once more. Strahl backed up Spartans star Trey Augustine last season and in thee games went 2-0-1 with a 2.27 GAA and a .922 save percentage. He’s a 2023 5th round draft pick by Columbus and is decent sized at 6’3. The Sweden native will have three years of eligibility left likely giving fellow former Spartan DiPasquo some breathers next season and competing for the top job in 2027-28.
What Else Does Minnesota Need?
The Gophers still could use at least one more qualify defenseman and a top center. It’s possible that one of those could come from the portal with rumors that former #1 center for St. Cloud Nolan Roed could be looking to join his former coach with the Gophers. It’s also possible Minnesota will be looking to find reinforcements via the CHL. A pair of defensemen who play for Everett in the CHL have been rumored to be at least considering Minnesota. Tarin Smith was a third round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2024 and it sounds like the Ducks organization wants him to play at least a year of college hockey before turning pro. After what they saw from former Gopher and current Ducks star Jackson LaCombe, the rumors are strong that Smith could be headed to Minneapolis next season. His defense partner in Everett is a bit more high profile in 16 year old Landon Dupont who many think could be a top 5 selection in the 2027 NHL Draft. While there has been no actual smoke of DuPont looking at Minnesota as a potential destination, if the Gophers could land Smith it would go a long way into potentially adding DuPoint as well and taking the Gophers defensive group from one of the nation’s worst in 2025-26 into potentially one of the best in the country. Only time will tell.
