Around a half-hour after BU’s season ended in a double-overtime loss to Northeastern in the Hockey East Quarterfinal, all four seniors in Tara Watchorn’s leadership group remained on the Walter Brown Arena ice sheet in full uniform. Sydney Healey, Clara Yuhn, Maeve Kelly and Maeve Carey — their NCAA careers officially over — still needed time to take it all in.
They weren’t the only Terriers who played their final game in Scarlet and White on that fateful Saturday afternoon. BU will graduate three more seniors — German twin sisters Luisa and Lilli Welcke and forward Riley Walsh — and its lone graduate student, goalie Michelle Pasiechnyk. And with the NCAA transfer portal officially open, there will be more who don’t return to Walter Brown in 2026-27. Per APX Hockey’s database, freshman defender Lucy Thiessen entered the portal on Tuesday.
But what does the future hold for BU’s departures? Will the graduates continue their careers professionally? And if so, in what league? The 2026 PWHL Draft is in June; in 2025, goalie Callie Shanahan and defender Tamara Giaquinto became the first Terriers to be drafted by the PWHL straight from BU. As for Thiessen, where will she end up? Will any of her former teammates follow her out the door?
But while the portal takes, it also gives: How will Watchorn use incoming transfers to supplement all of the experience and talent her roster is losing?
And finally — what does Watchorn’s incoming freshman class look like, and how will it help fill out BU’s 2026-27 roster?
The Blog is tracking all of those things in the story below. Follow along for updates, information and analysis as BU’s offseason progresses, starting with Thiessen:
Pro Draftees and Signees
Nadia Mattivi
What to know: Mattivi, who played for the Terriers for five seasons from 2019 to 2024, signed a standard player contract with the Montreal Victoire in the PWHL on March 24.
She was a two-year captain for BU and tallied 63 points in 141 games as a defender. Since graduating, Mattivi has played with Luleå HF in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League, where she was named SDHL Defender of the Year in 2024-25 after recording 27 points in 34 games.
Mattivi was named captain of Team Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she recorded two assists in five games.
Analysis: Mattivi has been on the PWHL’s radar for some time, and after gaining additional seasoning over a season and a half overseas, Montreal jumped at the opportunity to sign her before the 2026 draft, where she was likely to be selected.
The 25-year-old chewed up major minutes for Italy at the Olympic Games, but she’s more than just a stay-at-home defender. She’s shown a knack for creating offense, with her production increasing at the professional level, albeit in Europe.
Although she won’t produce at the level she has in Sweden in the PWHL, it’s about time Mattivi gets her shot. Her 5-foot-10 frame will provide value at the blue line with a sprinkling of offense. — Eli Cloutier
Portal Departures
Lucy Thiessen
What to know: The 5-foot-5 defender from Alexandria, Va., who will be a sophomore next season, entered the portal on March 24. A recruit from the BK Selects, she was originally committed to Dartmouth before signing with BU, where she played 19 of a possible 35 games in 2024-25 and recorded four points (one goal, three assists).
Thiessen flashed her offensive skill early — she scored BU’s first power-play goal of the season in the Terriers’ fifth game — but ultimately endured a turbulent freshman year. She was mysteriously left in Boston during BU’s weekend series at Maine in early November, which Watchorn said was not injury related. She didn’t play in the Friendship Series (but did make the trip to Northern Ireland) or the Beanpot, which Watchorn called “team management.” She briefly returned in late January and early February, then didn’t play in BU’s final six games, which Watchorn said was injury related. The Terriers played those games with only five active defenders.
Analysis: Thiessen’s talent and creativity is exciting, but she never seemed to fit with Watchorn’s tactical identity.
There’s a lot to like. Thiessen is fast, brave and capable of carrying pucks coast to coast. But she’s also raw and undisciplined, and in 2025-26, she lacked the maturity in her game that Watchorn’s system demands. That’s not necessarily an indictment on Thiessen — she certainly wasn’t the only Terrier who struggled with discipline and maturity, and she was a freshman; those warts are hardly surprising. But she doesn’t project as the kind of defender Watchorn would want. A transfer feels like the best option for all parties.
With a coaching staff that values her skillset and is willing to develop the rest of her game, Thiessen could be a legit star. I’d guess she remains in Hockey East or ends up in the ECAC. — Sam Robb O’Hagan
Portal Arrivals
Nothing to see here. Yet.
Incoming freshmen
We’re working on it.