While there was plenty of elation – and justifiable so – this summer that standout forwards Henrik Borgstrom, Dylan Gambrell and Troy Terry decided to return to Denver to make a run at a second consecutive national championship, the Pioneers still have some significant spots to fill up front.

Five forwards graduated, including faceoff aces Matt Marcinew and Evan Ritt, as well as Evan Janssen, whom coach Jim Montgomery frequently called one of the team’s most important players. That trio as well as Emil Romig and Brad Hawkinson supplied plenty of energy and inspiration that helped put DU over the top last season.

Janssen and Marcinew also finished sixth and seventh, respectively, on the Pioneers in scoring, fit anywhere in the lineup and played on all special teams. Ritt and Romig often were penalty kill mainstays. So the gaps up front will be substantial.

In their place Montgomery and his staff brought in five freshmen. What follows is a closer look at the quintet and what they might bring in their first season at Magness Arena.

The situation: DU retained its top four scoring forwards and seven of its top nine forwards, but it lost several key penalty killers and its two most reliable faceoff men. The departed seniors offered lineup versatility and leadership for what was a pretty young team a season ago. Some of the intangibles will have to be replaced by returnees, but at least three of the freshmen forwards will need to step in sooner than later.

The newcomers: The Pioneers signed one forward to a National Letter of Intent (NLI) in the fall and four more in June.

Right wing Kohen Olischefski (1998 birth year) committed to DU on Dec. 4, 2015, while a member of the Yale Hockey Academy Prep in British Columbia. Olischefski, the lone fall forward signee, originally committed to Wisconsin, de-committed earlier in 2015 and promptly jumped on the Pioneers’ radar. The 6-foot-2, 177-pounder began his BCHL career that season and became a regular for the Chilliwack Chiefs in 2015-16.

Olischefski took a huge step in his second full season at Chilliwack, going from 48 points to 76 points and 13 goals to 24 during the regular season. More impressively, he scored at a point-per-game clip in the playoffs (23 in 23 games, including 10 goals). His playoff point total was the third best in the league and the regular-season mark was sixth best.

But there is more to Olischefski’s game than just points, Montgomery said.

“Kohen is a guy who plays a very similar style to Dylan Gambrell,” the coach said. “He has great vision, is an elite skater, and he makes people who play with him better. And he plays all over the ice. We expect him to do really good things at Denver.”

As Olischefski adapts to the physical nature of the NCAA game from the offensively inclined BCHL, it would not be a stretch to see him regularly getting top-six minutes and power-play time.

Right wing Ryan Barrow (1997) was one of the Pioneers’ more recent commits, announcing his intent on Feb. 9, 2017, while he was in the midst of a breakout season with Langley of the BCHL. Barrow’s point total exploded to a team-high 68 this season (10^th most in the BCHL), up from 20 in his first full junior season.

The 6-2, 170-pounder had 28 goals – most among DU’s incoming freshmen – and more than half of those came on the power play (13) and shorthanded (2).

“Ryan Barrow is a guy who is a little bit of a late bloomer,” Montgomery said. “He plays with great pace because of his skating and his intensity. He goes hard to the net, goes to the dirty areas, and that’s something that appealed to us. He’s hard to play against and has flair to his offensive game.”

Center Jack Doremus (1997) is the only Colorado native in this year’s class and also the younger brother of former Pioneer Daniel. He committed to DU on July 6, 2015 after playing two seasons of Midget hockey for the Colorado Thunderbirds.

The 6-1, 175-pounder took a big leap statistically this past season, when he was traded from Sioux Falls to Lincoln in the USHL. His 32 points (20 goals) were up from 9 and 2 in his first junior season. His biggest value likely will come from his work in the circle, one area the Pioneers again were hit hard in graduation.

“Jack Doremus is going to be a great 200-foot player for us,” Montgomery said. “He plays with a lot of intensity because of his pace and skating. He’s someone who drives to tough areas and has a really good shot. He will add to our team speed.”

Forward Jake Durflinger (1997) comes to DU after four years of junior hockey, the final one spent captaining Bloomington of the USHL. He committed in the fall of 2016 after being acquired by the Thunder from Sioux City. Durflinger’s point totals have remained consistently in the 20s but he’s scaled back his penalties, way back. After 208 PIMs in his first full USHL season, he had 68 and 94 the past two seasons.

Though just 5-8 and 161, Durflinger gained a reputation as a player his teammates loved and his opponents loathed. He also developed a strong two-way game. Simply put, he will bring a lot of elements the Pioneers lost in their massive graduating class.

“Durf is someone we think that comes in as a huge piece of the puzzle because of how he plays,” Montgomery said. “The most underrated part of his game is how competitive he is all over the ice. He’ll fit in really well. He’s going to be a guy like Grant Arnold, Evan Janssen, Colin Staub, a glue guy.”

Last, but not least is left wing Jaakko Heikkinen (1997), who committed and signed with DU in June after two standout junior seasons with Jokerit in his native Finland. He had 47 points in 43 games in Finland’s Junior A level of SM-Liiga this past season after 38 points in 44 games the previous season. He also has represented his country in international play. The 6-2 Heikkinen played against Borgstrom growing up.

“Jaakko is someone we think hasn’t hit how good he’s going to be,” Montgomery said. “The skill – he has the ability to shoot and make plays that will generate a ‘wow’ factor. Once he gets used to how we play and North American rinks, he’s really going to add to our lineup.”

There is another notable factor with DU’s recruits – the five forwards and the two defensemen and goalies (previewed here) – size.

“Everyone is over 6 feet except for Durflinger,” Montgomery said. “Our size is going to much bigger than any team I’ve had here.”

That adds an intriguing – and valuable – element to a Pioneers squad positioned for further success in 2017-18.