Pittsburgh is getting a taste of Merrimack this season — and it's coming from the blue line.
Trevor van Riemsdyk and Declan Carlile, both alumni of Merrimack College in North Andover, MA, are among three new defensemen who have joined the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season. The pair link up with Kaedan Korczak as fresh faces on Pittsburgh's back end.
For van Riemsdyk, the move represents another chapter in a professional career that has taken him across the league since his days as a Warriors defenseman. Carlile, meanwhile, is carving out his own path at the NHL level, and doing so alongside a fellow Merrimack product makes for a notable moment in the program's growing pro hockey footprint.
It's a meaningful milestone for Merrimack, a program that only recently transitioned to Division I and has steadily built a reputation as a legitimate pipeline to professional hockey. Having two alumni on the same NHL roster — let alone both as defensemen — is the kind of validation that resonates on campus and in recruiting.
The Bigger Picture for Merrimack Hockey
The Warriors' NHL presence doesn't stop in Pittsburgh. Johnathan Kovacevic is patrolling the blue line for the New Jersey Devils, while Ryan O'Rourke is doing the same for the Minnesota Wild. Up front, Brett Seney is with the Chicago Blackhawks on left wing. Goaltender Collin Delia also remains in the Penguins organization, meaning Pittsburgh alone is home to three Merrimack alumni entering the new season.
That's five Warriors spread across four NHL franchises — a remarkable snapshot for a program still establishing itself among college hockey's elite. For a school that only joined Hockey East in 2023, the professional roster it has quietly assembled speaks to the quality of development happening in North Andover.
The van Riemsdyk-Carlile pairing in Pittsburgh will be the one to watch most closely. Sharing a locker room with a familiar face from your college days is one thing; doing it on one of hockey's most storied franchises is another. Both will compete for roles on a Penguins team navigating a transitional moment of its own, and the Warriors alumni connection could prove a stabilizing thread for two players adjusting to new surroundings.
Merrimack fans have plenty of reasons to follow the NHL this fall. The league's rosters have quietly become a showcase for what the Warriors program is producing — and the 2026-27 season may be its most prominent stage yet.
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