His Warriors have come out to play, too, skating to a 6-1-2 record and No. 15 ranking in the NCAA Division I polls. But Hoskin, in his second year at Merrimack following a freshman season at Niagara, figures the strong start is a carry-over from a memorable 2025-26 season that saw his eighth-seeded side upset the top three teams in the conference en route to the Warriors’ first-ever Hockey East crown.
“It was an incredible finish to the year,” Hoskin recalled. “We won the conference, then lost a tough one to North Dakota. At the end of last year, we knew we had a lot of guys coming back - our top six, in particular. Just having that confidence, we felt like we were building something special last year, it’s really helped us.
“I’ve played with the linemates I’m playing with right now essentially all year (last year) and to finish off when we went on that run. The chemistry we had last year, it’s clicking right away.”
A fourth-round pick by the Flames in the 2024 Draft, Hoskin’s pro pathway has been one less traveled. Selected in his third year of Draft eligiblity, Hoskin entered the Flames fold following a 100-point campaign with the OJHL’s Cobourg Cougars and since heading south to college, the Belleville, Ont. product has continued to shine offensively.
At Niagara, he was the Atlantic Hockey conference rookie of the year in 2025 after putting up 39 points in 36 games. That led to a transfer to Merrimack - a school Hoskin said two summers ago made him feel right at home, right away - and a 35-point sophomore campaign last winter.
In his spare time, Hoskin says he keeps tabs on the Flames and the AHL’s Wranglers, watching the organization’s pro players, their on-ice habits, and the team’s systems play.
That’s when he’s not following the women’s game. Hoskin’s girlfriend, Zoe Uens, was selected by Montreal in this past summer’s PWHL Draft following four seasons of NCAA hockey at Quinnipiac.
