By: Jared Shafran, News Staff

Men’s hockey Head Coach Greg Cronin announced his new recruits for the upcoming season June 3. And while there will still be 10 freshman playing in Matthews Arena this fall, one of them wasn’t listed when the announcement was first made.

That last recruit is Cody Ferriero, a forward from Essex. Ferriero will wear No. 79 this season. After being selected by the San Jose Sharks in the 5th round (127th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, fans are excited for his arrival.

What makes Ferriero’s situation unique is how late he decided to come to NU. Ferriero originally committed to Boston College, but just a couple weeks before he was supposed to be on campus in Chestnut Hill, he changed his mind and decided to become a Husky.

“After thinking about it for a while, I looked at a few other schools,” Ferriero said. “Northeastern was probably my top choice after BC and after a while [Northeastern was]
the place I wanted to be.”

Ferriero’s older brother, Benn, played at BC from 2005-2009, won a national championship with the team in 2008, and was signed by the Sharks in September 2009.

Although Ferriero originally said he thought he would be playing at the same school where his brother skated, he said that once he changed his mind his brother was very supportive.

“He wants me to go where I’m going to do best,” Ferriero said. “It’s not about following in his footsteps or anything. I think this is going to be a better opportunity for me.”

Ferriero said playing in both the Hockey East and staying in the Boston area was important to him.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the Hockey East and in the Beanpot,” Ferriero said. “BU [Boston University] wasn’t really the kind of school I wanted to go to and I’m definitely not smart enough to play at Harvard. It means a lot to me to play in my hometown around my friends and I’m really excited for it.”

Ferriero said another reason for the cross-town transfer was to play under head coach Greg Cronin.

“He’s got pro experience,” Ferriero said. “All the guys that come out of here are NHL ready right away and he plays smash mouth, NHL style hockey. NHL GMs [general managers] respect him, and Tim Burke, who is in player development at San Jose talks very highly of him.”

Ferriero joins sophomore forwards Justin and Drew Daniels, giving the Huskies three players drafted to the Sharks organization. Although Ferriero said he knew the brothers from training camp, he said he didn’t consult them before making his decision.

“They were real good to me,” Ferriero said. “I knew they were from Northeastern and they’re both really good players and I talked to them a little bit about Northeastern, but not too much because at that point I wasn’t so sure if it was going to happen. It’s nice to know a few guys coming in for sure.”

Now that he’s on campus and has started practicing with the team, Ferriero said he couldn’t be happier with his decision.

“I love it so far,” Ferriero said. “Boston’s always kind of been my hometown and the guys have been great to me, making me feel right at home so I’m feeling really comfortable.”

With the season coming closer, one can’t help but notice that the Huskies will open their home schedule with, you guessed it, Boston College on Oct. 9.

As to whether there will be any hard feelings on the ice, Ferriero was hesitant but smiled and said “I’m looking forward to it for sure.”