When the 2023-24 NCAA season ended for the Boston University Terriers, defenseman Ty Gallagher sat down with head coach Jay Pandolfo to discuss his role with the team moving forward. His playing time in his junior year had dropped from the season before despite putting up a career-high 21 points the year before and he was only able to muster five that season.
Pandolfo informed Gallagher that he would again have a bit of a reduced role causing Gallagher to have some pause if he wanted to come back. Gallagher took some time to think, and eventually wound up making the decision to transfer from BU to Colorado College to finish his college career where it could have easily begun, should he have chosen to play for the Tigers following him re-opening his recruitment after decomitting from Big-Ten powerhouse Notre Dame (from ‘Veteran skater Ty Gallagher excited to join Colorado College and old friends in quest to return to Frozen Four,’ Denver Gazette, Sept. 11, 2024).
Hearing '03 Ty Gallagher heading to Boston University for '21-22. NTDP D-man with a big shot had been Notre Dame commit. Nice recovery for Terriers after losing Roman Schmidt to OHL
— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) June 25, 2021
Related: Previewing the Bruins’ NCAA Senior Prospects for 2024-25
When asked how he likes Colorado Springs compared to Boston, Gallagher was enthusiastic in his response to changing from seeing the Prudential Building and Fenway Park every day to the Rocky Mountains for miles upon miles.
“Obviously, it’s a different environment,” Gallagher said. “Just with Boston being a big city and BU being right in the center of it, or I guess right on the outside of it. And then moving out to more of like a mountain city in Colorado Springs… I love the change… The mountains are awesome out here.”
When it comes to the coaching staff with the Terriers though, despite his role being reduced Gallagher has nothing negative to say about them.
“It was good,” Gallagher said in regards to his final conversation with Pandolfo before leaving BU. “I have nothing negative to say about that coaching staff. They gave me… Three of the best years of my life. He’s a great coach, and I really believed in that program, and I still believe in that program. It gave me so much.”
Transitioning From Boston to Colorado
Going from Boston to Colorado is a shock to anyone’s system, whether it’s the elevation change from sea level to a mile above sea level (or more in some parts), or just a new environment both academically and on the ice.
For Gallagher, it was more of the physical moving that was hardest. The actual move itself to Colorado Springs as opposed to going back to Boston? Not so hard, as he was already familiar with a good majority of his teammates back from his days of playing for the United States National Development Team.
“It was definitely a big move cross country, but I moved everything out at BU at the end of the year back home,” Gallagher said. “And then we came in for summer school for a three-week period at Colorado College, so I moved all my stuff over. (It’s) definitely a culture shock a little bit. You fly into Denver and you see all the mountains and all that stuff… Instead of all the big buildings and the ocean and stuff like you see in Boston. But no, it was awesome. I grew up with a lot of the guys at Colorado College… They made the move-in process pretty easy and showed me the ropes and really just made me feel comfortable from day one around here. So it was pretty easy. It was definitely a culture shock, but I would say it was an easy move.”
Before officially moving to Colorado, Gallagher attended Bruins Development Camp where he saw Terriers’ teammate Mathieu Caron among other players he played either with or against while attending BU. He also got to experience training with newcomer Dean Letourneau, who was getting ready for his first season at Boston College and experiencing his first development camp.
“It was great to reunite with (Caron), and some of the guys from BC and just guys that you’ve played against and with,” Gallagher said. “(It was) great to see all those guys. And it just shows you how small the hockey world is and how special the connections that you made throughout your time and throughout your career is. So, yeah, it was fun.”
When asked what type of advice he gave to Letourneau, Gallagher was very simple with his advice.
“I think the biggest thing is that you know you’re there for a reason,” Gallagher said. “When I was a freshman in college or my first year at development camp, you go in a little hesitant because you’re younger and there’s going to be some older guys there that have more experience than you. But just being confident, too, going in there and just you know who you are and you know why you’re there.
“That’s just the main piece of advice that I gave a guy like him. It’s just be confident and everyone’s here for a reason. It’s a fun week. There’s a lot of competition, but everyone’s good players and no one’s lesser of a player than anyone else. So just go out there with confidence and have fun and play the game you love.”
One player who helped with the move the most was goaltender Kaidan Mbereko. Not only did the two grow up in Michigan together, but they are now roommates while playing for the Tigers. Mbereko and Gallagher study together in their four-person suite, and are close both on and off the ice.
Gallagher said the two make a habit of always thanking each other for saving each other on the ice if the other makes an error on a play.
“I think it’s definitely something special and a bond that’s special between a goalie and a defenseman,” Gallagher said of his friendship with Mbereko. “… He’s full of talk on the ice and in between whistles and in between periods. Always either saying thank you or giving us words of advice or tell us what he sees. So I think it goes both ways, though, the appreciation. We’re so appreciative of him and how he plays, and he’s appreciative of us as well… It’s been an awesome bond and an awesome relationship, and we got good chemistry. So it’s been really good.”
In-Season Success
Early on in the season, Colorado College got off to a flying start and even ranked as high as no. 8 in the nation, the highest the Tigers’ program has been ranked since the 1950s. They have since dipped to 28, but according to head coach Kris Mayotte, Gallagher played a large part in their early success and not just statistically.
“A big one,” Mayotte said about Gallagher’s role. “I mean, you look at the numbers, he’s our number one defenseman. In terms of not only his production, but his minutes. And then the situations that he plays in, he plays in all the high leverage moments, big on the kill, first power play, five on six, six on five, can take top matchups… And he’s been able to play between 22, 24 minutes a night and do it consistently. So he’s been big. When you can lean on guys and rely on guys to play in those high leverage situations like we do with him, those guys are incredibly valuable.”
When Gallagher called Mayotte and told him he would be coming to Colorado Springs, it was a moment of pure joy for Mayotte. Mayotte had attempted to recruit him the first time around, but now, he had finally gotten his prize and it came at a time when he really felt the program deserved him.
“We were excited,” Mayotte said. “(We) tried recruiting him the first time around, and it came down to us and to BU, and we missed out. We understood where our program was at that point in time. It didn’t quite fit his ambitions and his goals, which again, I understand. But we’ve done a lot of work to grow our program and get our program back to a spot where top prospects want to come… It was obviously a big moment because we knew we could fill a void that we felt we had, but also a reflection of how much our program has grown over our last three years here.”
While Gallagher’s intangibles have been something to keep track of this season, so have his actual statistical numbers as well. Going into Saturday night’s matchup with Arizona State University, Gallagher has played in all 21 games for the Tigers. Not only that, but he is tied for second place on the team for goals with five, and leads the team by 10 in blocked shots with 32 on the season. The latter is something that has impressed Mayotte the most.
“He’s a gritty player,” Mayotte said. “I mean, he leads our team in blocked shots. He’s physical, he’s tenacious. He competes hard in his one-on-ones. He competes hard around the net. It’s not just hard work, he’s effective with it. He gets the job done. There are a lot of people that work really hard, and they don’t necessarily get the job done. He’s really well-rounded where he can put up points, but also, like I said, he leads our team in blocked shots.”
When Mayotte was asked to compare Gallagher to anyone in the NHL, it took him at least two minutes to come up with any sort of answer. Mayotte said that the only person he could compare him to would be Nick Blankenburg. However, when he expanded on his answer, Mayotte clarified that Galllagher is really a one-of-one type of player. Not only because he didn’t want to set lofty expectations for the senior defenseman, but because he couldn’t think of anyone who plays the way he does.
What’s Next For Gallagher?
When the season ends, Gallagher hopes to sign a contract with the Bruins, and it appears they are mutually interested in him joining them following what is technically considered his graduate season at Colorado College after he successfully graduated from Boston University in three years thanks to summer and winter classes.
Gallagher and Mayotte both said they have had communication with the Bruins about the seventh-round draftee; however, no such agreement has been drawn up yet as both the coach and defenseman are hyper-focused on the season at hand despite team representatives showing up to see Gallagher play multiple times. When asked if he wanted to play at the next level following the 2024-25 season, Gallagher had his answer prepared with no hesitation.
“Yeah, I would hope so,” Gallagher said. “The plan is to sign a contract after this year.”
