Three Harvard hockey players – two of them NHL draft picks – have been removed from the team’s roster, with reports indicating there could be a connection to the school’s recent cheating scandal that involved varsity athletes.
The three players are defensemen Patrick McNally (Canucks), Max Everson (Leafs) and Mark Luzar.
Harvard athletics spokesman Jeff Selesnick declined to provide a reason for the removals.
“I can confirm that they are no longer on the 2012-13 roster anymore,” Selesnick told the Vancouver Sun. “In terms of duration or nature of that absence I really can’t elaborate on that to really any degree.”
Another player, goalie Stephen Michalek (Wild), left the team in November and is currently playing in the USHL with Cedar Rapids. He plans to return to Harvard next season.
McNally, 20, was a fourth-round pick of the Canucks in 2010. Last season as a freshman, he finished fourth in Crimson scoring with 28 points in 34 games.