Alex Campbell and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine are playing for Northeastern University’s 2024 title hopes as the Huskies currently sit on the outside looking in of the NCAA tournament picture. But they’re also playing for an NHL future.

Both Nashville Predators’ prospects have until August 15 to sign with the team or they become free agents.

And while the duo took different routes to get where they are today, they’ve both been key offensive drivers at Northeastern this year.

Alex Campbell was a third-round pick by Nashville in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. That next season, he starred for Omaha in the USHL before starting his collegiate career at Clarkson; in his freshman year, he finished second on the Golden Knights in scoring. In his sophomore campaign, he impressed even more, scoring 16 goals and 33 points in 37 games and making Nashville wise to draft him. But in his junior year, Campbell failed to take another step forward as the Golden Knights’ performance dipped. Come last summer, he entered the transfer portal and headed to Northeastern for one last chance to impress NHL evaluators.

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, on the other hand, was one of the last picks of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft after an impressive junior career with the Chicago Steel. Fontaine, an overage pick, jumped right into Northeastern’s lineup with a solid 15 points in his first 21 games. Over the last four years, he’s grown to be a key contributor, notching 32 goals and 97 points in 126 total games with the Huskies.

With the Hockey East Tournament in sight, Northeastern is relying heavily on Campbell (33 points in 31 games) and Fontaine (27 points in 31 games), who are second and fifth on the team in scoring, respectively.

For years now, I’ve been highlighting how underrated I think Alex Campbell is as a prospect. His game is defined by his agility, his shiftiness, his puckhandling, and his goal-scoring ability. Since the start of his college career, he hasn’t had elite speed but he’s gotten by with plenty of quickness. He can stickhandle out of tight corners and reverses play very well.

Campbell won’t win every one-on-one corner battle and adding strength is still a priority for him, but he’s very effective at leading his line in transition. Maybe most importantly, he can score from a distance or by buzzing around the goalie’s crease. There are still a few wrinkles to his skating mechanics, and you’d like to see improvements in his forechecking, but Campbell’s got plenty of projectable skills.

Of Campbell’s 33 points this year, 17 were primary ones scored at even strength. In five games tracked, he’s posted a 55.96 percent Corsi rating and pelted opposing goalies with 15.16 shot attempts per 60 minutes, including 10.95 from high-danger areas; he’s also thrown in 10.11 primary shot assists per hour.

In transition, Campbell has been excellent. He’s exited his own with possession on 81.25 percent of attempts and used his quickness through the neutral zone to push defenders back. He gains the zone successfully at a 68.75 percent success rate, opting to carry the puck in on two-thirds of his attempts. Remarkably, he’s even got a 60.00 percent success rate at retrieving his dump-ins.

No one will confuse Alex Campbell for the strongest player on the ice, and he won’t have as much of the time and space he feasts on at the next level. But he can be a pure sniper, he wins puck battles with his crafty hands, and he’s demonstrated that he can dig for hard-earned goals too. In Campbell, there are plenty of signs Nashville may have another complementary scoring winger one day.

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine’s college career has been remarkably consistent. After his 15-point debut season, he chipped in 25 and 30 points in his next two years, respectively. This year, he’ll likely hit a career-high with 27 points in 31 games so far.

While that stat line is nothing to scoff at, consistency can also mean stagnation. Fontaine is a really good college hockey player, but he’s a frustrating one too. Just ten of his 27 points this year were primary ones scored at even strength, and an overreliance on power-play production has been a feature of his NCAA career. He’s taken roughly half the shots Campbell has this year (and is still shooting 13.79 percent) and has recorded a primary point on 45.45 percent of the even-strength goals he’s been on the ice for; that’s fine but Campbell is at 58.62 percent.

While Fontaine hasn’t become an elite five-on-five producer at Northeastern, he’s scored some major goals. At this year’s Beanpot, Fontaine scored the overtime-winning goal in both of the Huskies’ wins, earning MVP honors and delivering a notable encore to his two-goal night at last year’s Beanpot championship game.

There’s no doubt Fontaine is invaluable to Northeastern’s lineup. He helps quarterback their power play—even playing at the point at times. He’s energetic, he fights hard in puck battles, and he plays off possession well, moving between pockets of open ice to give his teammates passing options. Fontaine does a lot of positive things and is a solid defensive performer. But he’s never quite taken the next step forward to becoming a true nightly difference-maker at the NCAA level.

He’s a decent possession player with a 53.42 percent Corsi rating in seven games tracked this year. But as mentioned above, his offensive production can be unsatisfying at times as he’s almost too patient of a playmaker. He’s posted 11.29 shot attempts and 5.65 primary shot assists per 60 minutes.

In transition, Fontaine can put defenders on their heels just as well, if not better, than Campbell. He’s got a 66.67 percent zone-entry rate this year, preferring to speed down the boards and drag defenders behind him; Fontaine also maintains possession on 78.26 percent of his carry-in attempts.

Make no mistake: Gunnarwolfe Fontaine’s collegiate production is a testament to how well he’s outplayed his seventh-round draft position. Nashville has to be at least somewhat pleased with the player he’s become at Northeastern, and I think there’s still more to get out of him. But I’m not as convinced his ceiling stretches into the NHL as I think Alex Campbell’s does.

Regardless, before August, I expect the Predators to make a pitch to sign both forwards with the hopes of adding to their growing collection of talented forwards in Milwaukee.