“Jeff has been great at helping me and the other middies,” Mahler said. “He brings a calm, confident approach to the game. He’s been there before, and we know we can rely on him.”

A noteworthy member of these “other middies” is Mahler’s classmate, Evan Calvert. Calvert has eight goals and four assists to his credit while seeing a great deal of action on the team’s man-up offense, playing up top in the 3-3 setup.

“Evan’s strength is his ability to feed the ball with both hands and to make good decisions,” said Anderson. “He’s maybe the best on the team [at those things]. He’s held the man-up [unit] together.”

While these three are clearly the most prominent members of the freshman class, they are far from the only talented players in what is an extremely deep group.

Midfielder Adam Mahfouda has seen action in 11 games and is the fourth-leading scorer among the freshmen with four goals and two assists.

One player that didn’t see much action is midfielder Carle Stenmark, who possesses one of the hardest shots that captain Jake McKenna has ever faced, according to Anderson. The younger brother of tri-captain Spencer Stenmark tallied two goals in his first three games before suffering an ACL injury.

“[Carle’s injury] was very disappointing and frustrating for him and for the team,” Anderson said. “[However], you want to come out of the year knowing that you can succeed at this level, and Carle did that very quickly. He’s a real talent.”

Likewise, attackman Brandon Logigian—brother of former tri-captain Doug Logigian ’03—experienced early success with a goal and an assist in two games before succumbing to injury.

“Top to bottom, each freshman has done a great job,” said McBride.

The freshman class also includes midfielders P.J. Maglathlin, John Henry Flood and Dan Chung. Maglathlin has seen action in the majority of Harvard’s games and has an assist to his credit, while Flood and Chung are two-way players who each saw some time in the face-off circle for the Crimson this season.

Rounding out the class is the lone defenseman of the group, Justin Craig.

“Justin is a really hard worker,” said Anderson. “He’s definitely been a surprise.”

Though the freshmen have experienced a great deal of success thus far, the rookies have sometimes struggled with the difficulties inherent in making the transition from high school to college.

“[The biggest adjustment] has been the speed of the game,” said Calvert. “The slides [are quicker]. The defense comes at you so fast.”

Mahler echoed the sentiments of his classmate.