Denver has announced that the Pioneers have signed forwards Casey Dornbach and Tristan Broz as transfer students for the 2022-23 season.
Dornbach joins the Pioneers as a graduate student after playing the previous four years with Harvard, including captaining the Crimson last season, while Broz comes to DU after helping Minnesota to the Frozen Four as a freshman in 2021-22.
“I’m excited to announce that both Casey Dornbach and Tristan Broz will continue their collegiate careers as Pioneers here at Denver,” Denver coach David Carle said in a statement. “Casey brings leadership and experience to our group after a standout career at Harvard, and we think Tristan’s skill set and hockey sense will mesh seamlessly into our offense.”
Dornbach, who graduated from Harvard this past spring, recorded 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in 34 games last season and helped the program win the ECAC Hockey championship. He registered 90 points (27 goals, 63 assists) in 98 career games with the Crimson from 2018 to 2022 (school didn’t participate in athletics in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 pandemic).
The Ivy League and ECAC Rookie of the Year in 2018-19 after producing 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 33 outings, Dornbach followed it up with a career-high 12 goals, 24 assists and 36 points in his sophomore campaign the next season. In 2021-22, he was named a finalist as Harvard athletics’ top male scholar-athlete and the ECAC student-athlete of the year.
“I chose the University of Denver because of how great the program has been on and off the ice, year in and year out,” Dornbach said. “There are high-quality, driven, professional people here, and I knew Denver was the right place for me to play this year after only a few moments of being on campus. To have a chance to be a part of a team that knows how to win, has a culture that collaborates and works hard and has the potential to repeat as national champions made the decision a no-brainer for me.”
Broz recorded six goals and five assists in 36 contests as a freshman for Minnesota last year, winning the Big Ten regular-season championship and helping the program secure its first Frozen Four berth since 2014. He recorded a career-high three points on Feb. 26 versus Wisconsin (goal, two assists) and scored in the first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament against Massachusetts on March 25.
Back in 2021, Broz was selected in the second round (58th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I really enjoyed talking to the coaching staff and felt like Denver was a strong fit for myself as a person and as a player,” said Broz.
