So Far, So Good: Two New Terriers from Overseas Underscore Team’s Global Scope
October 15, 2026 | Men's Ice Hockey
by Scott Weighart, GoTerriers.com
BOSTON – While several new Terriers got to play their first-ever game at Agganis Arena on Saturday night - a 3-1 exhibition win over Brown - it might have been most remarkable for two players who grew up thousands of miles from Commonwealth Avenue, knowing nothing about Boston University hockey until they were teenagers.
Left wing Niklas Aaram-Olsen grew up in Oslo, Norway, and played junior hockey in Sweden. Before BU's road sweep at Alaska two weekends ago, Aaram-Olsen's only experience playing in North America was in the U18 Worlds in Texas in April 2025, where he scored five points (including three goals) in five games. So playing in front of a packed house at Agganis was a new experience for the Norwegian.Â
"That was awesome. It's been a dream since I came here. I've trained here for one month now, and to get to play here was amazing. I love this crowd."
Suffice it to say he's still learning the Agganis terminology that will become very familiar to him.Â
"What's the music thing called?" Aaram-Olsen asked. "The band? The band, yeah, that was pretty cool. We don't have that over in Europe, but it's so cool that a lot of people go to the games and support us. That means a lot."
Compared to Sweden and Finland, Norway has only produced a handful of NHL players. As last winter's Olympics demonstrated, Nordic skiing is the dominant sport, though the success of the country's soccer team in the World Cup shows the increased popularity of that sport as well. So how did Aaram-Olsen develop a passion for hockey under the circumstances?Â
"It was my dad who took me to hockey. My uncle played, and my dad played. He took me to the ice, and I just loved it. When I was younger, I skied a lot. That's probably every Norwegian kid growing up. But hockey was my favorite sport."
Developing an interest in the game, he found a couple of NHL favorites to emulate.
"I love Nikita Kucherov's creativity, but I'm looking more at Brandon Hagel, to get that grit. I'm also always working on my shooting."
If moving to Boston is a transition for anyone, it's certainly been a great one so far for Aaram-Olsen.
"Awesome, great people. I haven't been downtown yet, but I love it so far. Everything is different over here, and a lot better. I love Boston so far: the organization, the coaching staff, the players, the facilities. Everything is really good." Â
The NHL Draft in June was really good as well: Aaram-Olsen was drafted in the second round, 41st overall, by the Vancouver Canucks. Earlier in the draft, fellow incoming Terrier Caleb Malhotra was drafted by the same team, third overall. Malhotra had a whopping ten shots on Saturday night against Brown, more than double the total of any teammate.Â
"Great player, and a great guy," Aaram-Olsen said of Malhotra. "A lot of skill, and he's got grit in him. A great skater. Hopefully we could play in Vancouver together one day."
While Aaram-Olsen is still learning the ropes, the BU staff seems to have made one element of the team's culture clear: It's a meritocracy.Â
"I haven't gotten a direct message on where they want me. But I think everyone starts on the same ground, and the guys who do the best get the chances. You've got to earn it."
Another first-timer at Agganis who is already earning a lot of ice time is defenseman Haoxi (Simon) Wang. Before Wang's arrival, Russian goaltender Mikhail Yegorov seemingly held the title for farthest Terrier from home in BU history. Wang has obliterated that record: He was born in Beijing.
BU has had a few players of Asian descent over the years, most notably Brandon Yip and Herb Wakabayashi. But the program never had a player born outside of North America and Europe.
Hockey is even less popular in China than it is in Norway, but that changed early on for Wang.
"One of my friends back in kindergarten started playing, and he asked me to come watch one of his practices. I came, and I was really interested in the sport on the ice. I fell in love with it and started playing."
When Wang moved to North America years later, he found himself immersed in one of hockey's global hotbeds.Â
"I lived in China until I was 12 years old, then I moved to Toronto. I started practicing English in kindergarten. I went to an international school with a lot of overseas teachers, and I think they gave me a really good start in my English education."
At 6-6, 230 pounds, Wang drew the attention of universities and professional scouts with his size, skill, and skating ability. Along the way, he developed BU ties: In 2025, he was drafted 33rd overall by the San Jose Sharks, whose general manager is Mike Grier, a member of BU's 1995 national championship team. Wang has not met Yip yet but is confident that he will at some point.Â
He did, however, get a chance to meet BU's most impressive recent product:Â Macklin Celebrini, the Sharks' new captain at age 20.
"I met Macklin at the Sharks development camp. The way he carried himself on and off the ice, and how he took care of his body, was really impressive."
Wang has a chance to be not only Celebrini's teammate but also the first Chinese-born player to make the NHL.Â
"It'd be the world to me," Wang said. "To be the first player of Chinese nationality to make the National Hockey League would be huge for Chinese hockey, and even for my family. I'm really excited, but I'm trying to take it step by step, not look too far ahead, and just focus on where my feet are."
The BU coaching staff has underscored that message of focusing on the here and now.Â
"Coming in as a big, mobile defenseman, they just want me to settle in to college hockey, let me play my game, and focus on building it bit by bit," Wang said.
So far, so good: Wang clearly had a blast at Saturday's exhibition.Â
"It was amazing. The crowd was great, and the student section was electric, obviously. That's what I expected from college hockey. I've heard from guys I talked to over the summer, and they love college hockey. It's a great win for us, so I'm just happy. I'm excited to see where the season goes."
These new Terriers certainly are far from their original homes, but they seem to be making themselves right at home in Boston.
