Juniors Paul LaDue and Luke Johnson, who won a state championship together at Grand Forks Central and a national championship together at UND, will be turning pro together, too.

I’ve confirmed that LaDue has signed his NHL contract with the Los Angeles Kings and that Johnson will soon sign with the Chicago Blackhawks. That means UND will have lost four juniors to pro contracts this offseason. Troy Stecher previously signed with the Vancouver Canucks and Keaton Thompson signed with the Anaheim Ducks. LaDue, Johnson, Stecher and Thompson all lived together.

That leaves Nick Schmaltz as the final player left to make a decision.

Staying: Brock Boeser, Cam Johnson, Tucker Poolman, Gage Ausmus.

Leaving: Troy Stecher, Keaton Thompson, Paul LaDue, Luke Johnson.

Undetermined: Nick Schmaltz.

Obviously, this means UND’s defensive corps will be getting a bit of a makeover. It also means that Poolman’s return is massive for this team, as he will play big minutes in both offensive and defensive roles.

Christian Wolanin showed some elite offensive abilities and will play huge minutes next year, as will Ausmus and Hayden Shaw. Incoming rookie Colton Poolman figures to be the fifth defenseman. The only other guy on the roster right now is Danys Chartrand. UND will have to bring in two defensemen. I’m not sure who they will be. One darkhorse is Dixon Bowen. Although he played forward growing up, he was moved to defenseman last season with Penticton and that could be an option.

Also, if you look at UND’s defensive corps, it is almost entirely made up of left-handed shots. Bowen is a right-handed shot.

2016-17 defensive corps

Tucker Poolman (R)

Gage Ausmus (L)

Christian Wolanin (L)

Hayden Shaw (L)

Colton Poolman (L)

Danys Chartrand (L)

TBD

TBD