The times, they are a-changing. No need to ask Bob Dylan, just ask Colorado College hockey coach Kris Mayotte and senior goaltender Kaidan Mbereko.

The duo represented CC at the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s virtual media days on Wednesday.

Three years ago, Mbereko was part of the incoming 8-man freshman class of 2026. The goalie out of Aspen helped lead a Tigers team that closed the regular season on a 13-game winless streak to the NCHC championship final after besting Western Michigan and rival Denver in the conference tournament.

The following season, Mbereko was even better, earning first-team All-American and Mike Richter award finalist accolades as the Tigers earned their first 20-win season in more than decade.

Fast forward to today and the CC goaltender is one of two seniors on the team. The other is Ryan Alexander, a transfer from Arizona State this offseason. Mbereko is the last member of the class of 2026, which also featured players such as Noah Laba, Gleb Veremyev, and Ethan Straky, which helped turn around a previously struggling Tigers team.

“You’re right, it definitely is a little weird being that I’m the only left of my class coming in. I’m obviously super, super proud of the guys that have moved on to go pro and still keeping track with them and even with the guys that have just moved on to other schools,” Mbereko said. “Some of those guys were some of my best friends. Again, it’s a little sad not seeing them every day and living with them and having laughs. But I’ll cherish those moments for the rest of my life.”

Though change is inevitable, it isn’t always negative. Bolstered by a new rule to the NCAA allowing Canadian Hockey League players to skate at the collegiate level for the first time this season, CC has amassed a consensus top-10 recruiting class per multiple college hockey outlets, the team says. Several of the newcomers are from the Western Hockey League one of the three leagues that make up the CHL.

Mayotte praised the newcomers’ ability to apply what they’ve learned on film or a drill to live five-on-five scenarios quickly, saying the group has a great hockey sense.

One of the ways in which today’s CC Tigers are different from when Mayotte first took over in 2021, is new recruits can now expect to be part of an already talented roster instead of having to bring a lot of the talent with them.

“When we took over, when we recruited Noah Laba, he was our first-line center from day 1 and we relied on him to do everything. We don’t have to do that anymore,” Mayotte said. “We have really good players, Bret Link, (Gavin) Lindberg, (Owen) Beckner, (Klavs) Veinbergs that now (incoming players) Tomas (Mrsic) and Wilson (Björck) and (Brandon) Lisowsky and (Brayden) Schuurman and (Connor) Hvidston they can find their way and be a piece to a line rather than having to carry the line. So it takes a little bit of the pressure off.”

Mayotte proud to see former players finish degrees

Laba and Veremyev are already making a splash at the professional level. The former Tigers played against each other on Thursday as the New York Islanders faced the New York Rangers in a presesaon game.

Laba, who was drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round in 2022, earned an assist while his old CC linemate Veremyev scored twice, helping the Islanders complete the comeback for a 5-4 win. Both players signed with their respective New York teams following the end of CC’s 2024-2025 season.

While Mayotte is likely proud of their efforts on Thursday, he’s very proud of the fact that both will complete the CC degrees before the year’s end.

Their educational success embodies the Tigers coach’s view of what it means to join the program.

“I do believe in trying to avoid being a transactional program. One, it’s why I got into this business, is you want to invest in people, and you want to invest in their futures. That’s at the core of me,” Mayotte said. “It is very important to me that the guys who come here get CC degrees and they invest in being at Colorado College. And a great example of that is last year where Gleb Veremyev and Noah Laba decide to come back and they signed early but they’re going to finish their degrees by Christmas this year. That is still out there, that is still reality. You can still do it.”

Mbereko looks to bounce back by focusing on now

For all the accolades Mbereko he has received throughout his time at CC, last season was unquestionably a down year for him from a statistical standpoint.

Through 31 games last season, Mbereko had 2.65 goals against average, up from his freshman mark of 2.30 and 2.40 his sophomore season. He also posted a .905 save percentage down from .925 his freshman season and .915 his second year. Mbereko played 37 games in his sophomore campaign and 32 his rookie year.

In discussing a way to rebound from last season, Mbereko mentioned being focused on the present.

“Biggest thing is just taking each day as a new opportunity and learning from your mistakes and just trying to be in the moment each and every single day,” he said. “Last year is last year but today is today and I want to put my mind and focus into how I can be my best version today and learn from little things that have happened throughout the day.”

Mayotte believes addition of coach Pooley will make a difference on special teams

One area CC has struggled with during Mayotte’s tenure is the team’s power play percentage. The Tigers have consistently ranked near the bottom of the NCHC when it comes to scoring on the man advantage.

Wednesday, Mayotte said the hiring of new associate head coach Paul Pooley could make a big difference. Pooley previously coached at Notre Dame, which had a top-20 power play unit last season and was a top-15 power-play team 2017-2019.

“I think that we certainly have the talent but we’ve had the talent before. I think our biggest addition this summer has been the addition of coach Pooley and his experience in having high-level power plays and penalty kills. He’s been around it, he’s had a ton of success. He’s already brought a confidence, a belief from our guys,” Mayotte said. “We can talk about the addition of the recruiting class but I think adding Paul Pooley to our staff is probably the biggest one that this program has been able to do here in recent memory.”