Before the 2021-22 season, it was Cameron Wright from Bowling Green. A year later, Tristan Broz from Minnesota and Casey Dornbach from Harvard. This year, it’s Samu Salminen from UConn and Eric Pohlkamp from Bemidji State.

David Carle and the Denver hockey program do not rely heavily on the transfer portal, but the players they bring in usually make an impact.

Wright played in every game and delivered over 30 points during the Pioneers’ 2022 national championship run. And there were Broz’s heroics during last year’s record-breaking title campaign.

As DU heads to St. Louis for the Frozen Four when it will face Western Michigan on Thursday (3 p.m., ESPN2), Salminen and Pohlkamp are looking to become the latest impact transfers to help the Pios, who are in search of their 11th national title.

“It’s been a big honor to have a chance to get inside the team,” Salminen told The Denver Gazette. “The guys have been really good to me from the very first day. (I’m) just trying to be a good teammate, a good guy and fill that role that I was talking with (Carle) about before I got here. Just in general, (I) just give my best every single day for this team.”

Salminen, a junior from Finland, plays a key role as the second-line center alongside talents like Sam Harris, who leads the team with 23 goals as a sophomore, and James Reeder, the most productive freshman with 21 points.

“We’re all different players, but I feel like we (complement) each other really well,” Salminen said. “(Harris) is really hard working, (a) fast kid who has goal-scoring ability and Reeder is probably the smartest guy I’ve ever played hockey with. I’m generally up in the middle and play more of a defensive role and (try) to be good on the (faceoffs). We’ve come along really well outside the rink, too. We’re good friends and I think that helps.”

Pohlkamp leads DU in plus-minus at +31, is second on the team in shot attempts and time on ice and has generally provided the Pios with another big-time scoring weapon alongside Zeev Buium among the defensemen.

“He’s been so big for us,” fellow sophomore defenseman Garrett Brown told The Denver Gazette. “What he can do, not only on the defensive end being a reliable guy that we can send out there in any situation, but also a guy that (when) maybe we need some offense, we can throw him out there and there’s a pretty high chance you’re gonna be able to get something going. What he’s been able to do coming from Bemidji (State) and stepping into this locker room and being a key piece for us on and off the ice has been so impactful.”

Both Salminen and Pohlkamp had previous relationships with Carle and the coaching staff. That gives an edge in the transfer portal if things didn’t work out in previous recruiting cycles.

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It also helps that DU has continued to become the gold standard in college hockey and a destination that all players, not just up-and-coming junior players, want to join.

“Things didn’t really work out (at UConn), in general,” Salimnen said. “I didn’t think it was a really good two years in (my) personal life and hockey stuff. It taught me different things and it was good for my development, but after the season I figured that I should probably tried something else, something new.

“(Fellow Finland native) Miko (Matikka) was having a really good year here and they were successful all year, so talking with (Carle) after the season, it was really obvious that I wanted to come here and take the next step in my game and win another national championship.”

DU was successful before the transfer portal existed and likely would continue to win without it. But it’s another tool that the Pioneers have figured out how to use better than anyone else.

“I think if we’re in a position where we’re having to rebuild our roster through the portal — you’ve seen some college hockey programs have to do that and (some are) being faced with that this spring — that’s a tough spot to be in,” Carle said. “It’s really (about) trying to be thoughtful of who you bring in, knowing how long they’re gonna be here, making sure it lines up with your classes. We’ve tried to use it as an enhancing tool. I thought we did a really good job this past year with Eric and Samu.”

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NCAA Frozen Four

Thursday

Semifinal: Denver vs. Western Michigan, 3 p.m., ESPN2

Semifinal: Penn State vs. Boston University, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2

Saturday

NCAA championship, 5:30 p.m., ESPN2