Waterloo adds 40-point forward Colin Dustin for 2026-27 USHL season

Waterloo locked in another piece of its 2026-27 forward group when Colin Dustin officially joined the Black Hawks in a confirmed transaction posted July 7 and reflected in a July 8 transfer entry. The move gives Waterloo a 2007-born right-shot winger from Galena, Ohio, who arrives after a 20-goal, 40-point season with the Rochester Jr. Americans in 53 NAHL games.

That production is the clearest reason the Black Hawks targeted him so early. Dustin, listed at 5-foot-11 and 174 pounds, showed a level of offense in Rochester that fits a team looking to add scoring without sacrificing development runway. Neutral Zone’s scouting note on him pointed to a player who can beat defenders one-on-one, create time and space with puck skills and fakes, and still bring a physical edge. For Waterloo, that combination matters because it suggests a winger who can handle junior hockey’s pace now while still being moldable for a bigger role later.

The Black Hawks had already signaled Dustin was on their radar. Waterloo selected him in the third round, 40th overall, in the USHL Phase II Draft in May, and the club later identified him as one of three NAHL regulars it drafted in that class. That kind of double-track interest, draft rights first and roster addition later, gives the Black Hawks a cleaner path to build around players they have tracked through multiple levels.

Dustin also arrives with a firm college timeline. The Ohio AAA Blue Jackets announced his commitment to Niagara University on May 22, and the forward is slated for the Purple Eagles’ 2027-28 NCAA season. That makes him more than a one-year junior stopgap. Waterloo is adding a player already on a known college-hockey path, which usually points to a roster plan built around defined roles, offensive upside and quick adaptation rather than waiting for a longer project to develop.

The transaction fits the broader shape of Waterloo’s summer. The Black Hawks had already said in an April 22 roster-building update that several additions were likely to matter next season, and Dustin now joins that group as a documented part of the 2026-27 picture. Elite Prospects also listed him on Waterloo’s roster page after the move, underscoring that this was not a speculative link but a confirmed piece of the club’s forward pipeline.