Freshman versus Graduate students

We seem to have traded having any sort of a useful freshman class for instead utilizing grad transfers and our own graduates extending their time here.
I am curious as to some of the reasons for this model of roster construction.

I know Jackson appreciates the experience, as well as the obvious physical maturity in guys who are 23, 24 or even 25 years old versus freshmen who may only be 18 or 19 when the first puck drops. I don't know if his philosophy was always looking in this direction because over the years there has been great debate among the coaching staffs of NCAA teams about the notion of 24 and 25 year olds competing against much younger players. Riley Sheahan wasn't even old enough to vote when he first took the ice for Notre Dame. I wonder about the viability of it though and also wonder if it was done to plug holes in recruiting. Looking around the rest of the conference and the NCAA in general and you see huge contributions from freshmen for almost every team.

Our freshman class has seen the ice for a total of 18 games and managed 2 total points among the three who have skated (looking at skaters not goalies). 5 of the other 6 teams in the conference all have multiple freshmen among their top-10 in scoring and a couple have leading scorers who are freshmen. Only Penn State does not, but their freshman have played twice as many games as Notre Dame's and have contributed 14 points. Michigan State has turned around years of struggling with 2 freshmen leading them in scoring. The 6 teams in the top-10 in KRACH other than Big 10 teams all have freshmen in their top-10 in scoring as well.

One of the things about college sports that I find meaningful was watching players grow and mature into the game, seeing how they turned raw talent into something more, watching them mentor the younger players. If we are not getting these players as freshman, we don't get their leadership as juniors and seniors. Every bit as much as players like Jake Evans, Bobby Nardella and Jordan Gross or going back further to players like Erik Condra, T.J. Jindra, Mark Van GUilder or Justin White meant on the ice, they meant that much and more on the bench and in the locker room and during practices.

Chase Primeau is having a decent year for Notre Dame and he's been a pretty good addition to the squad, but that's all it is going to be. I don't know if relying on guys coming to Notre Dame for 1 year as 25 year olds is really the path to championships.