COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey announced today the 23-player roster for its 2023 U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team which will compete at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Břeclav, Czechia, and Trenčín, Slovakia, July 31 – August 5.
All U.S. games in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup will be televised live by NHL Network. Team USA opens play in the tournament on July 31 against Czechia at 1 p.m. ET.
2023 U.S. Under-18 Select Team Roster
The 2023 U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team features nine players who were members of the U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team that competed in the 2022 Five Nations Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo. Seventeen of the team members are currently committed to play college hockey.
Luke Strand (Eau Claire, Wis./Minnesota State University) will serve as head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team, joined by assistant coaches Karl Goehring (Apple Valley, Minn./ University of North Dakota), Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.), Jimmy Mullin (Philadelphia, Pa./USA Hockey), and Nick Oliver(Wannaska, Minn./University of Wisconsin). General manager Marc Boxer (Hancock, Mich./USA Hockey) is joined by player personnel staff Troy Ward (Saint Paul, Minn./Minnesota State University) and Tony Gasparini(Lakeville, Minn./Sioux Falls Stampede). Parker Metz(Fargo, N.D.) will serve as team leader with team physician Dr. Anthony Abene(Los Gatos, Calif.), athletic trainer Jacqui Gutierrez (Charleston, S.C.) and equipment managers Ross Chicantek(Portage, Mich./Western Michigan University) and Andrew Zagorianakos (Providence County, R.I./Providence College).
NOTES: The U.S. will compete alongside Czechia, Germany, and Sweden in Group A at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Canada, Finland, Slovakia, and Switzerland will compete in Group B … Team USA has finished in the top three of the Hlinka tournament 13 times since the tournament began in 1991. The U.S. won the tournament in 2003, has finished second on nine occasions (1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2016) and third three times (1991, 1995, 2014).
OXFORD, Ohio – Following a week of high-powered hockey at the 2023 USA Hockey Girls Under-18 Select Camp, 34 under-18 players are set to advance to the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival, where they will look to earn a spot on the 2023 U.S. Under-18 Select Team.
The players, 18 forwards, 11 defenders and five goaltenders, were selected based on their performances over the course of the 2023 USA Hockey-BioSteel National Player Development Camps, which took place at the Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio in June and July.
It has been defined as a happening that is “dream-like.” It is also the term that Shelly Picard and Chelsea Walkland used several times as they explained what it felt like being a part of the Buffalo Sabres development camp coaching staff.
Picard and Walkland were two of the three guest coaches (the other being Troy Thibodeau, an assistant coach at Dartmouth College) the Sabres chose to be a part of the four-day development camp held at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
(Walkland on ice)
The opportunity to coach at the development camp was made possible for the guest coaches by the NHL Coaches’ Association as part of its initiative to increase diversity in the league.
Picard and Walkland also heard about the opportunity after participating in the NHLCA’s Female Coaches Development Program, which aims to support female coaches in several areas including skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking, and career advancement opportunities.
(Picard on ice)
Picard is an assistant coach with the Long Island University Women’s Hockey Team. She also played defense for the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team, winning a silver medal in the Olympics and played on four IIHF World Championship teams.
Picard also played college hockey for the Harvard Crimson and pro hockey for the Metropolitan Riveters. She also served as deputy commissioner of the National Women’s Hockey League from 2019 to 2021.
Walkland, a native of Pittsford, is currently as assistant coach for the Colgate University women’s ice hockey team and has helped lead the team to three straight ECAC Hockey Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. She was recently named head coach of the U.S. Collegiate Select Team.
She played her college hockey at Robert Morris. Prior to her arrival at Colgate Walkland was an assistant coach with RIT, Oswego and Robert Morris.
(Walkland behind the RIT bench)
Interestingly, none of the guest coaches were selected based solely on their credentials. Sabres head coach, Don Granato, explained.
“The NHL Coaches Association had contacted us during the hockey season and wanted to know if we were interested,” recalled Granato. “We wanted to know what the process was.
“We wanted to be a part of the process to the point where we wanted to select who was coming to the camp. Candidates actually had to go through an interview process with us.
“We wanted to make sure the candidates were excited about the opportunity to be in Buffalo with the Sabres. We didn’t want coaches simply assigned to us.
“I think the coaches we selected did an exceptional job and fit in quite well.”
It was the phone call from Sabres director of development, Adam Mair, to Walkland that caught the Colgate assistant hockey coach by surprise. She wondered why Mair would be calling her.
“To me, this whole thing has been surreal,” said Walkland. “I grew up in Rochester, New York.
“My family are Sabres fans as well as Rochester Amerks fans. So to be invited to this organization and see just how first class and how welcoming it’s been, I’d say pretty surreal.
“I keep having to pinch myself when I kind of look around it and take it all in.”
Picard totally agreed with Walkland’s comments.
“’Surreal’ is the perfect word,” added Picard. “It could be at breakfast, or just chat hockey or dinner.
(Picard during her playing days)
‘Just sitting in a room, seeing all the people and listening to what they have to say. Just talking to these hockey people. It’s just been an incredible experience.
“After I first heard about this opportunity, I thought no way, I wasn’t expecting anything from it whatsoever.
“To get to be a part of this, I’ve learned so much. And having little girls in the stands watching us out there on the ice coaching, that can be powerful as well.”
Walkland summed up the situation.
“It was a two-way street,” concluded Walkland. “We learned a lot on the ice, as well as off of it.
“We were treated very well here. We were all treated with respect.
“It’s just so evident that everyone that’s part of this program just loves hockey so much. We love being on the ice and I think it comes through with the energy that the players are bringing and everything like that.
“We have learned a lot that we will be able to take back to our respective hockey teams. This has been a great experience for all of us.”
(Photos by Janet Schultz Photography, NY Hockey OnLine)
Buffalo selected seven more times on day two of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville and added four defensemen, two forwards and a goaltender to their prospect pipeline.
Swedish center Anton Wahlberg was their first choice in the second round 39th overall. The 6’3”, 192 lb. just turned 18-year-old had 27 points in 32 games with Malmo and added 16 points over 21 games competing in international tournaments last season.
“It was amazing; everything you work for, every single day your whole life you dream about this and to hear your name is so cool,” Wahlberg said. “I’m a two-way forward/center—I can play both positions—I carry the puck with pace and speed and a bit crafty.
“I have one more year in Sweden and then talk with the Sabres and see what the best option is for me.”
Buffalo selected defensemen in the second, third, sixth and seventh rounds—all with size.
Right-shot Maxim Strbak went with their second, second rounder 45th overall. The 6’2, 198 lb. came to North America to play for Sioux Falls in the USHL where he tallied 18 points over 46 games and is committed to Michigan State this fall.
“So much emotion right now; it’s an incredible time and dream come true for sure,” Strbak said. “I try to be a two-way defenseman but more of a shut-down defenseman right now. I like to kill plays and gain momentum from that and if there’s a chance to support the rush then I always happy to do so.”
Local product and right shot Gavin McCarthy (Clarence Center) was taken in the third round. The 6’1”, 185 lb. Boston University-bound blueliner was with Muskegon for his second season and doubled his production from year one with 27 points in 42 games after a knee injury in December.
“It’s definitely amazing going back to my home rink and I’m super-excited to earn every opportunity I can get there,” McCarthy said. “This whole year has been a long year leading up to the draft and I hadn’t really thought about where I’d go, but the Sabres picked me and…I couldn’t be more happy going back home.”
“I came up through the Jr. Sabres organization, worked with the Academy of Hockey a lot, worked with Matt Ellis and Tim Kennedy a ton, so a ton of familiar faces.”
“If he doesn’t miss six weeks (with a serious knee injury, there is no way he falls to us in the third round,” Director of Amateur Scouting Jerry Forton said about McCarthy.
Sean Keohane and German Norwin Panocha were their final two selections. Keohane, from Dexter Prep in Massachusetts, is already 6’4” and 194 lb. and is headed to Tri-City in the USHL this fall and then Notre Dame in 2024. Panocha stands 6’1” and 185 lb. Playing against some two years older, he racked up 22 points in 34 games with Eisbarren Juniors Berlin U20 last season and is schedule to join the highest men’s league team this fall.
6’4”, 207 lb. winger Ethan Miedema of Kingston in the OHL was their fourth-round choice. Traded from Windsor midyear, he combined for 52 points in 68 games last season.
“I had a good interview with Buffalo at the Combine and just so excited—I have no words,” Miedema said. “Buffalo is only three hours from my actual home, so it’s one of the closest teams in the NHL, so it’s cool being close to home. I was lucky to play in the OHL as a 16-year-old and to gain some experience.”
In the fifth round, the Sabres tapped the championship Seattle Thunderbirds organization for the third time in two drafts in selecting 6’0”, 174 lb. goaltender Shane Ratzlaff, who split time in net last season, but finished 25-8 with a 2.15 GAA and .918 save percentage.
“To hear your name called is something you’ll only experience once in a lifetime, so I think it’s awesome,” Ratzlaff said. “Coming so close last year losing in the finals and then winning it all this year is just an awesome feeling, and to go through it with those guys (past and future teammates Matt Savoie and Zach Benson) is just awesome.”
“We were very excited how it fell in the second round…we did try to move (up) a couple of times to get players that we had ranked a little bit higher, and we ended up getting the player we wanted without giving up additional draft capital which was nice,” Forton said after the draft.
“There were a couple of instances where we had players side by side and we gave preference for the D-man.
“We want really good, competitive hockey players that we think are going to help us be a great team and a lot of these kids that we identified also happened to be pretty big, so that’s just the way it fell,” Buffalo General Manager Kevyn Adams said. “As you get later in the draft, you’re talking about kids who are finding their game, strengths, weaknesses but what are those strengths, and can it turn into something that you can build around. All in all, this is a draft that is going to take some time to play itself out, but I can tell you we have excited amateur scouts right now.”
For the past eight years NYHOL has been covering the NWHL/PHF. We have seen changes in leadership, constant player changes and movements, changes in venues, a pandemic that caused all of us to rethink how to do things safely while maintaining normalcy and along the way we have made new friends and renewed old acquaintances.
Just when we thought we were going to have a regular 9th season including re-signings, a draft and possible some new coaching appointments, the Premier Hockey Federation is done!
Left in limbo are players and staff along with their fans. Contrary to some comments I have seen, there are lots of people who go to the games, lots of people who care about the game and see it as more than “skating with sticks.”
On Wednesday, June 29 the Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises bought the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF, formerly NWHL). They were already involved with the Professional Womens Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). Players were informed through a Zoom video call on Thursday, June 30, with the new owners and both league’s commissioners, according to Olivia Zafuto, a player for the Boston Pride and native of Niagara Falls, NY. On July 10 all PHF staff were sent letters releasing them from their contracts.
NYHOL has been following Zafuto’s hockey career since her playing days with the Niagara Junior Purple Eagles, Nichols School and Colgate University. We talked to her following her being drafted by the Buffalo Beauts. While she never signed a Beauts contract, she opted to play in the PWHPA with the Buffalo and then Minnesota contingents. When no playing opportunities rose, she headed off for two years in Sweden where she had a good experience playing internationally.
This past season she was brought into the PHF by the Boston Pride and played the 2022-23 season and then just weeks ago signed a $63,000 contract with the Metropolitan Riveters. That contract was voided effective July 1. When that was announced Zafuto had no idea what was happening next.
She explained that there were differences in the leagues. The PHF was a professional hockey league but there was no collective bargaining agreement and issues with salaries, playing venues, medical insurance and professionalism.
“In theory, both leagues wanted the same things,” explained Zafuto. “The PHF was beginning to discuss a CBA.”
The PWHPA wasn’t really a league but more a tournament type situation were there were four teams that would get together on weekends and play games and in some cities held actual practices as a team. There was no championship as there was with the PHF.
“We all wanted the same thing in the end, but it looked different,” Zafuto explained.
“I chose to come back to the PHF because I wanted a professional league with an income,” said Zafuto of her decision to play in Boston.
“I think the PHF did an incredible job in the beginning and the girls fought for the things they wanted and needed,” said Zafuto.
She went on to explain that this past season she could see the changes in that the rinks were better, teams had their own locker rooms and the working conditions were better than ever. This was due to the work of the players and staff.
Zafuto’s stress level is that no one has a contract, there are no teams in place, no cities have been named, no one is guaranteed a spot, there is a huge pool of players and many will not make a team; thus players really cannot plan what their lives will be like this fall.
The new league isn’t scheduled to hit the ice until January 1, 2024.
“I did hear there may be a draft, but as far as we know nothing will be announced until August,” said Zafuto.
“The unknown is the most stressful,” she continued.
“I believe that as long as everything goes as they say it will, this will be good for hockey,” said Zafuto.
Zafuto has been given as much as most media in that the CBA has listed a severance for players who have signed contracts, there are a few details on stipends for moving expenses, a food allowance and medical coverage.
However, she did say that the CBA is full of language that is very legalese and somewhat hard to comprehend and a little open ended.
For right now this enthusiastic hockey player plans to tryout for the new league, which is unnamed at the present time; continue her training in Boston and wait for the information to come.
“I’m looking ahead,” said Zafuto. “This is what everyone wanted, a single league playing together. I see it as a first step in a sustainable league. Then they need to build the fan base back. This is just a first step.”
What We Know:
Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises bought out the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly National Womens Hockey League.
This was not a merger, but a buyout of the PHF.
The PHF doesn’t not exist so neither does it’s teams: Buffalo Beauts, Toronto Six, Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan (formerly New York) Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps and Montreal Force.
The Professional Womens Hockey Player Association is a union, not a league; no players are signed for 2023-24 so there are no teams currently in that league.
A new league, with new name and new teams will be launched with a target date of January 1, 2024.
All players contracts are void and everyone will have to tryout for a spot on one of the new teams.
The current plan calls for 3 teams in the US and 3 teams in Canada.
All PHF staff were released on July 10. It is unknown whether they will be encouraged to reapply or brought into the new league.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement with the PWHPA was ratified and runs through 2031. It calls for a preseason to begin November 1; 28 players per team; calls for 6 teams, spells out salaries and future increases through the duration of the CBA; lists a compensation schedule for League and Team awards and championships; provides a housing stipend, moving expenses and per diem meals while traveling and also a relocation reimbursement.
The new league leadership includes Jayna Hefford, advisor to the PWHPA and Reagan Carey, who served as the PHF commissioner.
There will be a Player Evaluation Advisory Committee formed to assist in the player selection process.
History:
The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), now Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was formed in March 2015 by Dani Rylan (Kearney) as the first professional women’s hockey league in the United States and Canada. They opened with four league-owned teams including the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale. As the league moved forward they added the Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force and Toronto Six. They also rebranded themselves as the Premier Hockey Federation in 2021. They vie for the Isobel Cup as their championship trophy.
In May 2019 the players formed the Professional Womens Hockey Player Association (PWHPA) to push for a league that provided financial and infrastructure resources to players, health insurance, and supported training programs for young female players. Their mission, as stated on their website, was:
To promote, advance, and support a single, viable professional women’s ice hockey league in North America that showcases the greatest product of women’s professional ice hockey in the world.
To provide a united voice to players advocating for the creation of a sustainable professional league.
To coordinate training needs and programming opportunities during the current season.
To collaborate with like-minded organizations to make hockey more inclusive for women today and for the girls of the next generation.
In April 2022 talks between the PHF and PWHPA broke and players from the PWHPA went on their own to play showcase games across the US and Canada.
(Rochester, NY) – Rochester Americans General Manager Jason Karmanos announced that Nathan Paetsch and Vinny Prospal have been named assistant coaches on the staff of head coach Seth Appert.
“I’m excited to add Nathan and Vinny to our coaching staff,” said Appert. “The experience they bring will be invaluable for our players in their development. The character and competitiveness they displayed in their playing careers will serve us well as they become role models for our prospects. I’m looking forward to having them add to the culture we are creating in Rochester.”
An introductory media Zoom call with Amerks head coach Seth Appert and assistant coachesNathan Paetsch and Vinny Prospal is scheduled for 10a.m. today. Information on how to access the call will be distributed a half hour prior.
Paetsch moves behind the bench after spending the last two seasons as a development coach for the Buffalo Sabres. In that role, he worked closely with the organization’s top defensive prospects, both in Buffalo and Rochester, playing a key role in their overall development process.
“I thank the Buffalo Sabres organization, most importantly Terry Pegula, Kevyn Adams, Jason Karmanos and Adam Mair, for giving me the opportunity to begin my coaching in career in player development,” said Paetsch. “I thoroughly enjoyed every minute working with our staff and prospects. Fortunately, transitioning into this role will allow me to continue those relationships and my passion for developing the organization’s future.”
“It’s also no secret how important the Sabres and Amerks are to my family and I,” continued Patesch. “I was fortunate enough to be in the organization as a player for 11 years and two more as a development coach. The opportunity to be back on the Amerks bench in a different role and work with a coach as experienced as Seth is both exciting and special and I’m looking forward to learning each day. We will work tirelessly to bring another Calder Cup back to Rochester while helping our young prospects grow with the ultimate goal of delivering a Stanley Cup to Buffalo.”
A two-time Calder Cup winner, Paetsch announced his retirement in December 2020, ending an illustrious 17-year playing career with nearly 900 games in the National Hockey League, American Hockey League and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany.
A native of LeRoy, Sask., Paetsch appeared in 258 career games with the Amerks over parts of seven seasons in the red, white and blue, recording 100 points on 23 goals and 77 assists. His seven seasons in Rochester trail only Darryl Sly for the most by a defenseman in the 67-year history of the franchise and he’s one of only 20 defensemen all-time with at least 250 games as an Amerk. He also added four points (2+2) in 26 playoff appearances for Rochester, leading the Amerks to the postseason in each of his first two years with the team.
It was off the ice, however, where Paetsch’s contributions were the most impactful. In his seven seasons with the team, he was unanimously named the winner of the organization’s McCulloch Trophy for his commitment to the Rochester community on five different occasions, the most by any player. He also remains the only Amerk in franchise history to receive the award, coinciding with being named Rochester’s AHL Man of the Year for his community service, in three straight years from 2018-2020.
Paetsch is also a four-time recipient of his team’s AHL Man of the Year award as well as a three-time nominee for the league’s Fred T. Hunt Award, presented annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey.
A seventh-round selection (202nd overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in 2003, Paetsch joined the Amerks as a rookie for the 2003-04 season following five years of junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Warriors. The following year, he and the Amerks enjoyed a record-setting season for the most points and longest home win streak while winning the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as regular season champions thanks to an AHL-best 51-19-4-6 record. Paetsch would be the only Amerk to appear in all 80 games that season.
His best season as an Amerk came during the 2005-06 campaign when he posted career-highs in goals (11), assists (39) and points (50) to lead all Rochester defensemen and finish ninth in scoring among all AHL blueliners. For his efforts, he would be named Amerks MVP, becoming just the third defenseman in team history to earn the honors.
That year would also see Paetsch make his NHL debut for the Buffalo Sabres, paving way for a full-time spot in the NHL with the Sabres and later the Columbus Blue Jackets over the next four seasons.
Paetsch played an integral role during Buffalo’s record-setting season in 2006-07, his first at the NHL level, recording a career-high 24 points (2+22) in 63 games. He helped the Sabres set franchise records for the most consecutive wins and road wins to begin a season while also leading Buffalo to the 50-win mark for just the second time in franchise history. The Sabres also tied the franchise mark for the most points in a season on their way to capturing their first President’s Trophy as regular season champions and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Paetsch would play parts of the next three seasons with the Sabres and Blue Jackets, totaling 42 points (7+35) over 167 career NHL games.
Following a brief return to Rochester in 2010-11 and a season abroad in Germany, Paetsch spent five seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he led the team to five straight playoff appearances and two Calder Cup championships while also serving as team captain during the 2016-17 campaign.
He rejoined the Amerks for his third stint in Rochester prior to the 2017-18 season, playing out the final 43 games of his career with 14 points (2+2) over his final three seasons.
In his AHL career, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound blueliner amassed 259 points (52+207) over 651 career AHL games with Rochester, Grand Rapids and Syracuse, while also adding 34 points (5+29) in 104 playoff contests. During the 2016-17 season with Grand Rapids, he became just the 18th player in AHL history to play in 100 or more Calder Cup Playoff games.
He departed the organization ranked 25th in scoring among all-time defensemen in franchise history, joining the likes of Amerks Hall of Famers Jim Wiemer and Randy Cunneyworth to begin and end their playing careers in Rochester.
Prospal joins the Amerks following three seasons (2018-2021) as head coach of HC Ceske Budejovice of the Czech Extraliga, with whom he began his playing career and had two subsequent stints with in 2004-05 and again in 2012-13. He led the team to back-to-back league championships at the second-tier level (Czech Republic Hockey League, Chance Liga) in 2018-19 and 2019-20, going 63-18-5 during the regular season, and was named the League’s Coach of the Year following the 2020-21 campaign.
“I’m very excited and privileged to join Seth’s staff and take the next step in my coaching career with a such a storied organization like the Rochester Americans,” said Prospal. “I’m very much looking forward to getting started and eager for the opportunity to work alongside both Seth and Nathan in developing future talent for the Buffalo Sabres.”
Prospal’s professional coaching experience also includes a two-year stint as an assistant coach of the Czech national team from 2016-2018.
A native of Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Prospal amassed 765 points on 255 goals and 510 assists over a 20-year playing career highlighted by 1,108 NHL games with Columbus, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Florida, Ottawa and Philadelphia. He also added 35 points (10+25) in 65 career playoff appearances.
A third-round (71st overall) selection of Philadelphia Flyers in 1993, Prospal was a five-time 20-goal scorer and reached the 50-point on nine occasions, including six straight seasons with 50 or more points from 2001-02 to 2007-08.
He posted his best season during the 2005-06 campaign when he set career-highs in goals (25), assists (55) and points (80) while appearing in 81 games for the Lightning. He finished second on the team in scoring that year and ranked fifth in goals.
Prospal, who scored 34 game-winning goals over his illustrious career, played his final NHL season in 2012-13 when he led the Blue Jackets in scoring with 30 points in the lockout-shortened campaign. He announced his retirement on Jan. 28, 2014, ranking fourth in points scored, third in assists and sixth in games played among all Czech Republic born players in NHL history. He spent the remainder of the 2013-14 season as a scout with the New York Rangers.
Prospal’s professional playing career began with four seasons in the American Hockey League, including three with the Hershey Bears. He totaled 131 points (42+89) in 192 career games for the Bears before recording a career-best 95 points on 32 goals and 63 assists in 63 games with the Philadelphia Phantoms during the 1996-97 campaign, his final in the AHL. He finished the season tied for third in the league in scoring while earning First Team AHL All-Star honors and representing the Phantoms at the 1997 AHL All-Star Classic.
Internationally, in addition to his NHL accomplishments, Prospal helped the Czech Republic win the gold medal twice at the World Championship (2000, 2005), which included scoring the game-winning goal in the gold medal game in 2005. He was also a part of the Olympic bronze medal team (2006) in Torino, Italy. He represented his country on two occasions in the World Junior Championships (1993-94, 1994-95), once in the World Cup of Hockey (2004) and was a three-time participant in the World Championship (2000, 2004, 2005). He was named to his country’s 1998 Olympic team that won the Gold Medal in Nagano, but was unable to participate due to injury.
As a coach, he was behind the bench for the Czech Republic at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Rising Junior Sullivan Mack Tabbed Big Red’s Selection for Commissioner’s List
ITHACA, N.Y. — A total of 20 Cornell men’s ice hockey student-athletes were named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team, the conference office announced.
To be eligible to be named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team, student-athletes must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.00, or have accumulated a cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 over the last three semesters.
Senior defensemen Sebastian Dirven and Travis Mitchell, as well as senior forwards Jack Malone and Zach Tupker, and junior forward Gabriel Seger were all named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team for the fourth time in their collegiate careers. Seger earned his first three All-Academic selections while enrolled at Union College.
Sophomore forward Sullivan Mack was named to the Commissioner’s List as the Cornell’s top scholar-athlete.
Cornell Student-Athletes Named to ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team
(Rochester, NY) – Rochester Americans General Manager Jason Karmanos announced that the team has signed forward Graham Slaggert to a one-year American Hockey League contract for the 2023-24 season.
Slaggert, 24, joins the organization after spending parts of the last two seasons with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) from 2021-23. In 65 career games with Toronto, he totaled six goals and four assists for 10 points during the regular season while also adding a pair of assists in seven postseason contests.
During his first full regular season in the American Hockey League in 2022-23, he finished third and fifth in goals (6) and points (10), respectively, amongst all Marlies first-year players. In seven contests in the Calder Cup Playoffs, he added two assists, which ranked third among team rookies.
Prior to turning pro, he completed a four-year collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, where he registered 27 goals and 42 assists in 143 games for the Irish. He also helped the program capture the NCAA Big Ten Tournament championship in 2018-19.
As a senior with the Irish, he established a career-high in goals (12) while posting his second straight 25-point season. In addition to serving as team captain, he was named to the NCAA Albany All-Regional and Academic All-Big-Ten Teams.
Before his time at Notre Dame, the South Bend, Indiana, native, totaled 19 points in 61 career games for the United States National Team Development program, including one season under current Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato.
After helping the U-18 team win a goal medal in 2016-17, he spent the following the year with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, recording 37 points (17+20) in 53 games.
(Rochester, NY) – Rochester Americans General Manager Jason Karmanos announced that the team has re-signed forwards Mason Jobst and Brendan Warren and goaltender Michael Houser all to one-year American Hockey League contracts for the 2023-24 season.
Jobst, 29, returns to the organization after spending the 2022-23 campaign in Rochester, where he produced career-highs in every offensive category in a personal-best 61 games. The Speedway, Indiana, native finished the regular season seventh in goals (14), and eighth in both assists (24) and points (38) amongst all Amerks.
Following the regular season, Jobst topped all Rochester skaters with 10 assists and finished tied for first with 13 points in 14 Calder Cup Playoff contests during the Amerks’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
In 161 career AHL games with Rochester, San Jose, Bridgeport and Binghamton, Jobst, who is entering his fifth professional season, has totaled 29 goals and 47 assists for 76 points. Additionally, Jobst has added 13 points on three goals and 10 assists in 14 playoff contests.
Prior to turning pro, he completed a four-year collegiate career at Ohio State University (NCAA), where he registered 164 points (69+95) in 150 games with the Buckeyes from 2015-2019 and was a three-time All-Big Ten selection. A two-time team captain, Jobst led Ohio State to its first Big Ten regular-season championship as a senior on his way to earning First Team All-Big Ten honors. Additionally, he was named a Second-Team All-American and the recipient of the 2019 Big Ten Medal of Honor as well as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Warren, 26, returns to the organization for his third season after establishing career-highs in both assists (4) and points (7) in 43 games with the Amerks in 2022-23. In addition to recording three goals in the regular season, Warren produced five points (1+4) in eight Calder Cup Playoff contests during the Amerks’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
In 104 career games in the AHL, all with Rochester, the 6-foot-0, 192-pound forward has registered 19 points (11+8) while also totaling 50 points (23+27) in 91 contests with the Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL).
As a rookie with Jacksonville in 2020-21, Warren represented the Icemen at the 2020 ECHL All-Star Classic. He finished tied for team-lead in goals (14) among all first-year skaters and second in points (28) and fourth in assists (14) in 47 games.
Prior to turning pro, the Carleton, Mich., native completed a four-year collegiate career at the University of Michigan (NCAA), where he registered 45 points (18+27) in 149 games with the Wolverines from 2015-2019. As a freshman, Warren helped the maize and blue claim the Big-10 Conference Championship while skating in all 38 games and registering 17 points (5+12).
Warren was originally drafted in third round (81st overall) by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Houser, 30, returns to the organization for his fourth season dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season. In 36 career appearances with Rochester, Houser boasts a 15-15-2 record, a 2.79 goals-against average and one shutout.
The 30-year-old netminder was originally signed to an AHL contract with Rochester to begin the season, but he finished the campaign on an NHL contract with the Buffalo Sabres for the third consecutive year.
Houser was named the team’s Unsung Hero after finishing the 2022-23 campaign with a 9-8-1 mark and 2.80 goals-against average in 21 games with the Amerks. In addition to recording his first shutout with the Amerks, he also tallied an assist, both of which were his first since the 2014-15 campaign.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, the 11-year pro netminder has compiled a 47-41-7 record in 109 games as well as four shutouts at the AHL level with Rochester, Tucson, Cleveland, Ontario, and San Antonio. Additionally, he boasts a 133-66-23 record and 11 shutouts in 228 career ECHL games between the Cincinnati Cyclones, Manchester Monarchs and Fort Wayne Komets.
Houser is also 4-2-0 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in six career NHL appearances with the Sabres.
During the 2020-21 season, Houser made his NHL debut with a 34-save effort on May 3 to earn his first career victory. He was just the seventh goaltender in Sabres history to record a win in his first start. Two nights following his victory over the New York Islanders, Houser won his second straight contest as he stopped 45 shots he faced against the Islanders, becoming the first Buffalo goaltender to win his first two NHL starts since Mika Noronen did so on Oct. 5 and 7, 2000.
Houser’s best year came in 2018-19 when he showed a 29-7-5 record in 41 appearances while backstopping Cincinnati to an ECHL-best 51-13-5-3 mark during the regular season. He finished the season ranked second in the ECHL with a 2.13 goals-against average and fourth with a .922 save percentage, while his 29 wins tied for most in the league. Following the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, Houser was named the ECHL Goaltender of the Year and was selected to the ECHL First All-Star Team.
Prior to turning pro, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound goaltender spent three seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. In 141 games for the Knights, he showed a record of 93-38-7 along with seven shutouts, a 2.90 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. In his final season in 2011-12, Houser was named the OHL Goaltender of the Year and the recipient of the Red Tilson Trophy as the league’s Most Outstanding Player before earning a selection to the CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team.
One day after the New York Islanders did not have a first-round draft pick—traded to Vancouver in the Bo Horvat deal—they were able to add five new players to their future on day two of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville.
They selected forwards with their first three picks led by 6’3”, 212 lb. center Danny Nelson in the second round. A U.S. National Team Development Program product and Notre Dame bound, Nelson had 21 goals and 47 points over 62 games last season and added seven points in seven games with the U-18’s championship.
(Danny Nelson)
“I was put in a role where that (defense) was a big emphasis where I needed to lock that down, but I felt like once I locked that part of my game down, my offense really flourished as well,” Nelson said.
Finnish left-wing Jesse Nurmi was their fourth-round selection. Standing 5’11” and 168 lb. he 50 points in 41 games as 17-year-old with the U-20 team SM-sarja and was a point-per-game player for Team Finland at the World Junior18 tournament.
(Jesse Nurmi)
“Watching all the time NHL every day, always and seeing the finals and thinking that one day it’s going to come and today, dream come true—it’s so amazing,” Nurmi said. He is committed to play in Finland for two more seasons and models his game after Sebastien Aho and Patrick Laine.
The Islanders tapped the Quebec Major Junior League for their fifth-round selection in 6’1”, 190 lb. 20-year-old center Justin Gill from Sherbrooke. He had a monster offensive season with 44 goals and 93 points in 68 games.
(Justin Gill)
“I’m kind of like a J.T. Miller—a big, strong power forward that can bring a lot of skills and also a very high IQ,” Gill said. “I also like to take care of my d-zone first and then step up in the offensive zone.”
New York selected blueliners with their final two selections in Zachary Schulz in the sixth round and Dennis Good Bogg in the seventh.
Schulz is a USNTDP stay-at-home defenseman at 6’1”, 197 lb. and is headed to the University of Wisconsin this fall. He netted ten points over 52 games and was a +24.
(Zachary Schultz)
“It’s unbelievable—it’s been a long day, but to hear my name finally called by such a great organization is just so surreal; it’s everything you worked for, and I couldn’t be happier,” Schulz said.
“I’m pretty much a stay-at-home defenseman. I can provide a little offense, but I like to play hard, physical and play against those top guys and shut them down.”
Good Bogg is a 6’2”, 201 lb. 19-year-old Swedish defender who tallied 28 points in 39 games with J20 Nationell.
24th OJHL member club will join the league for the 2023-24 season
Mississauga, ON – The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) announced that the Niagara Falls Canucks have been approved as a 2023-24 OJHL expansion team to begin play in the league next season.
In 2010, the OJHL Board of Governors passed a motion to undertake an extensive contraction program to decrease the number of teams within the league from 37 to 24. Through various processes, the league actually contracted to 22 teams, which allowed for the future addition of two additional teams to bring the total number of teams to 24.
After a two-year expansion process, the league now has those 24 franchises with the addition of two new franchises, the Leamington Flyers and Niagara Falls Junior Canucks. Leamington was announced May 17.
“The Niagara Region is a tremendous hockey community and the OJHL is extremely excited to be bringing Junior A hockey to the city of Niagara Falls,” said OJHL Commissioner Marty Savoy. “The ownership of Brandon Boone and Frank Pietrangelo expressed not only their desire to join the OJHL but more importantly their commitment to bring Junior A hockey to Niagara Falls. That commitment to the city and Junior hockey will be a tremendous asset to all players, fans, sponsors who are part of the Junior Canucks Organization.”
The Canucks will play in the league’s 12-team West Conference. They were selected through an extensive process led by the OJHL Expansion Committee.
Canucks co-owners Frank Pietrangelo and Brandon Boone are excited to be welcomed into the OJHL family.
“The Niagara Falls Canucks are proud to be joining the OJHL,” said Pietrangelo. “This is great news for the Canucks organization, the City of Niagara Falls, and also for junior hockey in the Niagara Region, to be able to showcase our players’ talents at the highest level!”
“We could not be happier for our fans, sponsors and volunteers to be bringing Junior A hockey back to Niagara Falls for the first time since the Niagara Falls Flyers joined the OHL in 1980,” Boone said. “More importantly, we could not be happier for the players of the Niagara Region, who will no longer have to leave home as teenagers to play at the highest amateur level.”
“The OJHL is the largest Junior A hockey league in Canada, and truly the ‘League of Choice,’ generating dozens of NCAA, U SPORTS, CHL and professional commitments on an annual basis – including 30 alumni on NHL rosters at the beginning of the 2022-2023 season, leading the nine league CJHL in that category. We are humbled to be joining the OJHL and giving those associated with the Niagara Falls Jr. Canucks this golden opportunity. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”
The Canucks’ home base has plenty to offer.
“The Niagara Region, and the City of Niagara Falls in particular, is a world class destination,” Boone told the OJHL, “with dozens of world-class attractions, 12 golf courses and 66 wineries, not to mention the Falls themselves, that over 12 million tourists visit each year. The Gale Centre is a world-class facility, boasting four NHL-sized rinks, including the Canucks’ home rink, which has a seating and standing capacity of almost 2,300. We are proud to add the OJHL to the long list of esteemed users of the Gale Centre in its relatively short history, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Team Canada World Junior Championship team, Canadian Women’s Hockey League, Team Canada Women’s World Championship team and, coming this fall, the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling.”
Boone praised the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“We wish to thank the GOJHL for their partnership over the years, he said. “The Niagara Falls Jr. Canucks were a Junior B team for 52 years, from 1971 until our recent reclassification to Junior A, winning Sutherland Cup championships in 1996 and 1998. Our alumni include two Stanley Cup winners and several others who have made NHL appearances or had NHL careers. We will strive to remain one of the most respected, stable and storied franchises in the OHA, within the OJHL. We wish the GOJHL nothing but the best.”
Cornell incoming freshmen forward Ryan Walsh of Macedon was selected by the Boston Bruins in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft in Nashville while three other New York college-bound players were also chosen including fellow Big Red teammates in forward Jonathan Castagna and defenseman Hoyt Stanley and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) rising freshman Sutter Muzzatti.
Walsh, a 6’1’ centerman who played some of his developmental hockey with the Rochester Coalition, Rochester Selects and Buffalo Regals organizations, had an impressive 2022-23 campaign with Cedar Rapids of the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he led the RoughRiders in all scoring categories: goals (30), assists (49), points (79) and was named to the USHL’s First All-Star Team.
His 49 helpers were tied for the most in the USHL, while his 79 points—which broke the previous franchise record which stood for 16 seasons—was the second-most in the league.
Castagna was taken by Arizona in the third round with the 70th overall pick. Over the last two seasons at St. Andrew’s College in his native Ontario, Castagna registered 92 points (39 goals, 53 assists) in 85 career games.
Stanley, a right-shot defenseman, was the 108th overall selection by Ottawa in the fourth round. The 6-foot-3 blueliner spent the previous two seasons with Victoria in the BCHL, where he had 38 points (four goals, 34 assists) in 53 games last year and being named to the BCHL Top Prospects Game while earning a spot on the league’s All-Rookie Team.
Muzzatti was drafted in the fifth round as a 20-year-old, 143rd overall by the Nashville Predators. He led the Engineers in assists and was third in points as a freshman playing in 35 games with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points.
