UNH Recruits Update: Happy New Year

2015 or '16 UNH Recruit Patrick Grasso 
(Photo: Des Moines Buccaneers)

Player of the Week - Patrick Grasso

While most UNH recruits were enjoying an extended break over the holiday season, Patrick Grasso and his Omaha AAA Lancer U-16 team were tearing it up at the Texas Event of the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL). The four-day tournament ran from Dec. 27-30 at arenas in Frisco and McKinney, Texas. The NAPHL U-16 league consists of 18 top midget minor teams from California to New Jersey, Michigan to Georgia, and numerous stops in between. The NAPHL teams are divided into three divisions with the Omaha AAA Lancers playing in the White Division.

In the Texas Tournament, Omaha played four of its divisional rivals: the Anaheim Jr. Ducks, Wenatchee (Washington State) Wild, St. Louis Selects, and Lansing Capitals. The Lancers won all four games and remained the only undefeated team in the NAPHL. Patrick Grasso scored the game-winning goal against Anaheim, added a goal and 3 assists against Wenatchee, posted 2 goals and an assist against St. Louis, and potted 2 goals, including the game winner, against Lansing.

So far this season, Grasso has played in all 17 of the Omaha U-16's games and he leads the team in goals (13) and assists (17). He is tied for 4th in goals scored in the NAPHL and tied for 5th in scoring. Grasso has split his season between the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL and the Omaha U-16 team. In 10 games with the USHL club, Grasso has 1 assist. He is the youngest player on the Buccaneers and one of the youngest in a league of mostly 18 and 19-year-old players. He is on target to enroll at UNH in either the fall of 2015 or 2016.

Latest Statistics

NOTE: The statistics for the recruits, presented in the table, are categorized by the year the player and UNH coaches have targeted for enrollment in UNH. For example, the "2013 Recruits" have a target of the Fall of 2013 to begin playing for UNH.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2013 Recruits
Matias Cleland (D)	Waterloo	USHL	3	0	2	2	7
	Omaha Lancers	USHL	26	4	14	18	18
Tyler Kelleher (F)	USA U18 Team	USHL	14	7	7	14	8
	USA U18 Team	NCAA	13	6	4	10	2
Dylan Maller (D)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	29	0	1	1	24
Jordan Masters (F)	Jersey Hitmen	EJHL	8	2	2	4	23
Andrew Poturalski (F)	Cedar Rapids	USHL	20	4	7	11	17
2013 or '14 Recruit
Michael McNicholas (F)	Nanaimo Clippers	BCHL	32	10	22	32	6
2014 Recruits
Dylan Chanter (D)	Merritt Cents	BCHL	32	6	7	13	19
Adam Clark (G)	Salmon Arm	BCHL	22	11W	9L	2.42	.928
Shane Eiserman (F)	USA U18 Team	USHL	12	4	3	7	23
	USA U18 Team	NCAA	13	3	0	3	6
Cam Marks (D)	Coquitlam Express	BCHL	19	2	3	5	4
2014 or '15 Recruit
Jason Kalinowski (F)	Salisbury Prep	NEPSHC	6	3	8	11	-
2015 Recruits
Charlie Kelleher (F)	Junior Bruins U18	USEHL	38	9	10	19	8
Joseph Masonius (D)	Jersey Hitmen	EmpJHL	12	2	9	11	18
2015 or '16 Recruit
Liam Darcy (D)	Berwick Academy	NEPSHC	9	0	5	5	-
Patrick Grasso (F)	Des Moines	USHL	10	0	1	1	0
	Omaha Lancers U16	NAPHL	17	13	17	30	8
Brendan van Riemsdyk (F)	Jersey Devils U16	AYHL	20	12	10	22	50
	Christian Brothers	Jersey Prep	9	3	12	15	-

News & Notes

United States Hockey League:

~ On December 29th, I watched an online game between the Omaha Lancers and Tri-City Storm which included the two defensemen - Matias Cleland and Dylan Maller - who are slated to enroll at UNH next fall. Cleland, a left-shot, played the left side on Omaha's 2nd defensive pairing. He also played on the first power play unit for the Lancers. In this game, Cleland showed poise in all three zones. He blocked a number of shots throughout the game. He was effective at moving the puck out of the defensive end either with a first pass or by skating the puck out. Late in the game as Omaha attempted to tie the game, Cleland successfully kept the puck from leaving the offensive end on a number of occasions. Cleland's assist on the Lancers' second goal helped tie the game.

Dylan Maller, also a left-shot, played a solid game and was more of a stay-at-home defenseman than Cleland. Maller scored his first assist of the season on Tri-City's first goal of the game. He also fired two shots on goal. Tri-City defeated Omaha 3-2.