UNH Recruits Update: Oct-16-2015

UNH Commit Charlie Kelleher

Player Spotlight - Charlie Kelleher

When Charlie Kelleher first committed to UNH back in August 2012, he hoped to enroll this year and play two seasons with his brother Tyler. Both had starred for Longmeadow High School in Western Massachusetts but they did not play on the same team. After leading the Lancers to the 2010 State Division III Championship in his freshman year, Tyler (DOB: 1/2/1995) left for Deerfield Academy, and subsequently the U.S. National Team Development Program. Charlie (DOB: 2/4/1997) lead Longmeadow to the 2012 Western Mass Division III Title as a freshman and then moved on to play for the Boston Junior Bruins.

In the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, Charlie Kelleher was a top scorer for the Junior Bruins Under-18 team posting a total of 17 goals and 29 assists. He was selected for the 2014 US Premiere Hockey League 18U All Star game and US Hockey Report described him as "the most skilled player on either team, a pure playmaker".

Unfortunately, Charlie Kelleher's development was hampered last season by a severe case of mononucleosis. He had moved up to the Junior Bruins' Premiere team and started the season strong with 8 goals and 13 assists over the first 17 games. That earned him a spot in the 2015 USPHL All Star game. Then, mono kept Kelleher out of the Junior Bruins' lineup for most of November and all of December. When he returned to action in January, his production decreased somewhat to 2 goals and 8 assists over the final 18 regular season games.

With the objective of coming to UNH next season and playing with Tyler during his senior season, Charlie Kelleher is returning to form. After missing the first 5 games of the 2015-16 season with a minor injury, Kelleher has scored at nearly a 2 point per game rate over the last 5 Junior Bruins' games.

Last Saturday, Kelleher assisted on the team's first goal then scored the second and fifth goals in a 6-3 win over the Rochester Junior Americans. On Wednesday, Charlie potted the Junior Bruins' second and third goals in a 4-0 shutout of the Okanagan European Eagles. So far, the Junior Bruins have won eight games and lost two and are tied for second place in the USPHL.

NOTE
The statistics for the recruits, presented in the following table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2016 Recruits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2016. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ The year the recruit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the recruit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The recruit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2016 Recruits
Liam Blackburn  (F)	West Kelowna Warriors	BCHL	11	5	7	12	18
Justin Fregona  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	10	6	3	9	13
Patrick Grasso  (F)	Des Moines Bucs	USHL	5	3	0	3	0
Charlie Kelleher  (F)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	5	4	4	8	2
Nick Nonis  (D)	Powell River Kings	BCHL	13	0	2	2	14
Brendan van Riemsdyk   (F)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	10	4	5	9	4
Mike Robinson  (G)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	-	-	-	-	-
2016 or '17 Recruits
Joe Cipollone  (F)	Vernon Vipers	BCHL	12	4	3	7	2
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	5	0	2	2	0
Aaron O'Neill  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	-	-	-	-	-
2017 or '18 Recruits
Eric Esposito  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	4	0	1	1	12
Jason O'Neill  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	2	0	0	0	0

News & Notes

United States Hockey League:

~ 2016 Commit Patrick Grasso has gotten off to a hot start with the Des Moines Buccaneers. The 5'7", 160 lbs. forward has potted 3 goals over the first five games of the USHL season. Grasso is currently tied for 3rd in USHL goal scoring. Grasso scored 9 goals in each of his first two seasons with the Buccaneers.

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 2016 UNH Commit Liam Blackburn added a goal to his scoring totals last week in a 3-4 loss to the Penticton Vees. Blackburn is currently tied for 11th in BCHL scoring.

~ Last Friday, BCHL rookie Joe Cipollone earned the #1 Star as the Vernon Vipers downed the Nanaimo Clippers 6-2. Cipollone scored the Vipers' second goal and added an assist. Cipollone is on target to enroll at UNH either next fall or the fall of 2017.

~ 2017 or '18 UNH Commit Jason O'Neill officially joined the Langley Rivermen last week and played in two of their games.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ Last week, 2016 UNH Commit Brendan van Riemsdyk added 2 assists to his scoring totals. He is currently tied for 5th in USPHL goal scoring (4 goals) and tied for 8th in total points (9 pts).