UNH Recruits Update: Feb-26-2016

2016 UNH Commit
Patrick Grasso

Player Spotlight - Patrick Grasso

When 2016 UNH commit Patrick Grasso was just 16 years old, he was called up from his Midget Minor team (Omaha AAA Lancers 16U) to play 17 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers and scored 3 goals and 2 assists. Now, in his third full season with the Bucs, Grasso has become Des Moines go-to guy. The 5'7", 160 lbs. speedster is the Buccaneers' Captain, starting right-winger, point-man on their first power play unit, and fore-checker on the first penalty kill unit.

As Des Moines battles for the final playoff berth in the USHL Western Conference - they are 5 points behind the Sioux Falls Stampede - Patrick Grasso is heating up. Last Saturday, Grasso scored the first hat trick of his USHL career as the Bucs downed the Chicago Steel 4-2. Here's a video of the hat trick including the short-handed, game-winning goal:



With 17 games remaining in the USHL season, Grasso has already exceeded his goal-scoring totals from last season. He has more goals (14 vs 9), power play goals (3 vs 1) and game-winning goals (2 vs 0). Last November, Patrick signed his National Letter of Intent to come to UNH next fall. He turns 20 years old on May 29th.

Playoff Season

The two primary junior hockey leagues in the Northeastern United States - the United States Premiere Hockey League and the Eastern Hockey League - began their 2016 Playoffs this week. UNH Commits Brendan van Riemsdyk, Liam Darcy and the Islanders Hockey Club won the USPHL Premiere Division regular season title. They earned home-ice for the best-of-three quarterfinals series which begins today. The IHC will face off against the Rochester Junior Americans at the Gallant Arena on the campus of Merrimack College.

Charlie Kelleher, Mike Robinson, and the Junior Bruins finished the USPHL regular season in third place. They also earned home-ice in the playoff quarterfinal series which begins tomorrow. The Junior Bruins will play the Philadelphia Flyers at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, MA.

UNH commit Corson Green and the Northern Cyclones finished the regular season of the EHL Premiere Division in third place in the Northern Conference. They face the Valley Junior Warriors in the best-of-three opening round beginning tomorrow. The first game will be played at the Cyclones Arena in Hudson, NH.

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:
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ 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	57	25	45	70	49
Justin Fregona*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	51	24	25	49	45
Patrick Grasso*  (F)	Des Moines Bucs	USHL	43	14	15	29	12
Charlie Kelleher  (F)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	38	17	36	53	40
		Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Nonis  (D)	Powell River Kings	BCHL	52	2	8	10	58
Brendan van Riemsdyk*   (F)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	43	20	27	47	50
		Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	12	7W	5L	2.97	.910
		Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-
Anthony Wyse  (D)	Lincoln Stars	USHL	46	2	14	16	18
2016 or '17 Recruits
Joe Cipollone  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	36	6	3	9	12
	Vernon Vipers	BCHL	12	4	3	7	2
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	34	2	11	13	2
		Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-
Aaron O'Neill  (F)	Chilliwack Chiefs	BCHL	17	4	0	4	6
	Tri-City Storm	USHL	8	0	1	1	2
2017 Recruits
Eric MacAdams  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	36	5	8	13	70
2017 or '18 Recruits
Eric Esposito  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	38	1	6	7	32
Jason O'Neill  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	47	7	14	21	2
2018 Recruits
Corson Green  (D)	Northern Cyclones	EHL	16	3	6	9	20
		Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-
	Northern Cyclones 16U	EJEPL	17	12	5	17	55
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ UNH commit Charlie Kelleher finished the USPHL regular season with 17 goals and 36 goals in 38 games. He tied for 5th in USPHL scoring and power play assists and he had the 5th most assists in the league. In the 2014-15 season, Kelleher tallied 11 goals and 21 assists in 37 regular season games.

~ 2016 UNH Commit Brendan van Riemsdyk finished the USPHL regular season with 20 goals and 27 assists in 43 games. BvR tied for 9th in USPHL scoring, tied for 5th in goals, and tied for 11th in assists. He was a top performer on the power play. BvR tied for 1st in USPHL power play goals (8), tied for 3rd in power play assists (11), and was second in total power play points (19). Last season, BvR posted 29 goals, 12 assists, 8 power play goals, and 5 power play assists in 47 regular season games.

~ In his first season in the USPHL Premiere Division, defenseman Liam Darcy, who just turned 19 years old, tallied 2 goals and 11 assists in 34 games. Over the final four games of the Islanders Hockey Club's regular season, Darcy scored a goal and 2 power play assists. He tied for fourth in the league in power play assists (10).