Preview of UNH Freshman Defenders With Mike Souza

UNH Associate Head Coach
Mike Souza

"I'm excited to get going, to get the (freshmen) guys up to speed with their teammates. Hopefully hit the ground running when we play Lowell. I think that the guys are excited just in talking with them. This coaching staff's excited. Hopefully we'll have better results this year than we had last year." Mike Souza, UNH Associate Head Coach

The student-athletes who joined the UNH men's hockey team this season form one of the most talented and interesting freshman classes in recent years. Three players - defensemen Max Gildon (pronounced Gil-DON) and Benton Maass (pronounced Mass), and goalie Mike Robinson - are NHL draft picks. That's the most NHL draftees since the 2003-04 freshman class when John Doherty, Brett Hemingway, Dan Travis, and Daniel Winnik matriculated.

Max Gildon was selected 66th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. Only 3 former UNH defensemen have been drafted higher - Adrien Plavsic (30th, 1988), Rod Langway (36th, 1977), and John Doherty (57th, 2003). Interestingly, former UNH defenseman Brett Pesce, who recently signed a multi-million dollar contract, with the Carolina Hurricanes, was also drafted 66th overall in 2013. Incoming goalie Mike Robinson was the 86th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. That's higher than any former UNH goalie.

Neutral Zone, a top amateur hockey scouting service, ranked the 2017-18 UNH recruiting class as the 8th highest in all of Division I hockey utilizing their measurement of overall quality of recruits. Neutral Zone rated the UNH frosh an average score of 3.93 Stars on a 5-Star scale - a higher overall quality score than all Hockey East programs except Boston University (4.22) and Boston College (4.05). Two UNH freshmen were awarded ratings of 4 stars or above - Max Gildon (4.75 Stars) and Charlie Kelleher (4.25 Stars). On their weighted, algorithm point system, Neutral Zone rated UNH as the 14th best recruiting class in Division I.

The 2021 class is noteworthy for other reasons. Both Gildon and Maass are 18-year-old, "true" freshmen. While it's relatively common for schools such as Boston University (7), Boston College (3), Michigan (3) and Minnesota (4) to have multiple 18-year-olds, this is unusual for UNH. Since 2000, UNH has had two 18-year-old freshmen only three times (Kolanas, Anderson 02-03; JvR, Vanek 07-08; Eiserman, Foegele 14-15).

The 2017-18 season also features the continuation of UNH family traditions. Charlie Kelleher is the younger brother of All-American and Hobey Baker finalist Tyler Kelleher. The Kellehers are the fourth set of brothers to play for UNH since 1998. They join Darren and Jeff Haydar, Colin and Brett Hemingway, and James, Trevor and Brendan van Riemsdyk.

Finally, the 2017-18 freshman class bares the distinct mark of the Mike Souza-Glenn Stewart recruiting era. Associate Head Coach Souza, who will succeed Head Coach Dick Umile after this season, joined the UNH staff in August, 2015. Associate Head Coach Stewart came on board in August, 2014. Of the seven-member freshmen class announced in June, five verbally committed to UNH after Souza and Stewart returned to their alma mater.

Prior to the preseason game against St. Francis Xavier, I sat down with Coach Mike Souza to discuss each player in the freshman class. This article presents a feature section for the four incoming freshman defenders - goalie Mike Robinson and defensemen Max Gildon, Benton Maass, and James Miller. Each section provides background information including a link (highlighted in orange) to the player's profile and statistics from eliteprospects.com, a link to an article announcing the player's verbal commitment to UNH, and video highlights from the player's 2016-17 season. Coach Souza's thoughts and observations are also included. A preview of the freshman forwards will be posted soon.

MIKE ROBINSON

Mike Robinson Goalie, 6'4", 195 lbs. Left-glove Hometown: Bedford, New Hampshire DOB: 3-27-1997 Turned 20 in March Last Team: Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL) Commit to UNH: August, 2014 at Age 17 years, 5 months. 2015 NHL Draft: 3rd Round, 86th Overall by San Jose Sharks Neutral Zone Rating: 3.75 Stars

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Mike Robinson, the goalie in the incoming class, is 6'4", 195 lbs., and a native of New Hampshire, from Bedford, just down the road a ways. He turned 20 in March. He'll be the third member of the freshman class who has been drafted by an NHL team. He got drafted two summers ago in June 2015 – a third round pick by the San Jose Sharks, 86 overall. It turns out he's the highest NHL drafted goalie to ever come to UNH. Brian Foster was drafted in the fifth round at 161, and there have been some others. I think Kevin Reagan was more like the 7th Round.

Robinson verbally committed in August 2014, before you were here. He was 17 and a half at the time.

Coach Mike Souza:: I think Scott (Borek) and Dick (Umile) did a good job recruiting him. Being a New Hampshire kid, I don't want to speak for Michael, but I think he's probably a kid that grew up wanting to come to UNH, and I think they knew that. I think Michael's going to do a good job for us. Obviously he's big, he's technical ... I just love the fact that he's a New Hampshire kid. It's a great story. Obviously we have four goalies on the roster this year. To sit here and say there's only one net. We have a pretty good one coming back in Danny Tirone. Mike has great physical tools. He handles the puck well. He takes up a lot of the net. There's a lot to be excited about about him.

Mike Lowry: I'm not comparing him to the existing goalies but in terms of his athleticism, quickness, where does he fall on the continuum?

Coach Souza: That's a good question. That's hard. I don't know cause he hasn't been an NCAA goalie yet. That's the hardest thing. Ty Conklin ended up here. He transferred from the University of Alaska at Anchorage after a year. He turned out to be one of the best goalies that ever played here. You recruit kids that you think will bring value to your program both on and off the ice. That's our goal. Hopefully they pick this place for similar reasons. I think that's what unifies the group.

ML: I guess the way I would look at it is when you see Tirone playing in junior hockey - obviously the quickness was going to be his ticket. If he was going to succeed at the NCAA level it was because of incredible quickness and athleticism.

Souza: I think there's a lot of factors. Mike was here working out this summer on his own. Yeah, there's a lot of factors like the size, the strength, how do the guys adjust to the speed, the change in speeds. The kids shoot better, they're more accurate here. It's so hard. Honestly, I have no idea to be quite honest. You've seen it happen where the returning All American doesn't get the job. Not here but at other schools. Didn't that happen here a couple years ago with the Di Girolamo losing the starting job? You just never know. I will say there's a lot to be excited about with Mike.

ML: Fair enough. Robinson had an unfortunate setback when he gets drafted by San Jose and the month later he goes out to their development camp for the first time and he injures his wrist, requires surgery. He missed five months of hockey in the '15-'16 season. Then he gets drafted by Dubuque last spring. It was in the second round of the USHL Draft.

Souza: Jason Lammers (Dubuque GM/Head Coach) was there. Jason obviously knew him from being in the area (former UMass-Lowell Associate Coach).

ML: He only stuck with Dubuque for a couple of games and then they worked out a trade with the Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL). Did the injury slow down his development?

Souza: I don't know. I'd rather not comment on that. I don't know. We were just happy that he was going to be in a situation where he was going to play and be the starting goaltender. Everybody wants to be in the USHL but again there's only one net in the USHL too. For me, from our standpoint, it's important that our guys play no matter where they are.

ML: Right. There have been some very good goalies come out of the NAHL too.

Souza: Yeah.

ML: He faced a lot of shots too.

Souza: Yeah, yeah. Every night I looked in the box score. It'd be 48, it was some nights like 48, 46 shots on goal. For whatever reason, it didn't work out in Dubuque. It's fine. If he'd hung with Dubuque and was a great goaltender for them, that's fine but he still got a lot of playing time in Springfield. At the end of the day it all worked out for him.

MAX GILDON

Max Gildon (Gil-DON) Defenseman, 6'3", 191 lbs. Shoots Left Hometown: Plano, Texas (Outside Dallas) DOB: 5-17-1999 Turned 18 in May, True Freshman Last Team: US National Team Development Program United States Hockey League Commit to UNH: March, 2017 at Age 17 years, 10 months. 2017 NHL Draft: 3rd Round, 66th Overall by Florida Panthers Neutral Zone Rating: 4.75 Stars

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Max Gildon verbally committed to UNH in March and he was 17 years, ten months at that point. As you probably know, he originally committed to Wisconsin back in Februrary, 2016 and decided to de-commit in December. Did you have an interest in Gildon before he committed to Wisconsin and then just picked up the trail after he de-committed, or did you first become interested after he became available in December?

Coach Mike Souza: I've known Max's name for a long time, like many in the hockey community have. He was committed to Wisconsin soon after I came to UNH so it wasn't something that was probable until he decommitted. Upon that happening, obviously we knew the type of player he was, and thought he could help us. We were able to get him on a visit and attend a home game at the Whitt with his Dad. He was able to come up with his father and experience the school, community and hockey culture first hand. UNH sells itself and those who visit certainly make our job easier. I am certain this was the case for Max and his Dad and I think he’ll develop into a really good player for us. We're excited to have him.

Mike Lowry: When you got a chance to see him play and evaluate him, what were some of the skills that really jumped out that you think might help this team?

Coach Souza: For his size, he has really strong skating ability, and he has a big time shot, which I think was evident in the U18 World Junior Championship with some of the goals he scored. So those are a couple of attributes that jumped off the page for us.

ML: I watched some of the Junior Championship on TV. I think Team USA had so many fast forwards that it looked like one of Gildon’s primary roles was to make that outlet pass and get the forwards going.

Souza: Sure, put it in the hands of the forwards. That should be all defensemen's primary job.

ML: He seems to be quite good with stretch passes and getting it out of the zone.

Souza: His skating ability is probably his biggest asset and we're excited to have him.

ML: I also noticed in the power play he would play in the umbrella and he wouldn't be on the point.

Souza: Yeah. He plays the elbow. . It's because of his shooting ability.

ML: And so a lot of the goals seem to come from that face-off circle near the half-wall.

Souza: Yeah. He definitely has a good shot. So hopefully we'll be seeing that shot used.

ML: I think of the three defensemen that are coming in (Gildon, Maass, and Miller) he struck me as being the most physical in terms of being able to stop the opponent in the defensive end ... using his strength and reach to break up the opponent’s possession.

Souza: Yeah. I mean all three guys are good sized defensemen, so I mean obviously it's a different level when you come here, so to speculate and say one is better than the other is hard to do. The three of them were here this summer, they took a class. They worked out with our strength coach, Paul Chapman, and had a great summer. So we're excited. I mean it's a clean slate for all of them. So I think that the three defensemen all skate well and they're all big kids. That's a good combination for a defensemen. I think they cover a lot of area and it should be great competition for all of them this year. So I'm excited to see them.

ML: In terms of Max, what sort of roles do you think he might, if things go extremely well this year, what kind of roles might he jump into?

Souza: That's really hard, Mike to say. In a perfect world, you'd see some of those same things you saw at the National Team. I mean playing all situations would be great, and that's our hope is that he can come, and we expect him to come in and contribute, and hopefully contribute in all situations. But I don't want to put any undue pressure on him either.

ML: Right. That's fair.

BENTON MAASS

Benton Maass (Mass) Defenseman, 6'2", 195 lbs. Shoots Right Hometown: Elk River, Minnesota (Outside Minneapolis) DOB: 11-25-1998 Turned 18 in November, True Freshman Last Team: Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL), Elk River HS Commit to UNH: January, 2017 at Age 17 years, 10 months. 2017 NHL Draft: 6th Round, 182nd Overall by Washington Capitals Neutral Zone Rating: 3.75 Stars

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Benton Maass is another big guy, 6'2", and 195, a right shot defense man from Elk River, Minnesota, which is outside of Minneapolis. He too turned 18 in November so he and Gildon will be your two true freshmen. This is the first time in 30 years that UNH has had two defensemen who are true freshmen and NHL draft picks.

Coach Mike Souza:: Is it really?

Mike Lowry: Yeah. Someone familiar with UNH hockey in the 1980’s pointed that out for me. In the 1987-88 season, defensemen Kevin Dean (5th Round Pick, New Jersey Devils) and Adrien Plavsic (2nd Round, St. Louis Blues) were true freshmen.

Coach Souza: I know both guys. Adrien Plavsic, I played with in Switzerland.

ML: Oh, did you really?

Souza: So I played with Adrien only a few games in Basal, Switzerland. Kevin Dean is one my best friends. So those guys never played for Charlie Holt. Kevin was drafted by New Jersey, and Adrien was drafted by Vancouver I think.

ML: So I think it was Coach Kullen who was primarily responsible for recruiting them.

Souza: Right. So it's been a while. Both of those guys had great careers. Kevin obviously won the Stanley Cup. He's a dear, dear friend of mine.

ML: Yeah. So that's unusual. Of course, you had two forwards back when Warren Foegele and Shane Eiserman were in the same year. But it's rare to have two (true freshmen drafted by NHL teams) in the same year.

Souza: I guess it's a little bit more the norm to have forwards.

ML: So Maass verbally committed in January. He had just turned 18. Now, I was looking back to other players that have played for UNH, and it’s been ten years since there was a native of Minnesota who’s played for UNH.

Souza: No, not many, right?

ML: It was Shawn Vinz who graduated in I think 2008 who was the last native of Minnesota to play for UNH on a regular basis. (Tyler Scott from Hutchison, MN played in goal for one game in 2011). So is this a signal that Minnesota may become a place where you're going to return and taking a look?

Souza: I think Minnesota has a lot of talented players, and I think that there's only so many teams out in Minnesota and the Midwest, and do I believe we're going to spend a ton of time up there? No. But I think that it's definitely a place that we'll do more recruiting moving forward. There's a lot of attributes of the kids out there that translate well to UNH. Benton, in particular, is a great student. He's a kid that we really think is developing nicely and will have a bright career with us here at UNH.

His was kind of a unique situation. He went out to Fairbanks (Alaska) in the fall came back to Elk River, went back to Fairbanks, so I think that's a testament to his willingness to want to be a hockey player, and academically a really strong student, so there was a lot of things for us to like about his game, a big kid, moves the puck well. We're really excited about him.

ML: Did you first see him when he played for Fairbanks?

Souza: Yeah. Coach Stewart saw him in the NAHL Showcase. Glenn had first seen him before I did. We always try to cross, and sometimes you can't. So Glenn obviously did a great job of identifying Benton Maass. And so we had him on a visit, and he's a fabulous kid, and we're really looking forward to having a hand in his development.

ML: As you mentioned, Maass is a pretty agile skater. I’ve watched a few of his games with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs online. He sort of reminds me a little bit of Trevor van Riemsdyk in the sense that he's pretty good at carrying the puck out of the zone and he’s a really smart passer of the puck. On the power play, too, he's real mobile in the zone and gets to the net, and a lot of his goals that he scored on the power play were within the face-off circles.

Souza: Yeah.

ML: So he likes to use his speed to sort of get down in towards the net on the power play.

Souza: Yeah. He's obviously an intelligent player and he's got good offensive instincts. I think he moves the puck well and skates well for a kid his size. So, again, all the three defense men have a lot of similar attributes, and that's probably how we ended up recruiting them. But, yeah. He's a good sized kid who can skate, and he's a really good kid. Like I said, he was out here this summer as well. He had a great month out here. We're really excited about him coming in.

ML: In terms of best case scenario his freshman year in terms of his role, if he like excels, what would your hope or expectation be?

Souza: Yeah. I think it's unfair to put, quite honestly, like I think it's unfair to say for any kid, hey, we expect this kid to come in here and score ten goals, or we come in there and start getting him to play 25 minutes. It's a huge jump for any player to come from junior hockey or high school hockey to Hockey East. As a coaching staff, you hope for the moon, and we hope to give every one of our players every opportunity to excel, and like I said before, put them in a situation that their best attributes come out. Hopefully that makes for a very competitive environment, and we feel that Benton could show well, and the sky is the limit, but we hope that for all our players. I mean it's not just hyperbole, like it's hard to honestly sit here and say, "Hey, this guy is going to play on the first power play, this guy is going to play in the second power play."

ML: Oh, sure, right. Yeah. That makes sense.

Souza: In a perfect world we'd have 20 All-Americans. So the best thing I can say about Benton and any of the freshmen is that we think that they're all going to contribute, and that was our hope. How much is up to them.

JAMES MILLER

James Miller Defenseman, 6'2", 190 lbs. Shoots Left Hometown: Spruce Grove, Alberta (Suburb of Edmonton) DOB: 2-20-1998 Turned 19 in February Last Team: Penticton Vees British Columbia Hockey League Commit to UNH: May, 2016 at Age 18 years, 3 months. Neutral Zone Rating: 3.75 Stars

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): James Miller, the third defenseman in the freshman class, verbally committed to UNH in May, 2016 at age 18 years, 3 months. At the time, he played for the Olds Grizzlys in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). Last season, he played for the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League. Miller mentioned in an article by Allen Lessels that he first drew your attention at the AJHL Showcase.

Coach Mike Souza:: Yeah. So I think Glenn (Stewart) first saw him there. Later in the process, after we had made official contact with Miller, we contacted a former UNH player familiar with the hockey scene in Alberta. It was nice to have a UNH guy out there that we could call and say "What kind of kid is that?" and he gave James rave reviews, and that means a lot. He said , "Hey, this kid is a great kid," and you do your due diligence and when you commit to these kids obviously it's not just what you see on the ice, it's all encompassing.

Mike Lowry: You have mentioned that all three incoming defensemen are good sized and skate well. Are there other strengths that you wanted to mention about James?

Coach Souza: Yeah. James, again, he's another big kid, long, lanky body, pretty competitive kid, has a good shot, really good guy, who I think he'll fit into our culture very well here. He, too, was out here this summer for five weeks, which was huge, took a class, did well. So we're excited about him, too.

ML: He reminds me a little bit about Eric Knodel. Do you remember him?

Souza: I do. He has a good shot

ML: In terms of his stride.

Souza: Yeah, yeah, similar skater. I do remember Knodel because he was drafted by Toronto. My best friend in the business, John Lilley (Director of United States Scouting), works for Toronto.

ML: So I think UNH fans will notice a similarity in terms of Miller - he gets up and down the ice pretty well. But, as you say, he's sort of lanky, and he's got a pretty big shot, too. Maybe not as big as Knodel at this stage, but it's still a good one.

Souza: Yeah. Knodel had a big shot, right?

ML: Yeah, a boomer.

Kohei Sato's Long Journey From Tokyo to UNH

Kohei Sato
UNH Freshman Forward

"An intriguing prospect because of the speed he could bring to a line up." Neutral Zone

Kohei Sato (pronounced KO-hey SAH-Toe), a 6'1", 185 lbs., left-shot forward from Nishitokyo, Japan, verbally committed to UNH in April. Last season, at the age of 20, Sato suddenly attracted the attention of NCAA recruiters. In October, he was called up by the Northeast Generals in the North American Hockey League, the only Tier II junior hockey league in the United States. The Generals play at the New England Sports Village in Hanover, Massachusetts. In his first 37 games, Sato tallied 11 goals and 18 assists and earned an invite to the 2017 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament in late February.

Over 220 NHL and NCAA scouts attended the NAHL Top Prospects games in Plymouth, Michigan. Among them were scouts from Neutral Zone** who identified Sato as a top uncommitted prospect and provided this combined assessment:

"The Japan native sticks out like a sore thumb on the ice with his explosive speed. He is both quick and fast. Looks like he is shot out of a cannon when he takes off. Showed skill and the ability to work. Dangerous on the rush with his speed and ability to attack defenders. An intriguing prospect because of the speed he could bring to a line up.

Sato was the fastest player here. His speed is elite. He was in constant motion which made him very tough to cover. His passing and puck skills have improved since we saw him last and he was able to play fast with the puck most of the time. His compete level was high. He only knows one speed (fast) and that does hurt him at times as he skates himself into trouble. Overall, he was impressive and despite only scoring one goal earned his grade (i.e., 'A')."

Rating - 3 1/2 out of 5 Stars. ** Reprinted by permission of Brendan Collins, Director of Scouting at Neutral Zone.

Here are some video highlights of Kohei Sato's performance at the Top Prospects Tournament:



Sato finished the 2016-17 NAHL season with 14 goals and 22 assists in 48 games. He was a prime player on the Generals' power play scoring 5 goals and 5 assists on the man advantage. On April 4th, the day of his final game, he committed to the University of New Hampshire. Kohei Sato was born in Nishitokyo Japan, a suburb of Tokyo. At age 12 he embarked on a remarkable journey to pursue his dream of playing high-level hockey. Over the next 8 years, he would live and play hockey in Quebec, Ontario, Iowa, Massachusetts, and finally Durham, NH. The story is best told in Kohei's own words so here is my interview with him:

Mike Lowry ("C-H-C"): Congratulations on your commitment to play for the University of New Hampshire. What are the main reasons you chose UNH?

Kohei Sato: Thank you. The main reason why I chose UNH was I absolutely fell in love with the campus and facilities that UNH offers.



Mike Lowry: What other college programs did you consider during the recruiting process? Which schools did you visit and which ones made an offer to you?

Kohei Sato: University of Alaska Anchorage, Northeastern University, University of Alabama Huntsville, and University of New Hampshire. UAA and UNH made offers, others were a recruit walk on.



Lowry: At this stage in your hockey development, what are the strengths of your game? What areas are you trying to improve?

Sato: My strengths are my speed and shots. I am trying to improve on my defensive part of the game.



Lowry: During this past season in the NAHL, you played both center and wing. Do you have a preference? Two key skills for a centerman are winning faceoffs and helping your defensemen provide coverage in your own end. How effective are you in these two areas?

Sato: I do not have a preference. I was pretty effective in those two areas using my quickness on face-offs and using my speed to cover the D and helping them get the puck out of the zone.



Lowry: I've read that your grandfather was an Olympic speed skater for Japan and your father played professional hockey in Japan. How did they enhance your interest and development in hockey when you were growing up in Japan?

Sato: Honestly, my dad taught me everything I knew before I decided to study abroad in Canada and the States. Unfortunately, my Grandfather passed before I was born so I could not benefit directly from his advice and help.



Lowry: When you were 12 years old, you left your native Japan to enroll at Harrington College, a private prep school in Harrington, Quebec, and to play for their hockey program. Was that a difficult decision for you and your family? What kind of challenges did you face (e.g., learning a new language; living away from your family; playing against stiffer competition; etc.)? Was it a difficult adjustment for you?

Sato: Honestly, it was an easy decision for me but probably was hard for my parents. Challenges I faced included, obviously, learning the language I've never heard of in my life. It took a little while but fortunate for me, I had great teammates that were willing to help me out with my English skills. I wouldn't be able to speak the language if it wasn't for them. Another challenge I faced was the food. I was so used to eating Japanese food and just switching to food in Canada was very difficult for me.



Lowry: Following two years at Harrington, you transferred to the Canadian International Hockey Academy in Rockland, Ontario and played two seasons with their U18 team. Then, in 2014, you made another dramatic change by moving to Mason City, Iowa and playing for the North Iowa Bulls in the North American 3 Hockey League. Why did you make the move to play hockey in the United States? Was that a challenging adjustment for you?

Sato: I was drafted in the United States Hockey League in 2014 so that was the biggest reason why I moved to the states. Also, junior A leagues in Canada don't allow imports that aren't from Canada or the States so I didn't really have an option. It sure was a difficult adjustment going from Midget hockey to Junior hockey.



Lowry: During your three seasons with the North Iowa Bulls, you experienced high points - playing for the 2015 Japan U20 team and winning the 2016 NA3HL Silver Cup national championship; and disappointments - being released after a brief stint with the NAHL Wilkes Barre/Scranton Knights. This season, you earned one last opportunity to succeed in the NAHL and you made the most out of your time with the Northeast Generals. Over the last few seasons, did you ever consider giving up your dream of playing college hockey? What kept you motivated?

Sato: No, I never even consider of giving up. I had faith - it sure was difficult getting sent down a few times but I just didn't want to give up till the last minute. People who doubted me gave me the motivation honestly.



Lowry: As far as you know, has there ever been a native of Japan to play NCAA Division I hockey? What will it mean for you and your homeland to play for UNH in Hockey East?

Sato: No, Yuki Miura (Lake Superior State University) and myself will be the first two players to play D1 college hockey. I am honored to play for the Wildcats and in Hockey East.



Lowry: What are your academic strengths and interests? When do you anticipate graduating from high school?

Sato: I was always good at Math and my interests are in Sociology and International Business. I am majoring in Sociology.