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| The UNH Men's Hockey Blog |
Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which caused all North American hockey leagues to suspend play last March, has delayed the start of the 2020-21 regular season in college hockey and the junior hockey leagues in North America. The UNH hockey team began limited on-ice practice in early October and Hockey East is planning (and hoping) to start the regular season in late November. Here are the start dates for the junior leagues where the current UNH commits are playing: United States Hockey League - November 5th British Columbia Hockey League - Early December North American Hockey League - September 22nd National Collegiate Development Conference - October 9thNews & Notes
United State Hockey League:~ Of all the junior hockey leagues in the United States and junior 'A' leagues in Canada, the United States Hockey League is generally accepted as the top league. For example, over the last three seasons, 50 or more USHL players were selected in each NHL Draft. As the 2020-21 USHL season is set to begin on November 5th, 10 UNH commits are playing for USHL teams. In the ten seasons I've been writing this blog, that's the most. Since the 2011-12 season, the average number of UNH commits playing in the USHL at the end of the season is 5 per season.
~ 2021 UNH commit Timo Bakos, who played last season for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL, has chosen to play this season for EHC Königsbrunn in the Germany4 League.
British Columbia Hockey League:
~ While Nicolas Ardanaz and John Evans of the West Kelowna Warriors and Connor Sweeney of the Trail Smoke Eaters have been participating in the BCHL's "Extended Training Camp" games, Cy LeClerc and the Wenatchee Wild have been limited to intersquad scrimmages. Wenatchee (Washington) is the only BCHL franchise in the United States and is prohibited from crossing the US-Canada border because of COVID-19.
2020-21 Statistics
| Player | NZ** Stars | Team | League | GP | Goals | Asst | Pts | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Commits | |||||||||
| Nicolas Ardanaz 5/30/02 (D) | 4.25 | West Kelowna Warriors | BCHL | ||||||
| Timo Bakos 7/28/00 (F) | 3.75 | EHC Königsbrunn | Germany4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Robert Cronin 8/15/00 (F) | 3.75 | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | ||||||
| John Evans 4/8/02 (F) | 4.5 | West Kelowna Warriors | BCHL | ||||||
| Alex Gagne* 8/12/02 (D) | 4.25 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | USHL | ||||||
| Will Margel* 3/16/01 (F) | 3.75 | Lincoln Stars | USHL | ||||||
| Jack Ring 12/18/00 (F) | 3.5 | New Jersey Titans | NAHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 |
| Connor Sweeney 5/5/00 (F) | 3.5 | Trail Smoke Eaters | BCHL | ||||||
| 2021 or '22 Commits | |||||||||
| Liam Devlin 1/7/01 (F) | 3.75 | Chicago Steel | USHL | ||||||
| Cade Penney 3/23/01 (D) | 3.75 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | ||||||
| David Sacco 1/3/02 (F) | 3.75 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | ||||||
| JP Turner 1/31/03 (F) | 4.25 | Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | ||||||
| 2022 Commits | |||||||||
| Jed Baliotti 2/7/02 (G) | 3.75 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | ||||||
| Damien Carfagna 12/12/02 (D) | 3.75 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | ||||||
| Aidan Curran 1/22/01 (F) | 3.5 | Northeast Generals | NAHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| Cy LeClerc 8/17/02 (F) | 3.75 | Wenatchee Wild | BCHL | ||||||
| Morgan Winters 12/8/01 (F) | 3.5 | Tri-City Storm | USHL | ||||||
| 2022 or '23 Commits | |||||||||
| Brendan Fitzgerald 3/6/03 (D) | 4.0 | Governors Academy | NE Prep | ||||||
| Nick Ring 10/26/03 (F) | 3.75 | Boston Advantage | NCDC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| * = Signed National Letter of Intent | |||||||||
| ** = Neutral Zone 5-Star Rating | |||||||||
The statistics for the commits, presented in the above table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2021 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2021. I have based these projections on the following factors:
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the commit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The commit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
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