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Wednesday, September 27, 2023
UNH Commits Update 9-27-2023: Spotlight on MacPherson Twins
Ryan MacPherson (C) 2024 UNH Commit
Connor MacPherson (RW) 2024 UNH Commit
News & Notes
As the North American junior hockey leagues commence their 2023-24 season, the University of New Hampshire men's hockey program has 15 young prospects committed for future seasons. 7 are on United States Hockey League rosters (Conn, Philbrick, de Haro, Player, Konevych, Grimes, Tournas), 5 in the British Columbia Hockey League (DeTurris, Eckholm, C. MacPherson, R. MacPherson, Primerano), and 1 in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (Bradshaw). 2 (Sadowski, Hyles) are slated to play New England Prep School hockey beginning in November. The newest, 2023-24 statistics for the UNH Commits are displayed in the table at the end of this article.
~Ryan MacPherson (DOB: 3/2/05), the 6'1", 177 lbs., left-shot center from Windsor, Ontario and his twin brother Connor MacPherson, a 6'0", 177 lbs., right-shot winger, were top scorers last season in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, a Canadian Junior B League. Ryan scored 39 goals, 60 assists in 73 games (1.36 PPG) for the Leamington Flyers and Connor posted 48 goals, 49 assists in 65 games (1.49 PPG). Leamington won their first Sutherland Cup in the GOJHL Playoffs and Connor was named series MVP.
During the 2023 NHL Draft in June, Ryan MacPherson was drafted in the 6th Round (#172 Overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers. Both he and Connor participated in the Flyers' Player Development Camp in early July.
The MacPherson twins signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH last Fall and are on track to enroll for the 2024-25 season. In preparation for Division I college hockey, they moved up from Canadian Junior B to Junior A this season. Last Saturday, in their second game with the Penticton Vees, both tallied their first British Columbia Hockey League goals.
Connor MacPherson broke the ice with this first period goal. He worked the give-and-go with Ryan in the middle of 4 Merritt Centennial players. It turned out to be the game-winner.
Ryan MacPherson followed up in the second period with this natural hat trick over an 8 and 1/2 minute stretch. On the third goal, Connor and Ryan got behind the Centennial defenders and Connor slipped a tape-to-tape, backhand pass to Ryan for the one-timer.
NOTE
The statistics for the commits, presented in the above table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2024 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2024. 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.
~ Number of incoming transfer players and the position they play.
~ 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.
UNH Freshman Marty Lavins: A Strong, High Motor Forward
Marty Lavins (F) 2023 UNH Commit
"Martins is a strong right-shot center that plays a controlled patient style...excels in making plays in tight areas...does not shy away from physical play and has a high motor and compete."Neutral Zone, February, 2023
Marty Lavins
Forward, 6'1", 176 lbs. Shoots Right
Hometown: Riga, Latvia
DOB: April 10, 2003; 20 years, 5 months Neutral Zone Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Stars
2022-23 Team: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (United States Hockey League)
Committed to UNH on May 24, 2023 at Age 20 years, 1 month
2022-23 Highlight Reel
In our interview, Marty Lavins described his goal-scoring skills:
"Most of my goals came from “inside the house”. I love to play in the dirty areas of the game and I am very happy I got rewarded by scoring some goals last year."
This highlight reel shows several of Lavins' goals during the 2022-23 season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL):
Interview
I had an opportunity to interview Marty Lavins, via email, about his hockey career and commitment to UNH:
Mike Lowry: Congratulations on your commitment to play for the University of New Hampshire. How did you first become interested in UNH? What are the main reasons you chose UNH?
Marty Lavins: Thank you! Right after I got told that St.Cloud State University wants me to go play juniors one more year I decided to end my commitment because I felt like I was ready to go to a Division 1 school and help the team win games. Four days later I received an offer from UNH and it was a no brainer for me to take the offer.
There were three guys on the team that I knew - Kristaps Skrastiņš, who I knew since the age of 7 since we’re both from Latvia. Conor Lovett, I played with Conor my first year in Cedar Rapids and one of my best friends Brendan Fitzgerald who played a huge role in my decision to come to UNH. I talked with all three of them and they had nothing but good things to say about the program and I knew it was the right decision to come here.
Mike Lowry: In June, 2021, you committed to St. Cloud State University. What factors entered into your decision to end that commitment?
Marty Lavins: Five minutes after we got back home from our playoff loss, (Cedar Rapids) coach Carlson called me in his office and told me that St. Cloud wants me to come back for another year and two of their best players have chosen to play the 5th year, so there was literally no room on the team for me. That wasn’t something I expected, but I’m very happy that I agreed to a new deal with UNH relatively quickly.
Lowry: When you renewed the recruiting process, what college programs, other than UNH, did you consider? Which schools did you visit and which ones made an offer to you?
Lavins: Really no other schools were in the picture. I talked to the University of Vermont a little bit before I even committed to St. Cloud State but no official offers were made. I heard that there was some interest from other Hockey East schools but UNH was the only one that reached out to me and luckily, here we are...
Lowry: At this stage in your hockey development, what are the strengths of your game? What areas are you trying to improve?
Lavins: I would like to say that my strengths are my physicality and willingness to do anything necessary to win games every given night. I’m trying to be the best possible teammate that I can be. There are a lot of improvement areas and I’m usually very critical about my game. If I have to highlight one aspect of the game it would definitely be play with the puck in the offensive zone. And by that I mean being more unpredictable and creating more chances for myself and my teammates.
Lowry: You grew up playing hockey in Latvia and your Dad, Rodrigo Lavins, had a 3-decade professional career playing throughout Europe and the United States. Would you describe how your interest in hockey developed? What's some of the best advice your Dad gave you about playing hockey?
Lavins: I loved watching my dad’s hockey games for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t like he tried to push me to play hockey I would say he did the opposite. I was walking around the house with skates on and a hockey stick in my hand. I’m pretty sure I never got in a car without my helmet on when I was a kid. So finally when I turned four, my parents took me to my first hockey practice and now here I am.
My dad has been my biggest mentor and my best coach. Without him I wouldn’t be half the player I am today. He has helped a lot of young Latvian hockey players fulfill their dreams and he has coached a lot of my friends that are also Division 1 hockey players now. He has always taught me to never back down from any challenge but most importantly he has taught me how to be a good person.
Lowry: In the summer of 2021, you came to the United States to play for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL. Why did you make that choice? What was the transition like, both on and off the ice?
Lavins: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Head Coach and General Manager Mark Carlson reached out to me and offered me to play for them. Playing in the USHL has always been one of my small career goals, so when Coach Carlson reached out to me I didn’t think twice and accepted the offer. The transition on the ice was a little bit hard at first. The game is way faster, way more physical but the biggest difference is the rink size. It took some time to get used to it but I’m very thankful that I had such good teammates that made me feel like home since day one.
Off ice transition was very smooth. I was very lucky to have two amazing billet families that took really good care of me and I will be very thankful for that forever. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders is the highest level organization and I am very thankful for everything they did for me.
Lowry: Comparing your two season with Cedar Rapids, one obvious area of improvement was goal-scoring. Your total goals tripled from 5 in 2021-22 to 15 in 2022-2023. What techniques and strategies do you use to score goals? What other areas of your game improved over the two years in the USHL?
Lavins: Most of my goals came from “inside the house”. I love to play in the dirty areas of the game and I am very happy I got rewarded by scoring some goals last year. Going into a game my main goal is winning, and if I can help my team win games by scoring goals then I am more than happy if I get the chance to do that.
Lowry: You have extensive experience representing Latvia in international competition. What are some of the highpoints?
Lavins: It is always an honor to represent my country on the big stage. Our fans are very passionate and hockey is number one sport in Latvia. The support that we received during the tournament was surreal. The highpoint was definitely beating Czechia. It was the first time Latvian U20 team have made it to the quarterfinals and not only that, it was also the first ever regulation win. Unbelievable emotions and memories.
Lowry: Did you have an opportunity to observe the 2022-23 UNH team play? If so, how do you think you can help the team when you join it?
Lavins: Yes, I got the chance to watch a couple of games. The play style is very similar to what we played for our Latvian U20 team so it’s nothing new to me. Fast paced, aggressive play style which is right up my alley.
Lowry: What are your academic strengths and interests? Have you thought about what you might major in when you enroll at UNH next Fall?
Lavins: I am pretty good at communicating and learning languages. I went to a language school and learned, German, English, Spanish and Russian. And obviously I speak my native language which is Latvian. Right now I am thinking about majoring in business. I think that could be a pretty fun thing to study and definitely very useful in the future.
"Martins is a strong right-shot center that plays a controlled patient style. He moves fairly well in straight lines and is still improving agility and lateral mobility. Needs to be stronger on his skates. He excels in making plays in tight areas and quickly identifies coverage and makes a pass to the open man. He was consistently F3 on the forecheck and was constantly helping his defenders in the transition game. He uses his body well down below the dots on the cycle and fights through pressure from defenders. He gets to the net and jumps on loose pucks and rebounds. He has a strong and active stick in the defensive end and gets in lanes. He is responsible in his zone first then looks to create offensive chances. Does not shy away from physical play and has a high motor and compete."
"Latvian forward who was constantly involved in offensive opportunities and had several scoring chances throughout both games. He showed all-around offensive skill along with good straight-line speed to carry the puck on the rush and get in on the forecheck. He showed good strength carrying the puck, in board battles, and finishing his checks. He finished his checks with authority. He was responsible defensively with good effort on the back check, keeping his head on a swivel to pick up a player, and used his stick to get in passing lanes. He was also effective on the penalty kill using good effort and an active stick. He scored in game 1 following up the play and cleaning up a rebound in-tight. He picked up an assist in game 2 by throwing the puck on net from the point producing a rebound for his teammate to bury."
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