UNH Alumni in Pro Hockey 12-22-2023: Spotlight on Angus Crookshank

Former UNH Star
Angus Crookshank

Alumni Spotlight

~ Angus Crookshank fulfilled two hockey dreams this week. On Sunday, he made his NHL debut with the Ottawa Senators. Two days later, he scored his first NHL goal. This behind-the-scenes video of Angus and the Crookshank family ("Breakaway" presented by Bell) chronicles the remarkable story:



Crookshank's five-year journey from the University of New Hampshire to the National Hockey League began in the summer of 2018 when the Ottawa Senators drafted him in the 5th Round (126th Overall). A few months later, the UNH freshman scored his first NCAA goal in his third game:



Crookshank scored 35 goals, including 6 game-winners, and 28 assists in 90 UNH games over three seasons. When his junior season at UNH ended, Crookshank signed with the AHL's Belleville Senators on March 17, 2021. His pro career got off to a promising start as he scored 5 goals, 11 assists in the final 19 games of Belleville's 2020-21 season.

Next stop was the 2021 Ottawa Senators Development and Rookies Camp in September, 2021. Crookshank earned a spot on the roster representing the Senators in the 2021 Prospects Challenge. His dream of playing in the NHL suffered a serious setback on September 22nd when he tore an ACL in a game against Montreal Canadian prospects.

The necessary surgery and lengthy rehabilitation kept Crookshank out of action the entire 2021-22 season. Angus discussed the arduous road back to competition in this "Locked On Senators Podcast".

Crookshank bounced back in the 2022-23 Belleville Senators' season. After scoring a goal in his 3rd game, he went on to tally 26 in 71 games. He added 21 assists and his 188 shots on goal were the most among AHL rookies.

Before being called up to Ottawa on Sunday, Crookshank was leading the 2023-24 Belleville Senators in goals (10, including 2 game-winners), points (21), and shots on goal (80) over 24 games. In a preview of Crookshank's first NHL game, Senators head coach D.J. Smith said:

"He's played really well down there. Skates, competes, putting up some points but also can check. He deserves a chance."

So far, Angus has met these expectations and hopes to continue.

UNH Alumni 2023-24 Statistics

This table shows the updated (as of December 22, 2023) scoring statistics, penalty minutes and +/- ratings for the 23 former UNH players currently playing professional hockey in the 2023-24 season. The "Final Year" column shows the last season the alum played for the University of New Hampshire. For example, 2009 represents the 2008-09 season.

Player	Final Year	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM	+/-
National Hockey League
James van Riemsdyk	2009	Boston Bruins	NHL	29	6	15	21	6	+3
Trevor van Riemsdyk	2014	Washington Capitols	NHL	26	0	5	5	6	-3
Casey DeSmith	2014	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	11	6	2	2	2.44	.923
Brett Pesce	2015	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL	25	1	3	4	10	-4
Warren Foegele	2016	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	30	4	7	11	8	-10
Angus Crookshank	2021	Ottawa Senators	NHL	3	1	0	1	2	0
		Belleville Senators	AHL	22	9	10	19	20	+2
American Hockey League
Andrew Poturalski	2016	Coachella Valley Firebirds	AHL	18	4	10	14	10	-2
		Seattle Kraken	NHL	2	0	0	0	0	-1
Filip Engaras	2022	Utica Comets	AHL	18	2	4	6	4	+3
		Adirondack Thunder	ECHL	4	2	1	3	2	0
East Coast Hockey League
Patrick Grasso	2021	Adirondack Thunder	ECHL	24	11	5	16	14	+1
Benton Maass	2021	South Carolina Stingrays	ECHL	21	3	7	10	6	+5
Will MacKinnon	2022	Adirondack Thunder	ECHL	24	1	2	3	30	+9
Ryan Verrier	2022	Worcester Railers	ECHL	21	0	2	2	11	-1
European Leagues
Tyler Kelleher	2017	Brynas	Sweden HockeyAllsvenskan	19	7	10	17	8	+9
Kalle Eriksson	2023	Almtuna	Sweden HockeyAllsvenskan	27	1	2	3	16	-4
Max Gildon	2020	Adler Mannheim	Germany DEL	26	2	2	4	12	+6
Liam Blackburn	2020	EHF Passau Black Hawks	Germany3	16	6	14	20	6	-1
Tyler Ward	2022	1.EV Weiden	Germany3	25	16	27	43	8	+27
Grayson Downing	2015	Esbjerg Energy	Denmark	25	8	7	15	2	-4
Cam Marks	2018	Nantes	France2	11	1	7	8	4	+14
Marcus Vela	2019	HC Banska Bystrica	Slovakia	27	13	16	29	28	-6
Ara Nazarian	2019	Belfast Giants	England EIHL	19	6	5	11	6	+3
Kohei Sato	2021	Belfast Giants	England EIHL	19	5	5	10	14	0
Mike Robinson	2022	Nottingham Panthers	England EIHL	3	1	2	0	3.57	.906