[slickr-flickr tag=”recruits” type=”slideshow”]
By: Jared Shafran, News Staff
The men’s hockey team will welcome 10 new freshmen to the roster. Five forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender make up the new class of Huskies who will take to the ice in the fall.
The class ties last year’s mark as the biggest incoming class for head coach Greg Cronin.
“We don’t lose all that much from last year’s squad,” Cronin said. “If you look at our top scorers from last season, (forward Kyle) Kraemer is really all we’re losing. Again, we bring in a big class, but it serves its purpose in fulfilling roles this team needs.”
Headlining the incoming defenseman – who will replace four-year standouts Jake Newton, David Strathman and Jim Driscoll – is Jamie Oleksiak. At just 17 old, Oleskiak already has some considerable accomplishments in his career. Last season, the Toronto native tallied 14 points with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
Before that, Oleksiak was selected to the US 18 and under team that competed at the Ivan Hlinka tournament in Slovakia in the summer of 2009. Standing at 6 feet,7 inches, he is sure to attract a lot of attention from opponents.
Assistant coach Albie O’Connell said that even though Oleksiak is young, he has plenty of game experience.
“He’s played three years in the USHL, which is the best junior league in North America, and he’s playing in the top four playing legitimate minutes there,” O’Connell said. “He’s a big kid, he skates well, he’s got a good understanding of the game, and physically he’s definitely got the tools to play at our level.”
Defenseman Anthony Bitetto of Island Park, N.Y., joins NU after playing two seasons with the Indiana Ice of the USHL. Last season, he was named to the All-USHL Second Team after registering a line of 11 goals and 29 assists in 58 games.
Also joining the roster on defense are Jake Hoefler, from Newton, N.J., who scored 14 points from the blue line for the New York Apple Core of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) and Luke Eibler from Pinckney, Mich., who registered 16 points last season for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL.
Cronin said he considers the defensive players the “biggest strength of the incoming class,” and O’Connell said he agrees.
“We get a little bit more physicality out of the group than the group that we lost,” O’Connell said. “I think all four guys are going to add value to the back end and we’re going to rely on those guys to play good minutes.”
The Huskies coaching staff is also hoping the five new forwards will be able to fill the hole graduating seniors Kraemer, Greg Costa and Chris Donovan have left.
Forward Mitch MacMillan is coming off a career year with the British Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL) Alberni Valley Bulldogs in which he set the team record with 61 goals and 93 points. The Penticton, British Columbia, native was also named the Coastal Conference MVP and was voted to the BCHL All-Star Team.
Forward Brodie Reid from Delta, British Columbia, led the USHL’s Lincoln Stars in scoring last season with a line of 16-20-36 and was selected to represent Team Canada West at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge in 2009.
Other forwards include Scituate native Rob Dongara, who played with the New Jersey Hitmen of the EJHL last season, Braden Pimm, of Fort. St. John, British Columbia, who tallied 68 points in 59 games last season while leading the Vernon Vipers to their second straight BCHL championship, and Zak Stone of Roslyn, N.Y., who totaled 60 points last year while helping the New Hampshire Monarchs capture the title in the EJHL last season.
The Huskies are also getting deeper in net as Clay Witt joins the roster. In 2009-10, while playing with Oleksiak on the Sioux Falls Stampede, Witt led the USHL with six shutouts. He amassed a record of 24-12-7 and had a goals against average of 2.66 and a save percentage of .906.
“Clay’s a professional kid,” O’Connell said of the Brandon, Fla., native. “He’s played a lot of games over the last few years even though he’s a relatively young kid. Hopefully he’ll gain some minutes and when there’s a chance, make an impact.”
The 10 new recruits look to improve a Husky squad that went 16-16-2 last season and missed the Hockey East playoffs for the first time since 2005-06, Cronin’s first season behind the bench.
