CollegeHockeyPlayers

Atlanta Gladiators‘ 8th year right wing Eric Neiley(59) looks set to eclipse his best ECHL goals marks in the current frame with already 14 in 23 games.

He’ll need to surpass 27 posted in his 2nd season with the team, but regardless will hit the 20+ goal mark for a fourth time.

The prolific former assistant captain as a senior at Dartmouth College Big Green, he struck for 10+ goals and assists in his last pair of sessions.

He also skated to EIHL frames, but almost oddly didn’t score as well as he does at home.

The 5’11” 185 lbs is originally from Warminster Township, Pa.

Already 30-years old, it seems like he’s still just getting started.

1 more season of running up the point totals, 25 goals, just shy of his best and 19 assists for 44 points with a +10 rating in 50 games and that’s gonna be plenty enough hockey for the now 31-year old.

For 2023/2024, he will take up as Assistant Coach with this same Gladiators‘ club.

And for 2024/2025, he comes back off the bench to sign a 1-year deal to play with the home team, Gladiators once again.

5th year goaltender Mitch Gillam(30) takes a good, much shortened season for Wichita Thunder, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.47 GAA and .927 SV% to a new deal with Indy Fuel for 2021/2022.

The 6′ 174 lbs., former 4-year Cornell University Big Red backstop put up real solid, good numbers at school (47-28-17) with a 2.15 GAA and .923 SV%.

He’s definitely made a career out of playing in the ECHL with 133 games to his credit, but almost oddly in his only AHL appearance with Bridgeport Sound Tigers left with a 1.54 GAA and .944 SV%, but has received no future looks from the top farm league.

If the 29-year old starts strong, he most definitely should earn another look from the level up, but we think he may set his sights on overseas options after this frame.

He will take what was a pretty good season with a 17-12-1 record to a new adventure, signing for 2022/2023 with Manglerud Star of Fjordkraft-ligaen.

After a bit of a rough go with his initial club, he would be traded to Valerenga, where things would improve dramatically, as he went 8-4 with a 2.08 GAA and .923 SV%, but has decided to push on and sign with Odense Bulldogs for 2023/2024 and skate in Metal Ligaen.

He’s not exactly doing so badly in Denmark, but he’s heading back to EliteHockey Ligaen, signing with his 3rd team, Frisk Asker.

In 6 games, he posts a 4-1 record with a 1.82 GAA and .932 SV%, then appears in 10 playoff games.

We are thinking maybe the job isn’t done here, so he signs on to where an ‘Asker jersey again in 2024/2025.

7th year defenseman Nolan Zajac(44) leaves a pair of seasons in the SHL for a new European adventure in 2022/2023, joining DEL‘s Grizzlys Wolfsburg.

He spent only a pair of seasons mostly in the ECHL scoring pretty big after graduating University Of Denver twice ascending to 20+ assists before deciding to head overseas.

The 5’10” 185 lbs. blue liner maybe started a little low in Sweden’s tier 2 Allsvenskan, where he detonated the scoresheet for most assists and most points by a d-man for IK Oskarshamn.

With his new German team, he manages 8 goals and 25 assists in 48 games with a +14 rating, then adds another 7 assists in a playoff run to earn himself another year to stay put.

After 2 good frames with the same team, he looks elsewhere to rivals Augsburger Panthers f0r 2024/2025.

Undrafted defenseman Davis Bunz(7) takes 4+ years at Providence College Friars to a 1st pro contract with Wheeling Nailers for the 2022/2023 season.

The 6’1″ 181 lbs. blue liner has never been much of a scorer, but did leave a USHL frame for Central Illinois Flying Aces to head to school mid-campaign.

A Middleton, WI native, his senior year was way off the hook with 23 goals in 24 games.

The 23-year old should have a really good rookie run.

3 goals and 20 assists in a 1st ECHL frame was impressive enough to want to keep him in West Virginia another season.

He’ll have to work on his +/- some.

Accomplishing exactly what he needed to, he walks away from 2023/2024 with a league high 10 goals and 21 assists with a new accountable +20 rating in 2nd 58 games, then adds another 5 points in the playoffs.

For his new move, he skates overseas, accepting a 1-year EIHL deal with Nottingham Panthers for 2024/2025.

Trois Rivières Lions‘ center Cedric Lacroix(19) has finally seemingly arrived at a team he feels comfortable being with, as he’s scoring a decent 5 goals and 5 assists in 18 ECHL games on a non-playoff team.

He’s had forays in the AHL, but only when he 1st arrived and played 1 game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, getting 2 goals, but then being reassigned for the rest of the frame to Wheeling Nailers was odd.

His 4 seasons at University Of Maine Black Bears all looked relatively similar.

It’s a little tough to say why the 28-year old from Shefford, QC hasn’t found his hockey home.

In what is a no surprise move, he decides to move on and signs with Pioneers Vorarlberg of IceHL for 2023/2024.

He scores 6 goals and 8 assists in 19 games, but something isn’t right, so he switches to agreeing to the remainder of the frame with Vasterviks IK of Allsvenskan.

For 2024/2025, he heads back to Austria, signing with HC Pusteral Wolfe.

7th year center Evan Jasper(26) signs into his 7th overseas league, the IceHL for 2024/2025, joining Vienna Capitals.

His best scoring across the way has been 2 years in DEL and 1 VHL.

The 5’10” 190 lbs. forward from Whitby, ON lit up 3 years of OJHL for Cobourg Cougars before committing to Sacred Heart University Pioneers.

Already 32-years old, he still appears to be making his mark and playing at a great level.