Category: College Hockey Player

13th year center Rick Schofield(23) heads back to Austria’s top league IceHL, signing with his 5th team Pustertal/Val Pusteria Wolves for 2023/2024.

He comes off a year with Nurnberg Ice Tigers, scoring 13 goals and 13 assists in 38 DEL games.

Undrafted, the 6’2″ 190 lbs. forward played 2 AHL seasons before heading overseas.

The former 2-time Lake Superior State University Lakers‘ captain and top scorer has almost maybe a bit oddly only won a championship in his 1st year away from home.

From Pickering, ON, the 36-year old is still finding good hockey to play.

He comes away with another fantastic season, but decides he wants to head back to Germany to play and signs with Dusseldorfer EG of DEL.

Railers Jr. Hockey 1st year right wing Austin Jerzak(20) scores 8 goals and 15 assists in 43 games, but it’s the playoffs, helping his team win the 2024 EHL Championship, where he gets 7 goals and 2 assists in 9 games.

The 5’10” 170 lbs. forward commits to Elmira College Soaring Eagles for 2024/2025, where we look for him to do well.

From Wellberg, NY, the 20-year old will head back closer to home to play his college game.

Straubing Tigers‘ 7th year center Travis St. Denis(74) re-ups to return to the German club, his 2nd year in DEL.

He scored 22 goals and 17 assists in 51 games last season.

The 5’7″ 170 lbs. forward was twice a 40+ point scorer in the AHL for Bridgeport Sound Tigers, while under contract to New York Islanders for at least one of those sessions.

He spent 4 seasons at Quinnipiac University Bobcats, always increasing his totals to leave as a senior with 49 points in 43 NCAA Division 1 games.

The Trail, BC native played his junior hockey up north and won a 2012 BCHL Championship with Penticton Vees, scoring 37 goals and 51 assists in 54 games, then adding 13 more points in the playoffs.

At 29-years old, he is likely to be happy still playing hockey at a very high level.

After spending 2 years with the same club, recording just about exact excellent numbers, he reaches out and signs with rivals, ERC Ingolstadt for 2023/2024.

His season with a new German team doesn’t go maybe as planned and he heads right back, where he scored 22 goals in each of his 2 frames, the Tigers for 2024/2025.

Canisius College Golden Griffins‘ extra large-sized (6’5″ 215 lbs.) graduate defenseman Cory Thomas(2) signs his 1st pro contract with Idaho Steelheads.

Not exactly the biggest scorer on the ice, he did pull off a collegiate best pair of goals last season in 34 NCAA Division 1 games, which matched all the tallies he had in 4 years at University Of Vermont Catamounts.

He was also a plus player for the first time in his college career.

The 24-year old from St. Brieux, SK will likely do well in the ECHL.

After 8 games on an ato, scoring 1 assist, the big d-man was going to return, but ultimately signed with rivals Utah Grizzlies for 2022/2023.

As a rookie, he skated 41 games, scoring 7 assists.

The big d-man has definitely been invited back for a 2nd look.

He is traded to Trois Rivieres Lions, where he does ok, getting 1 goal and 8 assists in 33 games with a +3 rating.

For 2024/2025, he is invited back under a 1-year contract.

Wheeling Nailers‘ center Tim Doherty(37) was recently claimed off waivers after being released by Allen Americans, where he played 12 ECHL games scoring a pair of assists.

In his debut with his new team, he scored a goal and has already surpassed what he did previously, popping in 3 goals, an assist, including a multi-point effort and +3 rating.

The Penn State University Nittany Lions‘ graduate spent the previous four seasons at University Of Maine Black Bears, where he produced his best numbers as a fourth year player (although he didn’t play in his freshman frame), scoring 14 goals and 23 assists with a +14 rating.

He definitely did ok at his new school during a very COVID busted 2020/2021, but did pick up an additional 8 goals and 10 assists in 22 games.

The 6′ 190 lbs. actually originally committed to Brown University Bears after two sessions with Junior Bruins Premier but then added another year.

At 25-years old, the Portsmouth, RI native may find himself a good hockey home for the time being in West Virginia, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens after the season concludes.

As it turns out, he had such a good run after the trade to Wheeling Nailers, scoring 7 goals and 2 assists, he re-signs to stay for 2021/2022.

He would have great totals in his 2nd frame, scoring 17 goals and 28 assists in 65 games.

As 2022/2023 is set to get started, he’s involved in a trade that sends him a little closer to home, Maine Mariners.

In a no brainer move, Chicago Wolves sign him to an AHL contract for 2023/2024 after he absolutely blew up scoring with 21 goals and 52 assists with a +15 rating in 69 games.

We definitely predict he does well at the higher level.

Not sure why, but he spends his 1st 10 games of the new session back in northern New England, running up 8 assists in the process before getting himself traded for future considerations to Hartford Wolf Pack.

He is reportedly heading to their affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones.

Through 21 games, he pots 5 goals and 9 assists with a +1 rating and maybe gets a little bored, so signs with SG Cortina of AlpsHL in maybe a little oddball of a move to potentially set something up bigger over there later.

He does well through a short regular season run, then extremely well in the playoffs, but is heading to the EIHL for 2024/2025, signing with Nottingham Panthers.

American International College Yellowjackets‘ senior defenseman Matt Rickard(6) enters the transfer portal to skate the start of a graduate program at University Of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks for 2024/2025.

The 6′ 170 lbs. blue liner skated 2 years juniors before college with similar numbers from the BCHL to the NAHL.

From Coventry, RI, the 25-year old should do well playing the schedule his new college team has for the upcoming frame.

4th year defenseman Ryker Killins(77) will switch up overseas leagues and heads to DEL3, joining SC Riessersee after spending 2021/2022 with Esbjerg Energy.

The 5’9″ 181 lbs. small blue liner made an impact upon turning pro from 4 years at Ferris State University Bulldogs, signing an ato with South Carolina Stingrays and putting up 3 goals and 6 assists in 14 ECHL games with a +7 rating.

He would parlay that into a 1-year AHL deal with Tuscon Roadrunners, but was mostly dispatched to affiliate Rapid City Rush to spend his rookie season.

It’s definitely possible the 25-year old finds a good fit in Germany’s tier 3 hockey.

As thought, he found it to be a decent enough place to play and got 3 goals and 13 assists in 25 games with a +15 rating to earn a contract up to DEL2 with Bietigheim Steelers for 2023/2024.

He does ok up, but maybe doesn’t really love it and signs back down in German pro hockey with some former rivals, EC Hannover Indians for 2024/2025.

2nd year right wing Quinn Preston(43) returns from a very good EIHL season for Belfast Giants, scoring 12 goals and 10 assists with a +6 rating, to re-signing with Wichita Thunder, where in his 1st game back scores 1 goal and 1 assist.

The 5’11” 188 lbs. forward, former twice assistant captain at Ohio State University Buckeyes also racked up big numbers at juniors with Dubuque Fighting Saints and at high school.

From Trenton, MI, the 26-year old could use a loan up to the AHL to see what gives.

After 17 games, scoring a fairly tidy 3 goals and 9 assists, he finds himself traded to another team that wants him, Kalamazoo Wings.

He gets 3 goals and 7 assists in 16 games with a +2 rating with his new club and is invited to return for a full season in a Wings‘ jersey for 2024/2025.

8th year left wing Matt Wilkins(91) will try yet another league to add to the notches on his belt overseas, joining Slovak Extraliga, signing a 1-year deal with HC Banska Bystrica, which will definitely take it up a big notch for the former Union College 2014 NCAA Division 1 Champion, as a sophomore.

Last season, the 5’11” 190 lbs. forward won the Swiss tier 2 2023 SL Championship with HC La Chaux-da-Fonds, had most points in one session and most assists the previous the 2-year he played AlpsHL for Gherdeina and even raised the 2012 AJHL Championship as a junior with twice holding down most assists.

The 32-year old from Kimberley, BC, who started with 2 ECHL years for Reading Royals, putting up big numbers, has to be happy with the results of his game, despite maybe not reaching for the highest levels.

In 49 games, he blows up scoring with 19 goals and 33 assists, but decides to leave for Ligue Magnus, signing with Les Ducs D’Angers.