Niagara received a commitment from offensive defenseman Noah Carlin earlier this week. A 2000-born blueliner from Michigan, Carlin had 30 points (12 goals, 18 assits) in 50 games for the Amarillo Bulls in the NAHL this season.
Growing up in Michigan, Carlin played for the Honebaked program and debuted for Amarillo in 2018.
“We liked that he let screens set up before shooting,” NZ scouts said at the NAHL Showcase. “In the neutral zone, his gaps were tight. He trusts his feet and stepped up at his blue line and made a couple big hits. He also has recovery speed and that allowed him to join the rush and get back. On the rush, he showed vision and made cross ice passes on the tape.
“Really his strength is in his two-way game as he defends very well with some snarl. He finished with a goal and an assist in the two games. The goal was excellent and an overtime winner (3v3). He broke up a play, chipped the puck up ice, won a puck race, separated and buried while being tripped. It showed a lot about his game as he made a great defensive play followed by a nice offensive play with speed. He started the 3v3 overtime and clearly is in good shape. Solid 2000 with upside.”
’99 Defenseman Jake Harrison to Nebraska-Omaha (2020)
It’s been a whirlwind year for Harrison. In the season opener for West Kelowna in the BCHL, he suffered a concussion and was out for the entire regular season. While he was out with the injury, Michigan pulled back its scholarship offer from two years ago and it left Harrison’s future up in the air.
But, the West Kelowna native returned in the playoffs and had four points in five games. That prompted the offer from Omaha.
“Jake is one of the more offensively minded defensemen you will see,” our scouts said. “He likes to keep control of the puck and skate forward until pressure arrives. He moves the puck well and finds his position easily. He’s a nice heads up player who’s aggressive in the offensive zone.”
’99 Forward Dawson Ellis to Adrian College (2020)
Ellis is a 5-foot-8 forward who plays like a bulldog, which is appropriate given that he’s headed off to play for the Adrian Bulldogs.
“A three year veteran of this league Dawson is a fast tenacious forward with very good mobility,” our scouts said at the OJHL Showcase. “Quick bursts of speed, fast direction changes and very aggressive on a forecheck. He is undersized but compensates with skating, work ethic, and tenacity.”
’99 Forward Brandon Crowther to Post University (2020)
Crowther hails from Salem, N.H. and he’s well traveled as a junior player. He began with the Northern Cyclones, playing in his home state, before moving on to the Boston Advantage in 2016. From there he joined the Valley Jr. Warriors in the EHL and has spent the past two seasons with the Philadelphia Revolution in the EHL.
This season, Crowther has 10 goals and 24 assists in 35 games.
Our scouts last watched Crowther at the EHL Showcase in January, where our scouts noted, “Crowther played hard at both ends. He looked comfortable around the cage and scored a tap-in on day two. He used his backhand well on the rush and near the net. He is clever and thinks outside the box. Used the net well to create picks and make passes back to the short side. More table setter than scorer.”
’99 Forward Logan Ommen to St. Thomas (2020)
Ommen is an intriguing prospect for St. Thomas. He doesn’t have a lot of size (5-foot-8), and even though his scoring totals haven’t shot off the charts, he still is a veteran of 138 NAHL games.
This season Ommen has been with three teams — Janesville, Jamestown and Corpus Christi — where he has four goals and seven assists in 36 games.
’99 Forward Jack Rudin to Aurora (2020)
Rudin is similar to Ommen, in that he’s a player with a lot of NAHL experience and he’s a little undersized at 5-foot-9.
This season Rudin has appeared in 45 games for Corpus Christi and Odessa, where he has scored five goals and added four assists.
’00 Defenseman Tyler Lyewski to Anna Maria (2020)
Lyewski is a Florida native who first garnered some attention with the Tampa Scorpions in 2016 and 2017. He turned that into one season in the CCHL and has been with the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs in the NCDC this season, where he has three assists in 38 games.
“He’s a good-sized, physical, multidimensional defender who plays hard at both ends of the ice,” scouts said. “Defensively he was tough to get around, he uses his size and edge control to keep opponents outside. The ‘00 has a versatile game that translates well at the next level.”
