Alaska Fairbanks received a commitment from 1999-born forward Matt Koethe this week. Koethe was the 18th-ranked uncommitted 1999 available, according to a list compiled by our scouts earlier this week.
Koethe is a Minnesota native who had 21 goals and 31 assists for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the NAHL this season.
“Koethe is a skilled player who is dangerous for the Ice Dogs every time he had possession,” our scouts said. “He fired a lot of pucks on net and as a result gave himself room to set up others. His passes were slick as he used his backhand, slid pucks through and threw sauce, both forehand and backhand. He can stop and start on a dime and the puck never slowed him. His ability to change direction created space and bought time for plays to develop. He thinks the game while playing with great pace. He is feisty with fast hands and hunted pucks as well as working in his end.
“We liked that he shot to create rebounds. He jumped to the rush in transition and got to top speed quickly. He has a game that will endure the season. He was around a lot of positive plays. Plus player with just enough grit and plenty of skill.”
’99 F Jack Johnston to St. Cloud State for 2020
Johnston is a teammate of Koethe in Fairbanks (NAHL) and he’s also a Minnesota native, playing at St. Paul Academy.
This season, the veteran of three junior seasons in the NAHL has 18 goals and 27 assists in 52 games.
’99 D Preston Weeks to Alaska Anchorage for 2020
Weeks has good size at 6-foot-3 and he’s an Alaska native. He’s played the last four seasons with the Kenai River Brown Bears in the NAHL, where this season he had five goals and 13 assists in 50 games.
“Great size to defend,” NZ scouts said. “He can carry the puck from his end. He ran the power play. He is a crisp passer. Athletic with quality upside.”
’99 D Matt Smoliga to Wentworth for 2020
Smoliga was ranked as the No. 186 ’99-born player in the NAHL by our scouts. He’s a D with good size who had six points in 22 games for the Northeast Generals this season. The Illinois native has a lot of junior hockey experience, including time in the PIJHL, BCHL and NAHL.
“Matt is big, tough and has some sneaky skill. He will not lead the league in scoring this season,” said NZ scouts. “His skating is a bit stiff but he works and has a great reach to make up for his lack of speed. He got to decent spots without the puck and made some really heavy hits on the wall. At 6’2” and almost 200lbs, he could cause matchp issues and grind teams down at the D-III level.”
’99 D Nick Gonrowski to Wis. Stevens Point for 2020
Gonrowski has spent the last two seasons with the Janesville Jets in the NAHL, where he scored three goals and assisted on four more in 43 games. Prior to his junior career, the defenseman played four varsity seasons at Armstrong/Cooper High in Minnesota.
“Has good size with a nice stride,” said NZ scouts. “Must quicken up some overall but he skates well for his size. Showed a good first step against Lone Star where he carried some protected the puck by separating his stick from it, absorbing contact and continuing on. Showed some skill and a burst with possession.”
’99 D Dawson Schwengler to Marian for 2020
The Wisconsin native played two seasons in the AJHL before bouncing around to three different NAHL team this season and one NA3HL team.
Prior to this season, Schwengler had 46 points in two seasons with the Camrose Kodiaks and he played four seasons at Eau Claire Memorial High prior to his junior career.
’99 D Jack Sullivan to Colby for 2020
Sullivan is a big addition for Colby, as he was ranked No. 50 in our uncommitted 99’s list.
Playing for the Rockland Nationals in the CCHL this season, the blueliner has been a scoring machine, netting 26 goals and tacking on 35 assists in 60 games.
“One of the top scoring defenseman in the league, Sullivan once again displayed his offensive prowess in this game by scoring two nice goals,” said NZ scouts. “What makes Sullivan effective is his ability to read the play and rush to find the quiet areas in the offensive zone. Sullivan always attacks the open areas giving his forwards an option to dish the puck to him. On his goals, he snuck into the slot on both plays beating his coverage when he notices a breakdown. On one of his goals he places a missile right under the bar and the other one was a quick shot giving the goalie no chance. His game can translate to the next level because he’s a low risk player who capitalizes off his opponents’ mistakes.”
’00 D Clay Korpi to Colby for 2020
Colby head coach Blaise MacDonald also added the New York native to the roster for 2020.
Korpi had five goals and 12 assists for the Brockville Braves in the CCHL this season.
Our scouts saw Korpi last season when he played prep hockey for Salisbury.
“Korpi is a big bodied, heavy style defender who plays a key role on the Salisbury blue line despite not having the kind of upside some of his teammates do,” they said. “He’s a decent skater, he plays a reliable, physical style of defenses and makes the easy pass instead of trying to stretch the ice or force the issue. He wears the “C” which is impressive given the talent on this roster and he plays in some key moments for his team which shows he has the confidence of his coach.”
’02 F Andrew Gotts to Stonehill for 2020
Gotts is on the younger side for a D-III commit, but he’s choosing to head to college as an 18-year-old.
Gotts was a four-year member of the Masco hockey team in Massachusetts and then played a PG year this season at the Holderness School, where he had nine goals and 10 assists in 27 games.
“Andrew was consistently noticeable each shift on the ice,” our scouts said earlier this season. “He has good jump and once he gets to top speed, he is tough to slow down. He drives the puck wide and gets to the net. He plays a responsible game at center in his own end and is rarely out of position. Was solid on draws all weekend. He scored a nice goal by snapping a puck over the goalies shoulder from the slot. He also picked up a nice assist by driving wide and centering the puck to a teammate.”
