Mercyhurst landed a trio of Alaska-Anchorage transfers who will, in all likelihood, become eligible in the second semester. UAA opted out of the 2020-21 season and while there are efforts by an alumni group to save the program, the school announced it intended to drop the program after this year.
The Lakers are picking up forward Rylee St. Onge and defensemen Wyatt Head and Devon Mussio.
St. Onge was highly recruited out of the USHL and had 17 points last season for UAA as a freshman. In 58 games with Des Moines (USHL) two seasons ago, he finished with 25 goals and 13 assists.
“St. Onge is a fast skater who really competes without the puck,” our scouts said. “He is the first in on the forecheck, he is aggressive on the penalty kill and gets low in his own zone on breakouts and supports the puck. He has good size, a nifty stick in tight areas.”
Head, a ’99 out of Kelowna, was entering his freshman season. Last season in the BCHL he appeared in 22 total games for West Kelowna and Coquitlam, scoring five goals and adding 14 assists from the back end. At one point, Head was committed to Quinnipiac.
“Head stays in his lane when defending an odd man rush,” said our scouts. “He has a good reach, but his stick seemed weak as he wasn’t able to knock the puck off. Head made the right play by placing his stick almost flat on the ice to prevent a feed to the slot from behind the net. He leads the power play with his controlled skating and patience with the puck. He doesn’t bring much speed, but does well in other aspects of skating.”
Mussio is also a ’99 who was entering his freshman season. Last season he appeared in 54 games with Nanaimo in the BCHL where he potted a pair of goals and added 34 assists. He’s been full-time in the BCHL since 2016 and appeared in his first games there in 2015.
“Mussio has heavy feet, but that does not prevent him from jumping into the play,” our scouts noted. “He used his body to break up passes down low to prevent any one timer goals against. Mussio keeps his stick in lanes to protect the slot.”
DARTMOUTH HOT ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL
The new Dartmouth staff has been hot on the recruiting trail for the last several months. This week was another big one for the Big Green.
Dartmouth committed ’03 Cooper Flinton out of St. Paul’s. Flinton is a slick playmaker who had 25 points in 27 games last season; he’s projected for the 2023 class but that could be moved up if his development accelerates.
Our scouts have seen a lot of Flinton over the years, including just a few weeks ago when scouts took in St. Paul’s scrimmage.
“Was quite simply the best player on the ice for his team in both of the matches we watched,” scouts said. “A big burly forward who looks to be rounding into form as a junior and will likely see continued offensive success the same way he did last season in his second prep campaign. He showed plenty of confidence in both scrimmages and was constantly creating quality scoring chances every time he came up the ice. He shows great vision both with and without the puck. He is able to push the puck to space and go chase it down or deliver a nifty pass through traffic or behind him (sensing a linemate’s presence). Has quick wrists which allows him to throw it on the net hard with accuracy and plenty of speed.”
Dartmouth also landed ’02 forward Cam MacDonald for 2022. He’s a slippery forward who produced 15 goals last season for Vernon in the BCHL and has been one of the top players in his age group in B.C. throughout his youth.
The Big Green also added Brady MacDonald to the 2021 class. He’ll add plenty of size to the back end at 6-foot-4. He’s another addition out of the BCHL where he had 12 points in 23 games for Victoria last season. Originally from Ontario, he played in the GOJHL before the BCHL.
