2001 (D) Trevor Griebel commits to Merrimack for 2022
Griebel is a Florida native who came up through the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes system. Griebel played last season for the Fargo Force of the USHL this past season and finished with 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 53 games. This was Griebel’s first season in the USHL after he spent two seasons in the BCHL with the Wenatchee Wild. In his final BCHL season, Griebel had 21 points (5 goals, 16 assists) in 41 games.
NZ Scouts: “Griebel is a smart, consistent defender who consistently made the right decisions with and without the puck. Without the puck he is positionally sound in all areas of the ice. He controls his gaps and does an excellent job with his stick, breaking up multiple passes attempted through his area. In his own zone he was responsible and communicated to his teammates, ensuring defensive responsibilities were accounted for. With the puck on his stick he is simple and poised. He does not do anything fancy but consistently makes the right decision with the puck. Griebel was most noticeable on the breakout where he was smart in his decision making and crisp in his passing.”
2003 (D) Guillaume Richard commits to Providence for 2021
Richard is one of the top prospects eligible for this year’s NHL Draft. He was previously committed to Maine but was granted a release from his NLI after Ben Guite was not named the next head coach. Richard has played for Tri-City in the USHL the last two seasons and he played for Team Canada at the U17 level and he played for Team Canada at the Under-18 World Championships.
NZ Scouts: “Guillaume is a smooth skating defenseman that has good hips and good vision with the puck. Guillaume uses his skating to break his team out, evading forecheckers and using the net to create space and start the attack up ice. He also moves really well through the neutral zone, skating the puck himself and moving it to his teammates when he has to. Guillaume really excels on the powerplay, especially bringing the puck up ice and entering the zone. He had a number of clean zone entries while Tri-City was on the powerplay, helping his team set up and start their offense without any trouble. Guillaume also works well on the offensive blueline, looking for lanes to the net to fire his wrist shot through.”
2001 (F) TJ Hughes commits to Mercyhurst for 2022
Hughes comes to the Lakers from the Brooks Bandits, which is traditionally one of the top teams in the AJHL. This past season for the Bandits, Hughes had 31 points in 20 games (15 goals, 16 assists). Hughes is from Hamilton, Ont. and came up through the GOJHL prior to shipping west and playing in the AJHL.
NZ Scouts: “TJ scored a nice goal to take the lead back towards the end of the game. He attacked the zone with a 2 on 1 and looked multiple times at the passing option to his teammate, this froze the defenseman and he didn’t know which player to move towards. Once the defender had backed up so far, he cut from his forehand over to his backhand to score a pretty goal.”
(F) Alex Ambrosio commits to Canisius College out of the transfer portal
Ambrosio played four years as a defenseman for the Lakers and this past season he appeared in 29 games and finished with one goal and three assists. In 99 total games, Ambrosio had five goals and seven assists from the blue line. Prior to Lake Superior State, Ambrosio played four seasons for the Coquitlam Express and captained the team his final season.
Brad Elliot Schlossman of The Grand Forks Herald also reported on Tuesday evening that Canisius was close to landing star Robert Morris freshman Randy Hernandez, who entered the portal after RMU’s program was dropped earlier this month.
