NCAA: Halliday chooses Ohio State, Percival to UConn

(F) ‘01 Holt Oliphant commits to Air Force for 2022

Oliphant is the latest in a slew of college players to hail from Northbrook, Illinois. Something must be in the water there. He’s in his second season with the Johnstown Tomahawks in the NAHL where he has four goals and three assists in nine games. Last season he appeared in 53 games and posted 12 goals and 19 assists.

Oliphant has been well-traveled. Prior to the NAHL he played two seasons of prep hockey at Lawrence Academy.

(F) ‘02 Jake Percival commits to Connecticut for 2022

A Connecticut native, Percival will return to his home state after playing this season with Cedar Rapids in the USHL. He has one assist in four games to begin his USHL career this season.

Last year Percival played for the Millbrook School and posted 14 points in just six games. In 2019-20 he appeared in 30 games for Millbrook and scored 21 goals while adding 25 assists.

NZ Scouts (from U18 Nationals): “Percival is a multi-dimensional, strong, poised, cerebral forward that can play whatever role the team needs him to. Most notably over the weekend, Jake was on the ice during all key situations whether it be a power-play, penalty kill or later game after a timeout. He doesn’t play with a ton of pace but is very smart and efficient as he can jump with speed when he needs to. He is a smooth skater that is great on his edges and can generate a ton of power with his cross-overs.”

(G) ‘03 Noah Pak commits to Yale for 2023

The Bulldogs pickup a goalie for the future in Pak, who is from Oakville, Ont. and is currently a rookie in the OJHL with the Collingwood Blues. Pak was set to debut with the Blues last season before the OJHL nixed its 2020-21 season.

Pak played for the Oakville Rangers AAA program before making the jump to the OJHL.

NZ Scouts (from a CCHL viewing): “Noah had a solid game and seemed cool under pressure especially when Trenton had the man advantage. Both gloves and feet are good with his major problems coming from making saves but leaving rebounds lying around in front of the net. His save percentage when playing U 18 in the past two when he was playing for his Oakville Ranger team improved dramatically from .859 his first year to his next year > .900 and he also had 5 shutouts in 18 outings. He stopped or got a piece of almost everything in this game but those rebounds right back out in front will haunt even the best.”

(F) ‘02 Stephen Halliday commits to Ohio State for 2022

Halliday is a terrific pickup for the Buckeyes. He’s off to a hot start with Dubuque (USHL) this season (4 points in 4 games) and he’s coming off a 48-point season in the USHL last season. Halliday is a USHL veteran, with 157 career games in the league and has 124 career points.

Halliday was originally committed to North Dakota but de-committed last year. He was originally set to be a freshman at UND this season.

NZ Scouts (from a USHL viewing in March): “Halliday is a long, big body forward who has a soft and skilled set of hands. He can protect pucks along the wall and showed impressive poise and ability to extend plays. He shows talent on the power play finding the seams with his sense and vision and has the puck touch to place pucks wherever he wants in the offensive zone. He shields well below the dots, he uses his long reach to keep pucks out of grasp for defenders and has the composure to allow the play to develop and then makes his move. He had a great assist on a 2v1 rush where he drew a defender to him and then slid pass across the high slot for a catch and shoot score.”

(D) ‘02 Ralfs Bergmanis commits to Vermont for 2022

Bergmanis is a Latvian native who is in his playing in the U.S. for the first time since the 2018-19 season. After 27 games with the New Jersey Rockets, he returned home to Latvia and played in Finland last season.

This year the 5-foot-10 defenseman is playing for the Sioux City Musketeers where he has one assist in three games.

(F) ‘01 Tyler Mahan commits to RIT for 2022

Mahan has been in the AJHL for three seasons, all with the Whitecourt Wolverines. The Calgary native has 13 points (6g-7a) in nine games to begin this season. Last year he had seven points in nine games before the season was shut down by health officials.

NZ Scouts (from an AJHL game in March): “Tyler is a competitive winger with a high motor. He plays with lots of energy on every shift and he gets in hard on the forecheck while also finishing his checks. He has some grit and gets into the tough areas to battle for pucks and positioning. He has explosive speed, especially when heading north-south down the wing. He can win races and pull away from defenders or close gaps quickly.”