In today’s NCAA D-I notebook, North Dakota committed a 4.25-star defenseman from Alberta while Providence added a goalie of the future in 4-star Jack parsons, who is headed to the NTDP next season.
’06 (D) Keith McInnis (★★★★¼) to North Dakota for 2024
McInnis is from Red Deer, Alb. and will make his debut in the USHL this upcoming season for Waterloo. Last season he played for the Yale Hockey Academy’s U18 Prep team where he posted 10 points (1g-9a) in 24 games. He began the year with the team as a 15 year old and turned 16 years old in January.
He played for Team Alberta at the WHL Cup and had three points (2g-1a) in five games.
NZ Scouts (Canada U17 camp): “A smooth skating left-shot defenseman, McInnis improved with each ice time over the week, becoming more comfortable playing with and against new competition. McInnis is an offensively-minded player who jumps into the rush well and showed the skating ability to get back into position on transition. McInnis has a quick release and took only took one slap shot throughout our viewings, rather chose to use movement and a quick snapshot to get pucks on net to create scoring chances.”
’06 (D) Garin Ludwig (★★★¾) to Michigan State for 2025
Ludwig is an Alaska native who played AAA hockey for Team Alaska at the 15U level last season. In 41 games on the blueline he posted 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points. As a 14U player in 2020-21, he posted 27 points (4g-23a) in 32 games.
Ludwig took part in USA Hockey’s Select 16 camp this past summer and had five points (1g-4a) in five games.
NZ Scouts (from Select 16): “Ludwig is one of the more well-rounded, multi-dimensional defenders in the camp; he’s undersized but balanced on his edges and mobile in all directions. He’s as good offensively as he is defensively as he finished the camp with a goal and 4 assists in 5 games. Ludwig is a heads up puck carrier, he surveys the ice and read the play and makes crisp outlet passes on target. He did a great job holding the offensive blue line both on pinches and quick lateral movements to seal off wraps or chips. His lone goal came on the power play where he walked the line with quick lateral mobility and made a heads up play reading the screen, finding the seam and firing a low snap shot trough that the goalie never saw. He quarterbacked the power play when he was on the ice from the breakout to in-zone play and was able to find his linemates in scoring positions to set them up for catch and shoot goals.”
’06 (G) Jack Parsons (★★★★) to Providence for 2024
Parsons is a 6-foot-2 netminder from Ithaca, New York who has been playing for Mount St. Charles Academy the last two seasons. Last season he posted a 2.13 GAA and a .923 save percentage for the 15U AAA team. In the NEPACK league he had a 2.61 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
In 14 games for the 14U team in 2020-21, he posted a 1.83 GAA and a .915 save percentage.
Parsons is headed to the U.S. NTDP to play for the U17 national team this upcoming season.
NZ Scouts (from NTDP Camp): “Parsons, in our opinion, was the best goalie in the camp. He’s smooth, he’s athletic and technically the best of the bunch. He has good stance, keeps his hands up and in front of him, is able to stop with both paddles, he can play the puck and has good footwork in and out of the crease. His slides are quick but controlled and he always seemed to maintain his positioning despite having strong and powerful push offs when making post to post saves. He can set his feet, make the save and the reset rapidly to position for the next wave.”
’05 (D) Frederic Deschenes (NR) to Michigan State for 2024
Deschenes will enter the USHL this season after playing in his native Quebec for the last several seasons. He’ll turn 17 years old in October. Last season for Trois-Rivieres Estacades in the 18AAA league in Quebec, he posted 37 points (6g-31a) in 38 games from the back end. As a 15 elite player in 2019-20, he posted 24 points (6g-18a) in 23 games.
’06 (D) John Stout (★★★¾) to Minnesota Duluth for 2025
UMD stayed close to home with the addition of Stout, who is from Deephaven, Minn., just a few hours south of Duluth. Stout has played for Minnetonka High as well as the Minnesota Blizzard and Team TDS Transportation in the Minnesota HS Elite League. This past summer he took part in the Select 16 camp for USA Hockey and had three points (2g-1a) in five games and was selected to the Five Nations team.
NZ Scouts (Five Nations): “He plays with calmness and confidence. He uses his size and strength to his advantage but also shows good mobility to stay with skilled attackers or jump into the play offensively. He is excellent defending the rush and uses great balance, calmness, and a good stick to break-up passes. He shows good mobility to then transition and jump up into the rush the other way. In one shift, he used good patience and subtle change of direction with the puck at the blueline and then ripped a quick snapshot off the cross-bar.”
’04 (F) Ryan Novo (★★★½) to Army for 2024
Novo had a strong prep season last year and will head to the NAHL to play for the New Jersey Jr. Titans this upcoming season. In 34 games with Frederick Gunn he had 17 goals and 14 assists, and that’s on top of the 17 goals and 18 assists he had for the Buffalo Regals 18U team before the prep season began.
NZ Scouts (True Cup): “Novo had great speed throughout the entire tournament and did not seem to burn out at all at any point this weekend. He beat players to the puck, beat out icings, skated through shots and nearly had a couple breakaways after blocking the shots from the point. He was speedy all day.”
