Tony Larson Asserts Himself During Clark Cup

Tony Larson sure seems to be asserting himself nicely in the Clark Cup Playoffs and Finals for the Dubuque Fighting Saints.  The 2011-2012 incoming University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolf freshman defenseman and Former Blaine High School power-play quarterback from Ham Lake, Minnesota enjoyed a solid rookie season on the blueline in the USHL for Dubuque  The 5ft 10in, 180lbs Larson played in 47 games scoring 2 goals with 10 assists and an overall respectable +4 rating on a team that finished 37-14-9 for the 2nd best record in the league's regular season.  His totals were good enough to be the 3rd highest scoring defenseman on the roster.

AJHL's Canmore Eagles Kory Roy To UAA

Chris Heisenberg has added left-handed center Kory Roy from the AJHL's Canmore Eagles to the list of incoming freshman for the 2011-12 season.  The 5ft 11in, 185lb forward scored 30 goals and added 33 assists in 53 regular season games on Canmore's top line this past season.  His career AJHL numbers are 41g-60a in 110 games.

Allen Leading Spruce Grove On Road To The RBC

Future Seawolves player Scott Allen has been on a playoff tear for the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints.  In the inital rounds of AJHL playoff games Scott posted an impressive 1.1 points per game, which led the team.

In 9 games he scored 7 goals and added 3 assists.  Spruce Grove played 13 AJHL playoff games en route to their current participation in the Doyle Cup series which determines the western representative for the RBC Cup which is Canada's defacto Junior A championship.

2010-2011 UAA Recruit Wrap-Up

Time for the season ending update for the incoming Seawolves rookie class.  This is a real positive group of committed players led perhaps by Sam Mellor but there's lots of other good players coming to wear the Green and Gold next year who look to turn a few heads also.

Parent Submitted: Rob Gunderson (Sr.)

A Parents Perspective on UAA
I feel compelled to state my opinion of our son’s situation – in the fall of 2010 he began his NCAA experience as a Freshman Goaltender with the UAA Seawolves. My motivation is from two directions, one of extreme gratitude and another of distaste for others historical opinions of the UAA program in general.

Olds Grizzlys D-Man Corbin Karl Commits to UAA

High scoring defenseman (12g, 27a in 56 games) Corbin Karl  (March 30, 1990) from the Olds Grizzlys in the AJHL has committed to join the Seawolves for the 2011-2012 season.  His 12 goals this season ties him for second in goals amongst that league's blueliners.  

His total points for the season place him third on the Olds squad.  Karl is listed at 6ft and 200lbs and is from Foremost, Alberta.  Great name for a town.

The Grizzly's press release characterizes Corbin as having superior leadership abilities.  Coach Kevin Willison is quoted saying, 

"The short time that I have known Corbin he has certainly shown his leadership qualities. Through any kind of adversity, Corbin would be willingly to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his team. Playing multiple roles and always coming to the rink with a positive attitude and a great work ethic were traits that made Corbin a consistently positive leader."

Welcome to the Seawolves Corbin.  You're joining a team that is on the rise and which looks to be on the backend one of the better future group of blueliners in the league.

His addition to brings potential blueliners to next year's Seawolves to a total of 9 which I think opens up more possibility for the F/D listed Curtis Leinweber and/or Brad Gorham to move up to the forward line.  It also provides depth on the backline as insurance against injuries.  The Seawolves this season have had a relatively injury free year but planning for such inevitable things is certainly prudent.

Thanks to an alert commenter for this information.  I'm pretty busy today writing Senior Tributes and may not have noticed but for that.

Austin Coldwell Named USHL All-Star

(photo credit ... Bryce Loshman USHL Website)

UAA Seawolves recruit Austin Coldwell (Des Moines Buccaneers) was named today to his 2nd straight USHL All-Star team for the western confernce.  The Vancouver, Washington born defenseman (6'1" 190lbs) is in his 2nd season with Des Moines and in 97 games has 18 goals and 45 assists.  He currently leads all defenseman in league scoring with 6 goals and 21 assists this season.

Sunday Potpourri: Recruit Update and Zeitgeist: Moving Forward

In Cosmology, the Big Bang Theory tells us that the only way we can go into the future is to travel at 99.9% the speed of light.  Luckily we're unencumbered by those laws of physics from peering into the future so let's look at how the future Seawolves have been doing.  First let's look at the D-men eh?

Austin Coldwell Verbals To UAA

Austin Coldwell from the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL has verbally committed to attend UAA.  The 20 year old blueliner from Vancouver, Washington is currently the 2nd highest scoring defensemen in the league and leads the team in scoring with 6 goals and 12 assists; was selected to the 2010 USHL All-Star game.

BCHL '93 Michael Stenerson Commits To UAA

Stenerson in action with Surrey ... (photo credit Garret James - BCHL)

Surrey Eagles 1993 playmaking forward Michael Stenerson has committed to play for the UAA Seawolves beginning in 2012-2013.  Stenerson (5ft 10in 165lbs) is in his first season of Junior A hockey after spending last two years respectively at the Major Midget level with Valley West Hawks and Semiahmoo Ravens of the BCMMHL.

Mellor Named to CJHL Prospects Game

UAA Seawolves recruit/signee Sam Mellor has been named to the Team West squad for the annual CJHL Prospects game this December 7th/8th in Dauphin Manitoba.  

Congratulations are once again in order for Mr. Mellor on receiving this invitation.  It's a nice follow on to his recent participation in the WJAC tournament.  

Once in a UAA sweater, I'd expect Sam may garner an invitation or two to the Canadian World Junior team though being named to that final roster is quite the step above both the WJAC tournament and this CJHL prospects showcase.

Mellor's resume' and performances in the BCHL now peg him as one of the (if not the) top western Canadian prospect(s)s heading to the WCHA next season.  Best of luck to Sam in front of what is one of the larger assemblages of NHL scouts to attend these showcases.

Here's how the CJHL describes this event:

Player selection is a joint initiative of the CJHL and NHL Central Scouting. Team West includes eight players from the BCHL, four from the SJHL, four from the MJHL, three from the AJHL and one from the SIJHL.

The CJHL Prospects Game was created to showcase the top 40 NHL draft eligible players in the CJHL. The event includes a two-game, total goal series between Team East and Team West, which is well attended by local hockey fans, NHL scouts, and representatives from Canadian and American colleges and universities.

UAA Recruit Sam Mellor Inks Letter Of Intent

Mellor lined up for a draw in the just completed WJAC versus Russia ... photo credit Andy Devlin/Hockey Canada Images

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference website's 2011-2012 National Letters-of-Intent Signees page puts to rest the unfounded rumor, hand-wringing and other speculation in this blog's comment section that UAA Seawolves Recruit Sam Mellor of the BCHL's Trail Smoke Eaters would switch his commitment from UAA to some other WCHA school.

Donnie Harris Commitment Confirmed

Last week we got a tip in the comments section that 19 year old defenseman Donnie Harris from the AJHL's Bonnyville Pontiacs had committed to the Seawolves.  Today a Bonnyville press release confirms exactly that.  The 6ft 2in 205lb defenseman originally hails from Fort Ashby, West Virginia.  His first exposure to hockey there came at a local rec center where he says he fell in love with the sport.

Sam Mellor Selected for WJAC Canada West Squad

Sam Mellor has been named to the Canada West 2010 World Junior A Championship roster.  Mellor was among 8 BCHL players chosen to the squad.  

Seven AJHL players, 3 MJHL players and 1 SJHL player round out the selections.  7 of the named players are veterans from last years team.  3 players are 2010 NHL draftees.

Congratulations to Mellor on the selection.  

The Canada West team begins play with a pair of tune-up games versus Canada East and the U.S. on November 5th and 6th before beginning group play on November 8th versus Switzerland and the 10th versus Russia.  

The semi-finals are on the 12th with the gold medal game to be televised nationally in Canada on the 14th.

With 21 goals in 19 games so far this season Mellor's scoring pace is nothing short of fantastic.  Best of luck to Sam and all the other participants in this tournament.

Sunday Potpourri: Recruits, WCHA Reviews, Bad Humans and Good Humans

I'm imagining that lots of good will come from this past weekends experience for the Seawolves.  That's the great thing about sports and being a fan.  Tomorrow.  The future.  The next game.  The next season.  I know our guys will learn from past games and apply those lessons in the next; they're students ya know ... they're all about learning.

Penticton's Pickering To Seawolves in 2010

BCHL veteran Andrew Pickering announces his commitment to the UAA Seawolves in this audio link on the Penticton Vees website blog.  The 20 year old forward played 133 games in the BCHL over the past 3 seasons scoring 36 goals and 61 assist with 5 different teams. 

Pickering is 5'11" and 185lbs and turn 21 at the beginning of June.  

It's hard to know exactly why Andrew ended up playing for so many different teams since he produced reasonably well no matter where he played.

Welcome to the incoming freshman list Andrew.  We look forward to seeing you play this fall.

It's shaping up to be a pretty interesting forward roster this fall.  There sure looks to be a lot of competition for playing time.

Larson and Scheid Commit To Seawolves

Forward Eric Scheid and defenseman Tony Larson from Blaine High School in Minnesota have verbally committed to play for the UAA Seawolves for the 2011-2012 season. 

Scheid (5'9" 155lbs, May 92) finished the 09/10 season as the 2nd leading scorer on the Blaine squad with 55 points (23g,32a) behind Nick Bjugstad.  Larson (5'10" 175lbs, Oct 91) was the leading scoring defenseman with 32 points (6g,26a) for 5th on the team.

Both are expected to play in the USHL next season.  I don't follow discussions about Minnesota-based players since UAA typically doesn't recruit heavily there; so I invite some kind reader to submit whatever scouting info/knowledge they possess about these latest UAA recruits.

Goalie Chris Kamal Commits To Seawolves

NAHL Alexandria Blizzard goaltender Chris Kamal (5ft 10in 180lbs, April 3rd 1989) has committed to play at the University of Alaska, Anchorage in the fall of 2010.  With Bryce Christianson's decision to give the pro route a try, the Seawolves have quickly moved to fill the roster hole.  And from what I'm seeing it's a pretty interesting story at least.

Kamal comes from the Alpharetta, Georgia.  He spent two years (06/07 and 07/08) in the EJHL with the Green Mountain Glades.  He played in 25 games as a 17 year old winning 9 and losing 14 with a 3.06gaa and a .902 save %.  The Glades won 18-2-5-2 games that season and finished 6th in the 7 team Northern Division.  In his 2nd season with the Glades he played 26 games and went 4-15-4-2; his season save percentage was .891 with a gaa of 3.65.  The Glades finished with an 11-26-6-2 record.

Following that season Chris suffered a serious leg break when he was pinned against a dumpster.  He didn't play hockey during the 08/09 season rehabbing.   But then in July of 09 Chris was invited attend the Atlanta Thrashers prospect camp; Chris' father is long time play-by-play voice of the Thrashers .  Here's a link to the Thrasher's official blog saying he stole the show at the final scimmage.  

Bill Tiller of the Ice Man fan blog spoke with his father during the prospect camp;

When I caught up with Dan last week during the Thrashers prospect camp, he was keeping an eye one particular player of interest…his son Chris Kamal, a goalie. I asked him how Chris was playing and how his recovery was coming along.

“I’m very proud of the way that he has reacted to the adversity”, said Kamal. “He had come off a very strong year in his first season in junior hockey…and was looking forward to his second year when he had a freak off-ice injury and suffered a complicated break of his tibia and fibula…and it cost him the whole ‘08-’09 season”.

But, according to the senior Kamal,  he’s been up to playing speed since February and is in “the best shape of his life and playing the best hockey of his life…but now he needs to catch a break” in trying to land a position on a junior hockey team.

Chris then got a tryout with the Blizzard and so far this season has been stellar for them.  He was named NAHL Goalie of the Week on at least two different occassions.  His save percentage for the regular season was .917 in 38 games.  His record was 21-11-3-1 with a 2.5 goals against average.  Alexandria finished with a record of 30-22-6 for 3rd place in the Central Division.  He was also named to the 2010 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.

All in all I find it to be a pretty cool story.  And my intuition is telling me that Chris Kamal could turn out to be a nice find.  Here's a real positive profile from the NAHL website on March 30th.  And here's the link to the NAHL's announcement today. 

There's lots of good comments in the links so make sure and check them out.

Justin Kirchhevel Commits To Seawolves

Fairbanks Ice Dog's forward Justin Kirchhevel (5'10" 185lbs, Sept. 5th, 1989) has committed to the UAA Seawolves for 2010.  Justin is a three year NAHL player and in 94 games has scored 33 goals and added 51 assists.  Ice Dog's coach Josh Hauge said, 

“He’s a great competitor, who plays a skilled game. He’ll go in there and compete hard and bring a level of skill up front that they are looking to add.”

Justin was named to the West squad in the 2010 NAHL Top Prospect Tournament.  

This addition looks to be a continuation of a minor downsizing trend for the Seawolves in terms of player size.  In the past, it seems the majority of recruits added have been bigger players but many recent additions have seemed to be under 6 feet tall.

Whether this is deliberate or just part of the recruiting cycle the Seawolves will be smaller overall in coming seasons.  Justin joins current Ice Dog's teammate Mark Pustin as the 2nd committed player from that squad for the Seawolves.  Welcome to Anchorage Justin.  We all hope that your coach's comments turn out to be true.

Cameron and Allen Light It Up In AJHL Game 7

Just a quick note to share as an addendum to the future Seawolves post below.  The Spruce Grove Saints won the game 7 AJHL championship tonight by the score of 6-0 on the strength of a combined 5 goals from Brett Cameron and Scott Allen. 

Brett scored the game winner just 37 seconds into the match.  He followed that 1st goal up with 3 more on the night at 17:12 of the 1st then 6:56 and 10:14 of the third before Scott Allen rounded out the scoring at 18:42.

Congrats to those future Seawolves.  They move on to face the Vernon Vipers in the Doyle Cup where the winner advances to the RBC tournament to decide the Jr. A champion of Canada.

Very impressive production Brett!  I'm officially now more excited to see him in the "Green and Gold" this coming fall.  Wes McLeod picked up 2 assists on the 2nd and 4th goals tonight after being named the "Away" Star in the 4-2 game six loss to Fort McMurray; he opened the scoring with Spruce Grove's first goal.