Junior Hockey’s Rising Stars
WRITTEN BY JOSHUA BOYD
Each week, check back with The Dan K Show as Joshua Boyd breaks down last week’s action and find the best performances from hockey’s rising stars. *Please note, this entry contains players from the first two weeks of coverage. Going forward, each entry will detail a single week of games per league
September 17th, 20025
NAHL
Kevin Lysohir '08 has arrived early! The USHL Draft pick and Quinnipiac recruit already has three goals in his first two NAHL games with Chippewa. Lysohir comes out of the Long Island Gulls system and saw his first six USHL games last year.
Newcomer Dante Rodriguez '07, a defenseman for the Maine Nordiques, put up a 1-2-3 line in his first two NAHL games. The longtime product of the Rockets Hockey Club Midget system has played in the last three USA Hockey Nationals at the 15U, 16U and 18U levels, respectively.
NCDC
Rhyle Shevlin '07 leads the NCDC with six goals and also with eight points for the Boston Jr. Rangers, a tuition-based team in the largely non-tuition league. Tied for the league points lead with teammate Charlie Dey '05. He makes his return to the NCDC after previously playing with the Utah Outliers in 2023-24.
Xavier Delisle '07, a second-year goalie who saw QMJHL playoff time last year, registered his first shutout of season this past weekend for the West Chester Wolves. He is an NCDC 2025 Entry Draft Phase II first round pick by the Wolves.
USPHL Premier/Elite
Great start for Adrien Poirier '08, playing in his first U.S. season after a very strong career for Ecole St. Solanges in Quebec's Midget 18U league. He stands with four assists in his first three games for the Hershey Cubs Premier team.
Jacob Kuhn '08 is leading the Elite with eight points in his first four games. He is in his first junior season after previously playing with the Mission Arizona program.
September 24th, 2025
USHL
Eetu Orpana '07 is paying dividends to the Dubuque Fighting Saints who selected him 13th overall in the 2025 USHL Draft. Orpana was ranked for the 2025 NHL Draft, but it may be 2026 when his name is called if he can build on a good 2-2-4 start.
North Dakota recruit and Boston Bruins draft pick Cooper Simpson '07 has been impressive as well for the Youngstown Phantoms, with a 1-3-4 line out of the gate in two games.
Sticking with the Phantoms, UMass recruit and 2026 NHL Draft-eligible goalie Tobias Trejbal '07 turned away all 28 shots against Tri-City on Sept. 19 in his first North American start. Trejbal is an alum of the Czechia National Under-18 Team and HC Litvinov.
NAHL
George McCaffrey '07 scored a 1-3-4 line for the New Mexico Ice Wolves against the Oklahoma Warriors. Formerly with the Long Island Gulls and Mid-Fairfield Rangers, with whom he made appearances at the 15U, 16U and 18U USA Hockey Nationals, McCaffrey saw his first two NAHL games last season. He remains uncommitted - but for how long?
Second-year NAHL veteran Jack McDonough '07 registered a 2-1-3 outing for the Aberdeen Wings vs. the Watertown Shamrocks. A St. Lawrence University recruit, he scored 15 points in 43 games for the Wings last year coming out of the Lovell Academy and Boston Advantage programs.
NHL scout eyes are probably already turning towards Russian import Andrei Nikolayev '09, eligible for the 2027 Draft. Joining the New Jersey Jr. Titans from the Spartak Moskva U17 program, Nikolayev stopped 25 of 26 shots from the Maine Nordiques in a 1-0 OT win on Sept. 20. In three appearances, he has a 1.45 GAA and a .949 save percentage.
NCDC
Gabriel Boivin '08 had a huge weekend for the first-year Universel Quebec, picking up a hat trick and adding three assists for six points. He played last season in the USPHL Premier for the College Universel Gatineau, picking up 51 points, and he has a 4-3-7 line in four games already.
Anthony Roy '07 enjoyed a 1-4-5 line in a big 11-goal weekend for the first-year Universel Academy. He has seven points in five games, after joining Universel Academy out of College Notre-Dame Albatros of Quebec's 18U AAA league. He was an eighth-round selection by Universel Quebec in the 2025 NCDC Draft.
NA3HL
The NA3's New Mexico Wolves also have a strong force up front, with first-year junior Caleb DeBruyne '07 putting up a 4-2-6 line over a pair of games last week. The Wolves signed the Regina, Sask., out of the CSSHL's Pilot Mound Academy and he currently has a 5-3-8 line in five NA3HL games.
Third-year Rochester Grizzlies veteran Ole Fevold '07 had the second most points in the league last week with a 1-6-7 line. He has nine points through four games early on. He split the past two seasons between the Grizzlies and the Rochester Century/John Marshall high school hockey team.
Goalie Mason Orr '07 helped the Carolina Rage bounce back from a tough start by going 2-0 with 48 saves on 51 shots last week.
USPHL Premier
Great start to the season for four-year Premier veteran and first-year McCall Smokejumper Toby Odushkin '07. He had played for the Bellingham Blazers the prior three seasons and currently has a 6-4-10 line in three games against Bremerton Sept. 19-21.
Chase Murray '07 started his junior career for the South Shore Kings with a 25-save shutout
Former USPHL Elite goalie Dominik Feiler ‘07 picked up his first Premier win for the Elmira Impact, stopping 48 saves on 50 shots in 65 minutes, earning a win in a shootout.
USPHL Elite
We'll be watching Kasin Shoemaker '08 closely. He began his new season with a five-point weekend for the Elmira Impact in two games. Shoemaker had briefly played in 2024-25 with the Impact coming over from the Rochester Coalition.
The P.A.L. Jr. Islanders' Anthony Scalia '08 had a great weekend, stopping all nine shots he saw in relief in a Sept. 20 loss and then giving P.A.L. their first win with 35 saves on 38 shots on Sept. 21.