Junior Hockey’s Rising Stars - Dec 1st - 14th, 2025
WRITTEN BY JOSHUA BOYD
Each week, check back with The Dan K Show as Joshua Boyd breaks down the past week's top performances from 2007 and younger U.S. junior players (2008 and younger for USPHL Elite and EHL Premier). All statistics are taken from league sites; if there are any statistical errors, please contact the league in question.
USHL
Games Of Dec. 1-7
The Waterloo Black Hawks' Salvatore Viviano '07 enjoyed a season-and career-best three points - all assists - on Nov. 6, and also posted a 1-1-2 line one night earlier for his best two-game points output, with five in two contests. Viviano improved to 18 points in 21 games. He was a 2025 USHL Draft pick of the Cedar Rapids Roughriders and just committed to Northern Michigan University for 2027-28 on Dec. 4! Viviano previously played with Biggby Coffee AAA as well as Compuware, competing for the latter at the 2023 and 2024 15U and 16U Nationals, respectively.
A run of 20 points in 12 games from Halloween to Dec. 5 (including a 2-3-5 run in three games Dec. 4-6) has Cooper Simpson '07 tied for the USHL scoring lead. A Boston Bruins 2025 NHL Draft pick and North Dakota recruit, Simpson now has a 12-23-35 line in 26 games. He also added to his league lead in power play assists, with his 15th this past weekend. Playing already in his third USHL season, the Youngstown Phantoms forward has 56 points in 65 career games.
NHL scouts continue to marvel at the Muskegon Lumberjacks' Tynan Lawrence '08, who recently returned from a preseason injury and already has eight goals and 13 points in seven games, including a run of 2-2-4 in two games on Dec. 5-6. Lawrence, also featured here last week, is considered a 2026 NHL Draft Top 10 pick by many pundits. With points in every game since coming back, the Boston University recruit is certainly going to stay in the conversation.
Stopping Cooper Simpson and all of his Youngstown teammates on Dec. 6 over 65 minutes of hockey was Luke Carrithers '08, a 2026 NHL Draft Prospect along with Lawrence, playing for the U.S. NTDP 18U team. He earned his first USHL shutout on Dec. 6 with 23 saves, albeit in a shootout loss to Youngstown. Carrithers, who also played with U.S. NTDP for the 17U team in 2024-25, recently competed in the USHL vs. CHL Prospects Challenge, stopping 36 of 40 shots in two appearances. `
Games Of Dec. 8-14
Through a half month, it's official that Salvatore Viviano '07 is tied for the most productive points-producer in the USHL for December. With a line of six goals and five assists for 11 points in five games, the Waterloo Black Hawk is tied with Sioux City's Trey Jefferis '05 for most points this month through Dec. 14. Viviano played in three games between Dec. 8-14, scoring five goals and two assists. The Northern Michigan University recruit scored his first hat trick (for a second straight three-point game) on Dec. 9, and on Dec. 12, he followed with his third straight three-point outing: a 2-1-3 line. Viviano, at 24 points in 24 games, is tied for the Black Hawks scoring lead.
Sam Kappell '07 was previously in this column and he returns after taking the goal-scoring lead for the Madison Capitols. He scored goals in two straight games, including a 1-2-3 performance on Dec. 12 for his second three-point game this year. The Minnesota State-Mankato now has 13 goals and 19 points. For his three-year career with the Capitols, the 2023 First Overall USHL Draft Pick has 61 points in 120 regular season games.
For the second time this season, Sioux City defenseman Shayne Gould '07 scored two points in consecutive games, putting up a 1-3-4 line on Dec. 12-13. Gould, a University of Connecticut recruit, has become the USHL's leading scorer among defensemen. Gould, who scored 10 points as a USHL rookie last year, now has 25 points in 29 games. He has 35 points in 79 career regular season games since joining from the Bishop Kearney Selects.
Michal Pradel '07 stopped all 45 shots he faced on Dec. 12 and 13 - the latter a 33-save beauty - to climb to a tie for the USHL shutouts lead with three. The Detroit Red Wings 2025 NHL Entry Draft pick registered consecutive shutouts for the first time in his two-year career, and now has nine wins on the season to equal his full 2024-25 output, also played with the Tri-City Storm. Pradel is ranked third in save percentage (.916) and is also top 10 in goals against average (2.46) and wins.
NAHL
Games Of Dec. 1-7
Mack Blue '07 registered his first junior hockey multi-point game on Dec. 5 with a 1-2-3 line and added a goal on Dec. 6 for a four-point two-game weekend. His goal on Dec. 5 was his second game-winner of the season as well for the Oklahoma Warriors. Blue, a former Team North Dakota USA Hockey Nationals alum and former Grand Forks Central High School standout, now has 13 points in 20 games.
Minot Minotauros leading scorer Artem Prima '08 is back in this space after appearing first in October. He recently put up his first two-goal game on Dec. 6, one night after having two assists for a four-point weekend of his own. Prima thus improved to 22 points in 20 games for this first junior season to lead his Minot squad. Prima joined the Minotauros, who drafted him in the third round of the 2025 NAHL Draft, out of the Black Bear Academy 18U AAA squad.
Defenseman Royce Pietila '07 sent home his first junior power play goal on Dec. 5, part of a three-point weekend for him. These performances also helped him extend a point streak to three games with five points in that stretch. Pietila improved to 18 points in 24 games. Pietila is in his second season with the Bobcats, after playing two games there in 2024-25, while playing most of that season with the Victory Honda AAA squad. He committed to Lake Superior State University in September.
In net, Jakob Hanlan '07 has had a great start to his time with the Oklahoma Warriors, who acquired him from El Paso in November. This past weekend, he stopped all 30 shots he faced on Dec. 6 vs. his old team, and one night earlier, he made 39 saves on 41 shots to give him two straight wins. In his last three appearances with the Warriors, he has only given up those two goals on Dec. 5. Overall for the season, he holds a .933 save percentage in 12 games. Hanlan played last year in the QMJHL for the Victoriaville Tigres as well as six games in the Quebec Junior Hockey League. He is also an NCDC alum with the Rockets Hockey Club.
Games Of Dec. 8-14
Cooper Williams '07 vaulted to the top of the NAHL goal-scoring leaderboard with his 21st and 22nd of the season scored on Dec. 12. Showing how unselfish he is, he rang up four assists the next night, matching a season-and career-best for points. Williams, a Lake Superior State University recruit playing for the Bismarck Bobcats (and a BCHL alum), stands at sixth in NAHL points (38) and points per game (1.46).
Second-year Chippewa Steel defenseman Sam Schulte '07 posted a season-and career-best three points in a 2-1-3 night on Dec. 14. For the three-game week, he had 3-1-4, and improved to a team-leading 17 points in 26 games as a blueliner. Schulte, a former Mounds View (Minn.) High School Captain, is bound for the U.S. Military Academy following his junior career, after committing in October.
Playing his first year in North America, Philip Wiklund '07 scored his first NAHL and North American hat trick on Dec. 13 in his only action last week for the Minot Minotauros. With that outburst, he also had a season-and career-best in points and his first game-winning goal on this side of the Atlantic. The Swede previously played for Vasteras IK J18 in his homeland, and was drafted by the Minotauros in the fifth round (164th overall) of the 2025 NAHL Draft.
Minotauros teammate Brian Cooke '08 put up his first career shutout by turning away all 23 shots faced on Dec. 12 in a 1-0 victory. The next night, he stopped 24 of 25 in the same game in which Wiklund scored his hat trick. The Holy Cross commit is in his first NAHL season, and put up back-to-back wins for the first time in a 5-4-1-0 season so far, and he is 3-1-0-0 in December. Cooke joined from the St. Louis AAA Blues, from which he was also selected by the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks in that league's 2025 Draft.
NCDC
Games Of Dec. 1-7
We have a trio of hat tricks to play up, and we'll start with a guy who matched his three goals with three assists for a six-point game, including his first career junior hat trick. Dominik White '07 is in his first junior season with the Boston Junior Bruins NCDC team and he indeed put up a 3-3-6 line on Dec. 5. Each one of those goals was a game-winner, a shorthanded goal and a power play goal. With that performance, he jumped to third in team scoring with 23 points in 27 games. White joined the Junior Bruins from the Boston Hockey Academy.
Tyler Lokker '07, a second-year junior player for the Utica Jr. Comets, posted his first NCDC hat trick on Dec. 6, which was also his first multi-point game at this level. Lokker has 15 points in 24 games this year, in addition to nine points in nine games last year. In 2024-25, he also scored 34 points in 39 USPHL Premier games for the Jr. Comets and additionally played for his hometown Rome (N.Y.) Free Academy.
Samuel Wong '07, who joined the Thunder Hockey Club from his native Hong Kong, scored his first NCDC hat trick on Dec. 7. He has 13 points in 16 NCDC games this year. A former World Under-18 Gold and Silver Medalist for Hong Kong at the Division III level, Wong played the last two years for St. Andrew's College in Canada.
In two road games for the Thunder, goaltender Mitchell Pearce '07 gave up just one goal in each while stopping 79 of a total 81 shots on goal on Dec. 5 and 7, going 1-1 in that stretch. Pearce started this year with the BCHL's Coquitlam Express, with whom he also played part of 2024-25. He played most of the last two seasons with the Coquitlam Hockey Club.
Games Of Dec. 8-14
With three games in four days, Adam Botlo '07 pushed his point streak to seven games. The third-year Springfield Pic and first-year NCDC forward set up four goals with assists on Dec. 10 and followed that with goals in each of his next two games Dec. 12-13. All told, since Nov. 15, he has a line of 4-10-14 in seven straight games. The Bratislava, Slovakia native Botlo bolted to a tie for second-most points in the league with 36 in 24 games. Botlo is close to the 41 points in 38 games he scored for the National finalist Pics USPHL Premier team last year. He came to that team from the THF Springfield Pics 16U squad of 2023-24, where he scored 22 goals and 43 points in 22 games.
Tomas Pribyl '07 exploded for a five-point game on Dec. 12, posting a North American-best 1-4-5 line. He also scored a goal on Dec. 10 for six points over three games, including a Dec. 13 contest. Pribyl improved to 18 points in 22 games to rank second on the West Chester Wolves in scoring. He joined from HC Motor Cezke Budejovice in his native Czechia.
A former Jersey Hitmen NCDC Futures Draft pick (2024), David Ambuhl '07 matched a season-and career-best with a four-point game on Dec. 12. He also had an assist on Dec. 10 for a 2-3-5 line in two games last week. Ambuhl set a career best with two goals on Dec. 12, and he also posted his first game-winning goal in that game. The former Millbrook School forward has a team-best 17 assists, and is second in team scoring with 24 points. Last spring, he was a member of the Northern Connecticut Nor'Easters team that went to the USA Hockey 18U Nationals.
Hayden DeMaso '08, the first overall selection in the Phase I NCDC Entry Draft last spring, picked up his second shutout of the season on Dec. 13, turning away 41 shots, a season best performance in terms of both most saves in a shutout and most saves overall. The Pueblo Bulls goalie is ninth in both save percentage (.934) and goals against average (2.15) among goalies with at least 10 games played. DeMaso previously played with the Fox Motors AAA program in his home state of Michigan.
EHL
Games Of Dec. 1-7
In an already productive season with 19 points in 22 games, New England Wolves forward Tamerlan Zakaryanov '08 had his best single-game performance in North American hockey with a 2-1-3 line on Dec. 4. The Kazakhstan native previously played in his home country for the Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk.
Continuing the trend of career/season-best performances, the Connecticut Nor'Easter's Josh Bluestein '07 did just that on Dec. 4 as well, with a 1-2-3 performance to improve to 10 points in 19 games. Bluestein is a product of the Tier 1 Hockey Federation from the past two seasons, with the Connecticut Chiefs and the Springfield Pics.
Philadelphia Hockey Club forward Hayden Stack '07 is picking up quickly with all four of his points in 11 total games coming in the last four games going back to Nov. 14. A goal on Dec. 3 and assist on Dec. 5 extended the point streak to four in four. Stack entered this year with junior experience from 16 games with the NA3HL's New Jersey Jr. Titans last year, while also playing for the Jersey Whalers 18U team.
Games Of Dec. 8-14
On Dec. 9, New York Apple Core defenseman Tomas Kubena '07 scored almost half of his season's points with a 1-2-3 performance, improving to eight points in 20 games. Kubena is a poster player for the EHL's player development model, moving up to the EHL from two seasons in the EHL Premier with the Union Thunder. He scored 25 points in 77 EHLP games between 2023-25.
Dylan Cawley '07 is rolling with a five-game point streak, over which he's scored six points. On Dec. 10, he posted his first junior game-winning goal and added two assists between that game and a Dec. 12 game for a four-point week. He leads the Providence Capitals with 18 assists and his 21 points rank second on the team over 22 games. He joined Providence from Rink HA Kelowna 18U in the CSSHL.
Mark Rosa '07 improved to 11 points in 19 games for the Valley Jr. Warriors, thanks to a season-and career-best three-point/three-assist game on Dec. 12. Rosa played previously for South Kent Selects Academy AAA, along with making his EHL Premier debut with four games last year, before jumping to the Jr. Warriors' top squad this year.
Lewis Brocklehurst '07 pushed his record above .500 with his third win of the season on Dec. 12, stopping 25 of 26 shots. The Philadelphia Little Flyers goalie Brocklehurst also improved to fourth in the EHL in save percentage at .942 and he's 10th in goals against average at 2.18. Brocklehurst came to the Little Flyers from Maine's Bridgton Academy.
NA3HL
Games Of Dec. 1-7
Denis Portnoy '08 has made a massive impression early on in the NA3HL after joining from the OJHL's Markham Royals in November. In just three games, he has scored 10 goals and five assists for 15 points for the Bayou State Rougarou. His lines between Dec. 5 and 7 were 3-0-3, 3-1-4, 4-4-8. Prior to joining Markham, he had played in the Greater Toronto Hockey League for the Reps Hockey Club 18U AAA team in Toronto.
Matthieu Leblanc '07 had closed November strong with points in three straight games for the Austin Ice Bats. It's already a December to remember, as he tore it up with three goals and seven assists for 10 points between Dec. 5-7. Back-to-back three-point nights on Dec. 6-7 would've been NA3HL highs, if he didn't already post four points on Dec. 5. For a powerful Ice Bats team, he has 38 points in 32 games, which places him fifth in team scoring on the stacked squad. Leblanc played last year in the USPHL Elite with the Bold City Battalion, scoring 44 points in 40 games.
Brendon Miller '08 enjoyed a strong two-game set on Dec. 5-6, during which he scored two goals and added four assists. This is all part of a four-game, 10-point scoring streak. The six points in two games aren't close to a season best, as he rang up nine points between Oct. 24-25. Miller leads the Peoria Mustangs with 31 points in 26 games. Last year, he played for the Maine Mariners AAA, the USPHL Premier's Thunder Hockey Club and the Mustangs, posting his first five points in 10 NA3HL games.
In net, junior veteran Jacob Brumm '07 put up a fantastic performance of 44 saves on 47 shots in an overtime loss on Dec. 5, pulling his save percentage on the season up to a very impressive .923 for the Willmar Warhawks. He is 3-1-1-0 since Nov. 8. Last season, Brumm split the year between the Omaha Mastery 18U AAA and the USPHL Premier's Henderson Force.
Games Of Dec. 8-14
With his second two-goal game of the season, the Norwich Sea Captains' second-year forward Logan Niesen '07 attained a career-best of nine goals on the season already. In two NA3HL seasons, including a stint with the Rochester Grizzlies, he had 37 points through 71 NA3HL games. He scored his two goals on Dec. 10. He joined the NA3HL from the North Shore Academy AAA team.
For the third time this season, third-year Rochester Grizzlies forward Ole Fevold '07 earned multiple points in back-to-back games. He scored two goals on Dec. 14, and had two assists on Dec. 12 for a four-point run in his two games of the past week. Fevold had played sparingly with the Grizzlies between 2023-25 while also playing for the Rochester Century/John Marshall high school team, earning eight points in 31 games those first two seasons. This year, he already had 28 points through 25 games, and he ranked third on the Grizzlies in scoring.
The addition of Denis Portnoy '08 for the Bayou State Rougarou has worked wonders. In just five games, he scored 20 points. On Dec. 14, he registered a 2-2-4 line and added an assist the next day for five points in two games. Portnoy joined this year from the OJHL's Markham Royals and clearly has grasped the NA3HL quickly.
Willmar Warhawks goaltender Sam Moen '07 put together two straight outstanding performances in net, including a 30-save shutout victory on Dec. 14 at the start of the NA3HL Showcase. Prior to that, he also stopped 36 of 38 shots on Dec. 12, bringing his overall record to .500 at 7-7-1-0. Moen joined the Warhawks this year after captaining the Mounds View High School team in 2024-25 (a year after playing with Sam Schulte there). He also played for the Minnesota Green Giants 18U team last year.
USPHL Premier
Games Of Dec. 1-7
In two games this past weekend, defenseman Micah Stanczyk '07 matched the points from his prior 12 contests this year with the defending National Champion Vernal Oilers. Stanczyk scored four goals on Dec. 5 and the very next day put up a 2-1-3 line for seven points in just two games, tying him for the best points per game among 2007 and younger players in the Premier to start December. Stanczyk now has 14 points in 14 games, after scoring one goal in 18 games with the Oilers last season. Stanczyk played many seasons with the Colorado Rampage, right up to the 16U level in 2023-24.
Tying with Stanczyk at 3.5 points per game between Dec. 1-7 was Sean Fagan '07, a local product from Bridgewater, N.J., for the Rockets Hockey Club. In a single outing, he popped in a hat trick and set up four other goals on Dec. 7. His prior high this year was three points, so he set single game career highs in goals, assists and points. Fagan also saw his first NCDC action this year on Nov. 29 for the Rockets' top team. He leads the Premier Rockets with 25 points in 19 games. He is a longtime "rink rat" around Bridgewater Sports Arena, playing for the Rockets since the 15U level (2022-23), and also for Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
Trevor Smith '07 notched his first junior shutout with 26 saves on 26 shots faced on Dec. 4, a win which also put him above .500 for this season at 4-3-0-0. With eight appearances, Smith leads all Worcester Railers Junior Hockey Club goaltenders in that category, as well as save percentage (.922) and GAA (2.36). Smith joined the Railers from the Syracuse Nationals 18U AAA team and Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
Noah Hammarstrom '07 is in his first North American season with the Fresno Monsters. He's handling hockey on this side of the pond from his native Sweden like an old pro, recently stopping 70 of 72 shots in two shining victories Dec. 4 and 6, both showing equal stats of 35 saves on 36 shots. The former Malmo Redhawks J18 standout currently stands tied for 10th in Premier wins (nine). Among goaltenders with at least 10 games played, he is third in save percentage (.945) and fifth in GAA (1.70), and he is on a four-game winning streak.
Games Of Dec. 8-14
In just 26 games this year, Montreal Black Vees forward Elliot Fortin '07 has already bypassed the points totals from a full 2024-25 season. He currently has a team-leading 42 points, after putting up an already impressive 32 points in 41 games last season. Recently, Fortin put up a career-best 2-4-6 performance on Dec. 12, and for good measure added another 1-2-3 the next day against a different opponent for a nine-point two-game run. For this month of December, he has 11 points in four games. Prior to his two-year Premier career, Fortin had played for the CSJV Black Vees in the USPHL Elite in 2023-24.
Fortin's three-year Black Vees teammate Olivier Sirois '07 had an outstanding eight-point run in the same two games, registering a 3-5-8 run for the second December weekend. Sirois' 32 points in 22 games this year has not yet approached the 50 points in 44 games he posted in 2024-25, but he's on pace to pass last year's impressive showing. Like Fortin, he also played for the Elite CSJV Black Vees, and also this year, he has played in four NCDC games for the New York Dynamo, including scoring a goal at that level.
On Dec. 14, St-Lazare Avalanche forward Caleb Laurie '07 scored his second hat trick of the season and added one assist for four points in his only action of the week. Laurie has a 6-3-9 line (plus a shootout goal) in his last three straight games, giving him 45 points in 26 games this year. That ranks him second on the Avalanche in scoring. He joined the Avalanche from the St-Laurent Express of the Quebec 18U league last year.
Goalie Matthew Macfie '07 was traded from the Vernal Oilers to his hometown Calgary Bandits in November. After eight USPHL Premier games, he is still undefeated in regulation. Most recently, he posted a season and career-best 55 saves on 56 shots in 65 minutes of hockey in an eventual shootout loss on Dec. 11. He is now 5-0-0-2 with a 1.11 GAA and a .964 save percentage. A former John Bosco High School (of California) goaltender, he is ranked second in save percentage and third in GAA among goaltenders with at least five games played.
EHL Premier
Games Of Dec. 1-7
Brendan Crowley '08 pulled to second in team scoring on the New Jersey Bears by putting up a 2-3-5 line over Dec. 6-7, including a season-and career-best 2-2-4 on Dec. 7. He now has 20 points in 14 games for the Bears, second only to the EHLP's leading scorer Dominic Moushon '08. Crowley was a longtime member of the Rockets Hockey Club (though never a teammate with Sean Fagan).
Dominic Moushon '08 scored back-to-back hat tricks Nov. 22 and Dec. 6, and came out of the first weekend of this new month with a 3-1-4 line, improving to a league-leading 47 points in 20 games.
Atlantic City Seals forward Chad Niederman '08 is on a great scoring streak with seven points in his last four games, including a 3-1-4 line from Dec. 6-7. He scored two goals for the first time on Dec. 7. Niederman has improved to 22 points in 18 games. Niederman joined the Seals from the Hollydell Hurricanes AA team in the Atlantic Hockey Federation, while also playing for his hometown Gloucester (N.J.) High School.
Games Of Dec. 8-14
Karsten Blum '08 quintupled his goals total for the season after scoring his first four-goal game on Dec. 13, adding to one goal previously scored on the season. Blum, who has split this season between the Pennsylvania Huntsmen and Great Valley/Phoenixville high school hockey team, now has a 5-12-17 line in 19 games for the EHLP season. The four-goal game came two days after his fourth game played for the EHL's Huntsmen.
With nine points in his last four games, the Providence Capitals' Domino Costa '08 is closing in on the 31 points he scored as a junior rookie in 2024-25 for the Caps. Costa recently posted a 1-3-4 line between Dec. 9-12. Costa improved to 28 points in 21 games, putting him in the Top 10 of scoring overall. Costa has also seen three games up with the EHL's Providence Capitals this year.
In the "When is someone going to call this guy up?" department, leading scorer Dominic Moushon '08 passed the 50-point mark through 21 games recently. The New Jersey Bears forward has scored points in all but one of his 21 games, and on Dec. 13, he registered his fourth game of four points or better. He holds a 15-point lead over the second-leading scorer in the EHLP. It's fair to say he's more than proven his worth to get a look at a higher level. Pick up the phone, somebody!
USPHL Elite
Games Of Dec. 1-7
We can't help but again spotlight Giovanni Rizzo '08, who found a way to produce five goals and five assists for 10 points in four games Dec. 1-5, two apiece for the Chicago Crush and Chicago T-Rex. On top of that, in a busy week, he also played his fourth USPHL Premier game of the season on Dec. 7 for the Crush. He currently has 37 points in 27 Elite games this season. Rizzo joined the Crush this year from the local Orland Park Vikings AA team.
With Rizzo up with the Premier team on Dec. 7, Crush defenseman Hunter Pope '08 helped the Elite team with a 1-2-3 line that same day. With 24 points in 20 games, Pope is tied for second in defenseman scoring in the Elite behind Crush teammate Ramsey Paullo '07.
The Connecticut Jr. Rangers have a terrific import from Italy in defenseman Thobias Cinzol '08, who has been on a four-game point streak lately. Since Nov. 21 at the Islanders Hockey Club Showcase, he's put up a 4-5-9 line in five games, including a 3-2-5 line in two December games so far. With 17 points in 23 games, he ranks second on the CJR Elite team. He joined the Rangers from his home country's Aosta 19U team and also saw time with Aosta's Italy Division 3 pro team.
December brought the first junior shutout for the Charlotte Rush's Cameron Duda '08, who sent away all 25 shots he faced on Dec. 6. Duda is 3-0-1-0 in his last four starts, and he leads Rush goalies in starts (12), wins (6), save percentage (.907) and GAA (2.20). Duda played last year for the Atlanta Fire AA squad and his local Cambridge-Milton high school team.
Games Of Dec. 8-14
In an already productive season for the first-year Montreal Knights, Alessandro Calandriello '08 put up three points in two straight games for the first time this season. In a three-game set against an always strong Northern Cyclones team, he posted a 3-4-7 run, lifting him to 31 points in 21 games. Calandriello is ranked third in scoring on the Knights, after joining from Laval-Montreal Rousseau Royal's 17U team in his native province of Quebec.
Brett Spiers '08 is the Elite's leading scorer among defensemen, especially since he's been scoring more like a forward lately. He has five goals and three assists for eight points in his last four games, including a 4-2-6 line between Dec. 8-14. Spiers now has 30 points in 24 games. He joined the Jr. Islanders from the Long Island Edge 16U team, and has seen one game up with the USPHL Premier Islanders on Nov. 30.
Zacaria Wallis '08 had his best performance of the season in net for the South Shore Kings, stopping 36 of 38 shots in an OT win on Dec. 10, giving him his eighth career Elite victory, after also playing for the Kings in 2024-25. Wallis joined from the Northern Cyclones Academy 15U team in his home state of New Hampshire.
The Knights' Orane Green '08 moved into a tie for second in Elite wins with his ninth and 10th victories. During the Dec. 13-14 run, he stopped 63 of 67 shots for a .940 save percentage on the weekend. Green is fourth in Elite save percentage (.921) and in goals against average (2.13) among goalies with at least 10 games played. He moved up to the Elite team from the Knights' 16U team of 2024-25.