Junior Hockey’s Rising Stars - Oct 6th-12th, 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).
October 6th-12th, 2025
USHL
Hayden Russell '07 was the top young (2007 and younger) performer in the USHL last week, posting a goal and five assists to improve his points total to 11 points on the season, which ties him for the USHL league lead. He has the most assists of any USHL player with 10. Russell joined the Dubuque Fighting Saints from the BCHL's Cowichan Valley Capitals. Prior to that, the Huntington Beach, Calif., native played for the Anaheim Jr. Ducks and Los Angeles Jr. Kings, helping the Jr. Kings win the USA Hockey 15U Nationals in 2023. He also played with the Jr. Kings at the 16U Nationals in 2024. Russell, who is uncommitted, was named to the 2024-25 BCHL All-Rookie team.
Masun Fleece '07 has already played in 80 regular season USHL games. After playing two seasons with the Fargo Force, he joined the BCHL's Sherwood Park Crusaders to close out 2024-25. With his new team, Russell's teammate Fleece scored a 3-1-4 line in the two games of Oct. 10-11. He now has a 5-4-9 line in seven games, and he is bound for Penn State in 2026-27.
On defense, the Sioux Falls Stampede called up their sixth round, 87th overall draft pick from the 2025 USHL Phase I Draft, Jake Prunty '09. The University of Massachusetts recruit made a huge first impression coming from the Rockets Hockey Club 16U team, registering four assists in his two games on Oct. 10-11. He represented the Rockets at the USA Hockey 14U Nationals in 2023-24 and last year helped the RHC win the Tier 1 Hockey Federation 15U Championship. He assisted on the first three goals in a 4-3 Stampede win on Oct. 11.
Goaltender Michal Pradel '07 had a monstrous weekend, stopping 65 of 68 shots for the Tri-City Storm, going 1-1 with a shutout win on Oct. 9, stopping all 33 shots he faced. Pradel was a 2025 NHL Draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings, and he's been a regular with the Slovakian National Junior Teams going back to 2022-23. After winning nine games with the Storm last year, he was a USHL All-Rookie Second Team Selection.
NAHL
Mark Evans '07 led the charge for younger players in the NAHL this past week, registering five assists in two games Oct. 10-11, including four in his Oct. 10 performance. In his first junior season, he has nine points in nine games for the Bismarck Bobcats thus far. A longtime Pittsburgh Penguins Elite standout, he represented the Pens at the 14U, 15U and 16U Nationals between 2022 and 2024.
Samuel Lussier '07 is a third-year junior player who is having a fantastic start in the NAHL in his first season there. After previously playing in the USPHL Premier (College Universel Gatineau) and the NCDC (Utica Jr. Comets), Lussier has posted 15 points in his first 10 NAHL games. After putting up a 1-1-2 line on Oct. 10, he had his first multi-goal game in his new league on Oct. 11, helping him to lead the Lone Star Brahmas in scoring.
The North Iowa Bulls' Drake Maresca '07 is another first-year NAHL player who had his first multi-goal game this weekend, posting two on Oct. 11, one day after scoring his first junior goal on Oct. 10 for a three-goal weekend. He played previously with the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals.
Returning back to this column is Janesville Jets goaltender Kaenan Smith '08, who stands in the top 10 for each of goals against average (1.45, third), save percentage (.949, tied for sixth) and wins (four, tied for fifth). Smith stopped 29 of 30 shots for his third straight win on Oct. 11. He committed on Sept. 23 to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
NCDC
Anthony Roy '07 is turning this column into a broken record. He keeps showing up among the week's young leaders and he is also the NCDC's leading scorer with 19 points in 14 games for Universel Academy, of Vermont. Over a three-game swing Oct. 6-11, he scored two goals and two assists for four points. He joined Universel this year from College Notre-Dame Albatros in the Quebec Midget AAA league.
Since joining the Utica Jr. Comets, Samuel Prokupets '07 scored two goals and two assists for four points in his first four NCDC games Oct. 8-12. He was a member of the Bishop Kearney Selects USA Hockey Nationals teams in 2023 and 2024. He was a 12th-round selection of the Jr. Comets in the 2023 NCDC Entry Draft.
Ian Tuffin '07 is having a great start with the Northern Cyclones, an organization for whom he played mostly at the 18U AAA level in 2024-25. The '07 from Florida (and a former Florida Alliance player) scored three goals in three games, on each of Oct. 6, 9 and 10. His first junior goal was a shorthanded goal vs. Universel Academy on Oct. 6. He has four points in 11 games.
Another now familiar name for us is the Junior Bruins goalie Niklas Crift '07, who is undefeated in regulation after earning his first shutout victory with a 25-save blanking on Oct. 10. He is 2-0-1-1 with a 1.21 GAA (fourth league-wide) and a .962 save percentage (third league-wide), with rankings being among goaltenders with multiple games played.
EHL
Playing in his first North American season, Latvian product Roberts Stamurs '07 put together his best weekend yet, with a 3-1-4 line in two games Oct. 9-10. Stamurs, who came from the Prizma Riga program, improved to six points in eight games this year for HC Rhode Island.
Stamurs' teammate and defenseman Jack Fraser '07 is another player new to junior hockey this year. He racked up three assists in the two games to have the most points for any 2007 or younger defenseman in the EHL this past week. Fraser has four assists in four games, joining HC Rhode Island this year from the Norwich Hockey Club.
The Philadelphia Little Flyers' Lewis Brocklehurst '07 was heroic in net on Oct. 10 for his team despite taking a loss. He stopped 38 of 41 shots, coming one week after another fantastic performance in a 37-save shutout win. Brocklehurst previously played a big part of Bridgton Academy's success last year.
USPHL Premier
The new Alberta Division of the USPHL Premier kicked off its season this past weekend, and a bright star from up that way was Ukrainian import Maksym Onatskiy '08. In three games for the Calgary Bandits, he registered a line of 4-6-10, immediately becoming the team's leading scorer. His first game was a 3-1-4 performance on Oct. 10.
On defense, Onatskiy's Calgary Bandits teammate Erik Freiheit '09 kicked off his junior career with three goals - one in each of his first three games - and three assists for six points. Freiheit is a local product who played with the Bandits' 16U team in 2024-25.
Another first-year North American player to watch is the Rogue Valley Royals' Konstantin Bychkov '07. Joining from the MAH Moskva 18U team, he scored his first hat trick and added three assists on Oct. 12. He also had two assists on Oct. 10, which also helped to push his point total to 13 points in 12 games, a performance which leads the Royals early on.
A second-year Utica Jr. Comets goalie, Jacob Korte '08 gave up just one goal in two games last weekend, stopping 19 of 20 on Oct. 12, after stopping all 21 shots on Oct. 9. Korte joined the Jr. Comets from the Okanagan Hockey Academy, playing in the USA Hockey 15U Nationals in 2024. He made his NCDC debut in 2024-25 in a call-up.
NA3HL
Forward Isaac Emmerich '07 had a strong weekend for the Carolina Rage, posting three goals and five assists for eight points between Oct. 9-11. He improved his point total to six goals and 13 points in six games. He joined the Rage this year from Minnesota's Princeton High School.
On defense, James Steinberg '07 posted a goal and five assists for six points in two games. The former Long Island Shark youth player, who saw four games with the Long Beach Sharks last year, saw his 11 points in seven games pull him into the top 10 for NA3HL defenseman scoring.
While Steinberg, being from Mineola, N.Y., is a local product for the Sharks, they also got a great two-game performance from a player who traveled across the continent to join Long Beach. Richmond, B.C.'s Nicklas Walker '08 stopped all 45 shots he faced on Oct. 11, and stopped 12 of 13 in relief the next day for 57 of 58 on the weekend. He joined the Sharks from Sharpshooter Academy in British Columbia.
In four out of five games this year, Gavin Erickson '07 has given up just one goal. The former Northstar Christian Academy goalie is undefeated at 5-0-0-0 for the Texas Brahmas after stopping 34 of 35 this past weekend, tying him for third in wins in the league and standing as the only goalie undefeated through as many games. Erickson formerly represented Team North Dakota at the 2023 USA Hockey 15U Nationals.
USPHL Elite
Chandler Moore '09 continues to terrorize Elite defenses and goaltenders. The Elite's fourth leading scorer added three goals and three assists for six points in his first three games of the USPHL Southeast Showcase. The former Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning player, who represented that team at the 14U Nationals, has 18 points in nine games. His 14 assists are ranked second in the league.
Darius Bilotta '09 sent home five goals and added one assist in his four games at the Southeast Showcase, including his second hat trick for the Coral Springs Jr. Cats on Oct. 12. Bilotta spent last season between the Westside High School Mutts and Florida Alliance South teams. He leads the first-year Jr. Cats with 14 points in nine games.
Career Carolina Jr. Hurricane Ethan Balamucki '08 also scored five goals over his four games at the showcase, including back-to-back two-goal showings on Oct. 10 and 11. He went to Nationals with the Jr. Canes 14U team in 2023 and the 16U team this past spring. His 10 goals lead the Jr. Canes Elite team, and he is tied for third in goals league-wide.
On Oct. 10, Jr. Canes goalie Spencer Tanner '08 stopped all 29 shots for his first junior shutout. He was a teammate of Balamucki at the 16U Nationals last spring, and is also a career Carolina Jr. Hurricanes player. In Tanner's first game (on Sept. 7), he came in for relief with the rival Charlotte Rush having scored six goals, and stopped them the rest of the way to help the Jr. Canes win the game 7-6 in a shootout.
EHL Premier
For the Pennsylvania Huntsmen, defenseman Dylan Mostoller '08 put up two goals and added three assists in a pair of close shootout losses. He saw a game on Oct. 4 up with the EHL's Huntsmen, and currently leads the EHLP Huntsmen in scoring with six points in six games. He joined from the York Devils and the Keystone Kraken High School teams last year.
The New Jersey Bears got two goals and three assists in two games from Brendan Crowley '08. Crowley joined the Bears from the Rockets Hockey Club organization and also played for St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, N.J. His 10 points pulled him up to second in Bears scoring behind the league's leading scorer and fellow '08 Dominic Moushon. Crowley is third overall in the EHLP.
Tomass Vekselis '08, playing in his first North American season from Latvia, posted a 2-1-3 line in two games, which puts him at four points in six games for the New Jersey 87's. Although from Latvia, he played most of his career in Switzerland for the EHC Basel program.