(USPHL) Premier 2023-24 Division Previews: Great Lakes Division
August 22, 2024
USPHL Premier 2024-25 Preview: Great Lakes Division
The United States Premier Hockey League is previewing each Premier Division ahead of their start dates in the 2024-25 season. Check back each weekday to see which Premier division is up next!
Order is 2023-24 Regular Season Finish
Metro Jets
Season Opener: Sept. 21 vs. Nashville Spartans
The Metro Jets are hoping to keep up their streak of qualifying for the USPHL Nationals every year of their USPHL existence, which dates back to 2018. General Manager Justin Quenneville is certainly optimistic one month out from puck drop.
“This is an exciting year for us. We had a record off-season in college commitments and are now rebuilding. Our focus remains on the process and it’s up to these young men to buy into that if they want to be associated with the level of play we historically have seen in our lineups,” said Quenneville.
A key veteran presence for the Jets will be ‘04 goaltender Rostislav Efrimov, who put up a combined .914 save percentage between the regular season and playoffs.
“Rosti is our big returner. He will get an opportunity to play an entire season this time around. He was a big addition to our team last season and he is eager to get started here soon. He has been training hard and noticeably driven,” said Quenneville.
The Jets will have a new look up and down the lineup, and Quenneville is excited to see what this mix of newcomers to the program and promotions from the Metro Jets Development Program can accomplish.
“What’s exciting about our program is how many new exciting players joined our family. We have a solid core of players coming in with junior experience including players in our program already,” Quenneville added. “Just like every other year, we have several players from our Development Program team making the move to the Jets in the Great Lakes Division.”
Speaking of the Great Lakes overall, Quenneville sees the circuit as “the most competitive division from top to bottom.”
“We would not expect anything less from Red River and Toledo, who were strong from the start last season. They look to have reloaded with a more experienced lineup which will be a challenge like it is every year,” Quenneville added. “We welcome the competition and are excited to see our entire Great Lakes group.”
Red River Spartans
Season Opener: Sept. 13 vs. Columbus Mavericks
The Spartans made their Nationals debut in March 2024, an amazing accomplishment for an organization founded in 2022. Here in 2024, they have moved to a new home in Clarksville, Tenn., and will move on as the Red River Spartans.
Last year, the Spartans were loaded with league veterans and a number of top NCAA-bound standouts, and GM/Head Coach Liam Tully expects the team to again be a tough draw every time out.
“Our expectations for the upcoming season is to be a very difficult team to play against. Our goal is to build off of the momentum we created last season and compete at a high level every time we step on the ice,” added Tully.
Tully likes the “great core group” of returning veterans including ‘04 forwards C.J. Davidson, Brayden Goncalves, Thomas Durrett and ‘05 forward Gino Indelicato.
“They were all key players that contributed to the team’s success last season. We are incredibly excited to have this group for the upcoming season and look forward to helping them advance to college hockey,” said Tully.
Blake Martino (‘04) is a three-year Premier veteran forward and ‘04 Jesse Aitken has two years of Premier experience in joining the Spartans.
“They are two 20-year-olds we are really excited to have on our roster, and we expect themto have a big impact on the team’s success this season,” Tully added. Additionally, ‘05 forward Alexander Atchison and ‘06 defenseman Marcus Gill are already two-year Premier veterans and “will also bring a lot of junior hockey experience to the team.”
In terms of newcomers, Tully is excited about ‘07 forward Hendrick van Neck, a 6-5, 205-pound native of Netherlands who the coach expects will be “one of the most exciting young prospects in the USPHL.” Additionally, ‘05’s David King and Seeger Trendley – both standing 6-2 – bring good size and skill to the Spartans.
Toledo Cherokee
Season Opener: Sept. 14 vs. Battle Creek Kernels
The Toledo Cherokee come into the 2024-25 season certainly optimistic with the largely new team they’ve put together – and although many players may be new, a veteran junior presence will push the Cherokee to challenge for the top spot in the division throughout.
“I really like the team we have recruited. We should be an older team with a lot of junior experience. That was our main goal when we started recruiting after last season ended,” said GM/Head Coach Kenny Miller.
In addition to newer players joining, the Cherokee will lean heavily upon returning ‘04 veterans goaltender Austin Nowak (‘04), defensemen Leo Crawford and Zane Myler and forward Anthony DiFlora.
Miller is excited to bring in several Premier-experienced players, such as three-year veteran ‘04 forwards Caden Glamkowski and Gerdas Paulauskas and three-year veteran defenseman Jace Weimer; two-year ‘04 veteran forward Cameron Krause; ‘05 Premier veteran defenseman Landon Edwards, and two-year NA3HL veteran ‘04 forward Aidan Besedic.
In terms of junior newcomers, the Cherokee have “been impressed with defenseman Jay Cormier (younger brother of former Cherokee goalie Joey Cormier), local guys Ryan Beard and Brendan St. Julian.”
Cormier is an ‘06 from Trenton, Mich., Beard is an ‘05 defenseman from Toledo and St. Julian is an ‘05 blueliner from Oregon, Ohio, who recently played with the Cleveland Barons AAA team.
Miller’s expectations of the Great Lakes Division is to see no easy nights from essentially any team out there.
“I would expect the Jets and Spartans to be really solid as usual and I’ve kept a close eye on the likes of Columbus and Battle Creek and it looks like they are recruiting a good class of players to help them be better this year,” he said. “It’s always fun playing in the Great Lakes Division, so we are really looking forward it.”
Columbus Mavericks
Season Opener: Sept. 6 vs. Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones
Mavericks Owner/GM/Head Coach Joey Recktenwald put in a ton of miles to build the 2024-25 Mavericks, and he not only hopes but fully expects this team to be one of the Mavs’ best yet.
“We’ve put together a group that I expect to be tough to play against night in and night out. This was my first actual off-season as Head Coach and GM and I hit five countries, 12 states, and traveled over 25,000 miles in the last year to put this team together,” said Recktenwald. “Assistant GM Jaime Antello and myself wasted no time as soon as last season’s playoffs ended. We set our sights on skilled, high-character players. We feel we have a group that can match up well in a skill game, in a speed game, or if anyone wants to play old-time hockey.”
Dalton Zulka, an ‘04 forward with two Premier seasons of junior experience, is the only returning Maverick who played the full 2023-24 season. Alexander Brown and Carson Meade (‘05 defensemen), Thomas Eggleston (‘05 forward) and Jacob Hatem (‘07 forward) all saw action with the Mavs as well last year, as well. The Mavericks also bring back former player Ethan O’Malley from the 2022-23 season after he played a season of ACHA hockey this past year.
The Mavericks also brought in two key players from the former Buffalo Stampede, two-year veteran forward and Great Lakes All-Star Caden Cavalieri and Kobe Rickabaugh, who brings a strong blue-collar style of play at forward.
“Coach Antelo and I are also excited for forwards Cade Bohn (‘06) and Christopher Vinck (‘04), who bring point-per-game numbers from the Barrhead Bombers (CAJHL) last season,” said Recktenwald.
“Our rookie group will be expected to contribute immediately as the group boasts a handful of guys that averaged a point per game or better in AAA or High School leagues,” Recktenwald said.
Columbus natives Jacob Webb, Brady Gedman and Reed Hinton join the team, while the Mavericks’ own 16U team will yield new junior Mavs Jacob Hatem and Ben Marquardt. Additionally, Czechia’s Michal Jansa brings size and mobility, and fellow defenseman Kessler Bettenson of Alberta is looking to make a mark as well.
“As we enter our sixth season in the league and division, we now find ourselves as part of the old guard. The division was very top heavy last season and saw the upper three pull away, while the bottom three fought for the fourth playoff seed,” said Recktenwald. “I do expect there to be much more parity this season and we’re up for the challenge. I’m excited to turn the page with some of our familiar division rivals and open up new chapters with the addition of Battle Creek and Fresh Coast.”
Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones
Season Opener: Sept. 6 at Columbus Mavericks
The Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones saw their share of struggles in 2023-24, but that page has been turned, then pulled out and shredded. Head Coach Lee Lansdowne sees a very different Jr. Cyclones team about to take the ice in the USPHL Premier’s very first game on Sept. 6 against Columbus.
“The Cyclones are excited for a bounceback year this season. We expect to compete every night and make sure other teams leave knowing they had to be at their best,” added Lansdowne. “We are excited for the challenge of playing in such a difficult division but most of all, providing an environment for our players to showcase their talents to scouts within such a strong division.”
The team doesn’t have many returners from last year, but they did bring back Great Lakes Division All-Star ‘04 defenseman Tyler Hilliker. Additionally, third-year Cyclone forward Evan Smith (‘04) and returning ‘05 forward Noah Geggie “will play great leadership roles, but all our vets will be looked upon to help make Cincinnati into a positive culture within the division.”
Among this veteran group is new Cyclone ‘04 forward Cameron Coogan, who brings two years of USPHL experience under his blades.
Much of the Cyclones team will be new to the team and to the USPHL.
“We are excited by all our incoming talent this season. We have a core of Canadian players as well as some good talent from across the U.S. that are coming to us with a fresh opportunity at the Premier level,” said Lansdowne. “All of our new incoming players come to us with a new energy and enthusiasm to see us be competitive every night.”
Like many other coaches here, Lansdowne sees the Jets, Spartans and Cherokee as the top teams – and not just in the Great Lakes, but the Premier overall.
“However, I believe the division will have a new life this season with the Cyclones, Columbus, Fresh Coast and Battle Creek all in the mix and I expect the division to be a tight one, where anyone can take points from anyone,” he said. “Metro, Toledo and the Spartans set a standard last season and I strongly believe the rest of the teams in the division worked tremendously hard to really shrink that gap. I think the Great Lakes will be very tight in 2024-25.”
Battle Creek Kernels
Season Opener: Sept. 14 at Toledo Cherokee
The Kernels are new to the Great Lakes Division for the 2023-24 season, and come in with two prior years of experience after being founded in 2022.
They won’t be going in cautiously, but are hoping to be more of a bull in a china shop, breaking the fortunes and dreams of their opponents.
“The expectation is to be competitive within an uber-talented division. With teams like Toledo, Metro and the Spartans, you have to earn your seat at the big boy table,” said Owner/GM/Head Coach Triston Jensen. “We intend to do that. We were given an opportunity to compete with some of the best USPHL programs in the country and with us being a Premier-only program, it made sense for us to make the move now and try our hand against the big dogs. I expect it to be a dogfight every single night to secure two points.”
The Kernels are a largely new group for this year, but Jensen has a lot of faith in the “core three” group, “all of whom have been with us since our inception.” This includes Captain ‘04 forward Nate Fricke, and ‘05 defensemen Josh Getson and Owen Miller.
“I expect Nate to have a big age-out season,” Jensen added. “Josh and Owen really embody our blue-collar mentality.”
Returning goaltender Joe Weber (‘05) joins two newcomers in ‘04’s Lennart Critzmann (Germany) and Gary Wiles (a Texan who played in Sweden last year). Jensen is excited with the potential of this trio of goalies.
As for newcomers, “we are chock full of young, talented players,” and he is especially excited for what is to come from a pair of ‘07’s.
“Morgan Postelli will look to be a huge part of our defense core. We truly feel he has a
Tier 2 ceiling. Up front, Zane Wobig will look to make an immediate impact with his high IQ and speed,” Jensen said. “Both will, for sure, be exciting to watch.
Fresh Coast Freeze
Season Opener: Sept. 20 at Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones
Jake Lainesse and Kyle Gagneau joined forces to purchase the former Buffalo Stampede, and relocate the franchise to Holland, Mich., rebranding as the Fresh Coast Freeze, a regional nickname for the central Lake Michigan coast in the namesake state.
Lainesse, the Co-Owner and General Manager, is looking forward to Game 1 and every game thereafter to introduce the Freeze to the USPHL world at large and to shake up the Great Lakes Division, as well.
“We’re expecting to come in and compete. We’re in a tough division, so no matter what we are going to have our work cut out for us,” Lainesse added.
Among the junior veterans signed for the Freeze, ‘04 forward Grant Coykendall from nearby Kentwood, Mich., is a former Grand Rapids Catholic Central player who has two years of NA3HL experience. He’s also played with the full-season New Jersey Titans NAPHL 18U team.
The Freeze will be young this season, and Lainesse and Gagneau are looking forward to seeing which players rise up and take the reins of on-and off-ice leadership.
“We are going to be very rookie-heavy so I think every rookie is a player to watch this early,” said Lainesse. “It will be interesting to see who can figure out the pace and produce the quickest.”
