The Maine Nordiques announced two more tenders this past week.
Last Friday, they announced 17-year-old University of New New Hampshire commit Cy LeClerc. The 5-foot-10 Brentwood, New Hampshire, native had 80 goals and 75 assists between East Coast Elite League and out-of-league games with the Seacoast Spartans 16U team, with whom he was a teammate of St. Dom’s standout Dominic Chasse.
“I’ve known him for a number of years and have worked close with him with my former coaching positions,” Nordiques director of player development Matt Pinchevsky said. “He has a skill set that he’s going to bring to the table that will produce offense. That’s one thing the guy is known for, he has a very good nose for the net. He uses his offense that he’s able to generate with his quick release, being able to create time and space for shooting lanes.”
Pinchevsky was a coach with the Seacoast Spartans from 2016-18.
The Nordiques also announced 20-year-old forward Trent Grimshaw as a tender. The Saline, Michigan, native spent the majority of this past season with the Cochrane Crunch of the Northern Ontario Hockey League. He tallied 15 goals and 22 assists in 43 games.
He also spent five games with the Brookings Blizzard of the North American Hockey League this season. He spent last season with the Rochester Monarchs of the USPHL’s Tier II league, the National Collegiate Development Conference, and recorded 10 goals and 11 assists in 46 games.
“He brings a lot to the table. He’s a tremendous young man, he’s a leader and we’ve heard nothing but good things about him,” Nordiques general manager and coach Nolan Howe said. “I have been talking to him for a couple months now and we already have built a good relationship and he’s very committed to his development. I think our younger players are going to be able to look up to him as someone who goes about his business the right way.”
Grimshaw, who’s 5-foot-8, 165 pounds was a player the Nordiques sought out early in the process but couldn’t officially sign him to a tender until his season with the Crunch ended, which happened last week.
“Trent is a young man who was overlooked due to various reasons,” Howe said. “Whether it’s his size or things of that nature, that for us, we see his compete level, we see his skating ability, we see his puck skills and the toughness he plays with. Some of those things were developed and taken to a different level this year playing up in Canada.”
NORDIQUES, THUNDER TENDERS DRAFTED
On Monday and Tuesday, the United States Hockey League, USA Hockey’s lone Tier-I junior hockey league, held its two annual drafts.
First was the Phase I draft Monday for 2003 birth years only. The Thunder had two picks from the USPHL’s Future Draft get drafted.
First to go was Finnish defenseman Kalle Ervasti, who was selected in the second round by the Cedar Roughriders. The 16-year-old Finland native had six goals and 55 assists in 59 games with the South Florida Hockey 16U team.
The second was Maine recruit Guillaume Richard, who was selected by the Tri-City Storm. The defenseman had seven goals and 20 assists in 35 games for the Séminaire St-François Blizzard midget program in Quebec.
Tuesday was the Phase II draft, which was open to players born from 1999-2003.
LeClerc, the recent Nordiques tenter, was picked in the eighth round by the Roughriders. In the ninth round, fellow Nordiques tender Andrius Kulbis-Marino went to the Storm. The 19-year-old Sacred Heart commit had 10 goals and 13 assists in 33 games with Albany Academy, a prep school in Albany, New York.
“For us, it demonstrates we were able to tender some high-end hockey players,” Howe said of the Nordiques tenders getting drafted. “With the transfer rules between the USHL and the North American Hockey League, I think it’s a great opportunity for these guys and we want them to go to (their USHL) camps and gain that experience, continue to compete.”
The USHL and NAHL’s newly formed transfer agreement will allow players to be loaned between the two leagues. So, LeClerc or Kulbis-Marino could make their USHL team out of camp, but if they need more playing time, or whatever the reason maybe, they can be sent down to the Nordiques. The agreement also works the other way: If a Nordiques player is having a good year, he can be called up to his USHL team.
Howe also believes other tenders that the Nordiques have signed might go to USHL camps as free agents and try to make a USHL teams that way.
In the 10th round of the 23-round Phase II draft, the Green Gamblers selected Thunder Future Draft pick Oscar Plandowski, a defenseman. The 15-year-old Quinnipiac commit had eight goals and 45 assists in 45 games with the Select Academy’s 15U team.
Thunder NCDC coach Doug Friedman said the team has reached out to Richard, Plandowski and Ervasti about joining the Thunder next season, but they’re still waiting to see what the three decide to do for next season.
Friedman said they will probably know more after USHL teams have their tryout camps in June and July. USHL teams have to submit a 30-man roster and 18-man affiliated list to the league office by July 10. The teams will then have to trim their rosters down to 23 players when the season starts, and have the 18-player affiliated list.
Both Plandowski and Richard are also projected to go in the first round of next month’s Quebec Major Hockey League draft. If they sign to play in the QMJHL, they will lose their NCAA eligibility.
Also on the QMJHL Central Scouting’s final rankings is fellow Thunder Future Draft pick Cullin Wilson. He had 10 goals and 19 assists in 30 games with the Dexter School in Brookline, Massachusetts.
AUDETTE COMMITS TO ALBERTUS
The L/A Nordiques leading scorer Colby Audette became the second member of the 2018-19 team to commit to an NCAA Division III school for next season. The Colchester, Vermont, native will play for Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Falcons will be making their debut at the Division III level for the 2019-20 as an independent.
The 20-year-old forward had 39 goals and 54 assists for the Nordiques in the regular season. He added five goals and two assists in eight playoff contests.
The other Nordiques player headed to Division III is defenseman Donovan Tehan, who committed to Becker College.
WALKER WON’T JOIN CUBS
Geoff Walker, the former Gatineau Olympiques and Prince Edward Rocket standout of the QMJHL, has decided to not take the Canton Cubs head coaching and general manager position, which was opened when Alex Drulia took the Twin City Thunder’s Premier League head coaching job.
“After signing a contract to become the Cubs new head coach/GM, Geoff Walker informed us that he would not be joining the Cubs,” the team said in a tweet. “Although we are surprised and disappointed, we will resume our head coaching search immediately and find the right fit to lead the Cubs.”
The Cubs were previously known as the Cape Cod Islanders.
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