Twenty-four players from New England were selected in the 2020 North American Hockey League Entry Draft that took place Tuesday. There were 33 other players with ties to the region, whether it be from playing here or committed to a college in New England, who also saw their names scroll across the draft results. The...
Twenty-four players from New England were selected in the 2020 North American Hockey League Entry Draft that took place Tuesday.
There were 33 other players with ties to the region, whether it be from playing here or committed to a college in New England, who also saw their names scroll across the draft results.
The NAHL Entry Draft results are always intriguing, since there are so many variables. The USHL sets a limit on 20-year-olds, so overage players are selected in the NAHL draft with the hopes that they might not make a USHL roster after previously playing in the league.
The other interesting aspect of the draft this year was that it came just a few days after the BCHL announced it would not start until Dec. 1 due to the coronavirus. That meant more players than usual who are committed to the BCHL were drafted by an NAHL franchise.
The NAHL has three franchises in New England: Danbury Junior Hat Tricks, Maine Nordiques and Northeast Generals. All three organizations drafted players in Tuesday’s proceedings.
The first New England player taken in Tuesday’s draft was left wing Cy Leclerc, an ’02 left wing from Brentwood, N.H. The Chippewa Steel drafted Leclerc in the first round with the 16th overall pick. The University of New Hampshire commit spent the 2019-20 season playing for the Islanders HC in the USPHL NCDC.
Other locals tabbed in the first round were Cushing center and Maine commit Max Bogdanovich (Scarborough, Maine), Brunswick left wing Jakub Teply (Stamford, Conn.), St. Sebastian’s defenseman Ryan MacDermott (Hanover, Mass.) and Trinity-Pawling left wing Stephen Willey (Shelton, Conn.).
