Northwood School star defenseman Andrew Centrella announced his commitment to Providence College on Saturday. The Friars eventually will get a top prospect who saw time with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers late in the 2020-21 regular season and playoffs.
“It was a tough decision, but I sat down with my family and decided that Providence College was the best place for me," Centrella told staging.hockeyjournal.com. "Everyone from the coaches and everybody I had a chance to interact with really helped me throughout the process, and I'm excited for the opportunity."
The 2004-born native of Philadelphia reportedly was pursued by several big programs in the region, but he will be a good fit in Hockey East. While Centrella is undersized at about 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, he is a superb skater with high hockey IQ to boost the transition game. He is effective on the power play, able to make seam passes through traffic and successfully gets pucks to the net from the point. His focus is on refining his defensive play and positioning in Omaha with a full junior season in 2021-22.
“Huge potential,” Lancers head coach/GM David Wilkie said. “Great skater, puck mover and competitor. Andrew came to our team late in the season last year and just did a terrific job acclimating and getting up to speed in a very good USHL in 2020-21. He is a very effective 200-foot defenseman, and we look for big things from him in the coming year.”
The Lancers chose Centrella with the 101st selection of the 2020 USHL Futures Draft out of the Valley Forge Minutemen AAA 16-U program. Playing a reduced schedule at Northwood this season opened the door to successful USHL audition to close out the 2020-21 campaign.
“I had a real good experience in Omaha," Centrella said. "Just the speed and the level of competition was so much higher than what I was used to coming over from 18-U, but I got the chance to play and develop some confidence. I'm looking forward to starting out at the beginning with a full season in the USHL and just learning all I can from the coaching staff and my teammates."
Centrella's playing style compares to Buffalo Sabres rookie Jacob Bryson, who also played his junior and college hockey in Omaha and Providence. He is a player to watch for the 2022 NHL draft, as his skill-set translates to pro hockey.
Fargo Force defender headed to Merrimack
Merrimack College landed an impact player for the 2022-23 season with 5-foot-10, 175-pound defenseman Trevor Griebel of the USHL’s Fargo Force.
The 2001-born Florida native played his minor hockey in Arizona with the Phoenix Junior Coyotes AAA program and spent two seasons in the BCHL with the Wenatchee Wild before being selected in the second round of the 2020 USHL Entry Draft. He played a key role in helping the Force reach the 2021 Clark Cup final series last month.
Griebel is a quick skater who moves well in all directions and has good instincts on both sides of the puck. He has a sneaky-good wrist shot that he can get off quickly. Griebel is poised on breakouts and is a capable puck mover to support the attack. Defensively, he can get overpowered by bigger, stronger opponents 1-on-1 but has a smart stick and uses his effective angling techniques to keep puck carriers to the outside.
Set to play his overage season with the Western Conference champions, he will have more than 200 games worth of junior experience between the BCHL and USHL to lean on by the time he arrives in Andover. That amount of seasoning should translate into an immediate contribution at Merrimack when the time comes.
