The University of New Hampshire hockey program has received a commitment from Tyler Muszelik, one of the best goaltenders in the country at his age group.
The 2004 birth-year player from Long Valley, N.J., is one of two goaltenders on USA Hockey’s NTDP U-17 team. In 15 games, he has posted an .865 save percentage. Prior to joining the NTDP, Muszelik played two seasons for the New Jersey Rockets organization.
New England Hockey Journal wrote about Muszelik on three different occasions over the past two years, including at the 2019 USA Hockey Select 15 Player Development Camp.
“Muszelik has good size and was quiet and composed in net. He put up good numbers over the course of the week,” I wrote after that event in Amherst, N.Y.
In October 2019, he was the only goaltender at the 15 Only Division to stand out at the Mid Fairfield Showcase. “Muszelik was really good a couple of times over the weekend. He has good size and his rebound control was excellent. He’s poised and moves well. There’s some upside here,” was my scouting report.
At the USPHL All-Star Game in January 2020, Muszelik again showcased his potential as an elite goaltender. “Muszelik was solid in his period of play. He’s not huge, but he has good size, moves well and has strong fundamentals. Most importantly, he makes saves, has good focus and doesn’t let in soft goals.”
Muszelik joins ’02 Jed Baliotti, a former star at Berkshire who is now playing for the Northern Cyclones in the USPHL NCDC, as goaltenders in the UNH recruiting stable. Goaltending has been an Achilles’ heel for the Wildcats over the past several seasons. Despite having two NHL draft picks, Mike Robinson and Ty Taylor, UNH had a team save percentage of .868 in 2020-21.
Mount, South Kent to join new Prep Hockey Conference
Six prep schools have banded together to form a new conference, it was announced Monday. The Prep Hockey Conference will begin play in 2021-22.
Among the six teams are two New England schools: Mount Saint Charles and South Kent Selects Academy. Joining those two are Northwood (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Faribault, Minn.), St. Andrew’s College (Aurora, Ontario) and Culver Military Academy (Culver, Ind.).
All six schools are different from typical New England prep schools that have a varsity and junior varsity. These schools have 18-U teams and then most of them have 16-U, while a few, including Mount Saint Charles, have 15-U and 14-U teams.
Mount Saint Charles is expected to host all five schools at the school’s Woonsocket, R.I., campus in November. Addelard Arena will be buzzing with NHL scouts and college coaches when the five teams come to town.
