Recruit Update

• North Dakota received its latest verbal commitment from Sioux City (USHL) forward Trevor Olson. Olson is a Duluth, Minnesota native who is expected to arrive on campus in the fall of 2014. For more information, check out his recruit profile. Olson and the Musketeers (including fellow UND recruit Ryan Mantha) will be closing out their USHL regular season with a weekend set against Charlie Pelnik (featured in this video profile) and the Fargo Force. This is a good opportunity to check out three future Sioux if you can make it out to Scheels Arena either Friday or Saturday night.
• Keaton Thompson and the NTDP Under-18 team will be seeking to win the fifth consecutive Under-18 World Championship for USA Hockey, a streak that began with the 2009 event held in Fargo-Moorhead. The tournament begins next week in Sochi, Russia, and Thompson will play a key role for Team USA.
• Recruit Adam Tambellini and the Surrey Eagles begin the BCHL Finals tonight against the Penticton Vees, whose roster includes UND commits Wade Murphy and Troy Stecher. The winner of the best of seven series will hoist the Fred Page Cup as BCHL champions and advance in the RBC Cup playoffs to take on the Alberta Junior Hockey League champions. Tambellini, who earlier in the playoffs squared off against his older brother Jeff's former team, is the leading goal scorer in the BCHL playoffs and he is third in total points with 13 (9G, 4A) in 11 games.  Murphy is averaging a point per game in the postseason with nine points (3G, 6A) in nine games while Stecher has recorded four assists in nine contests.
• Nick Schmaltz will finish the regular season as the highest scoring 1996-born player in the USHL. He has recorded 50 points (17G, 33A) in 62 games for the Green Bay Gamblers and has ten more points than Youngstown forward Kyle Connor. Schmaltz and the Gamblers have already clinched a playoff spot but they will be looking to earn home ice this weekend as regular season play wraps up.
• With two games left to play, Paul LaDue holds a five point edge as the USHL's top point producing defenseman. LaDue has recorded 47 points (12G, 35A) in 60 games for Lincoln.
• Rhett Gardner recently earned the Moose Jaw Generals' Team MVP and Top Forward awards. He also made his USHL debut with the Green Bay Gamblers, but he is unsure as to whether he will play with the Gamblers next season or remain with the Generals.
• Christian Evers was recently named to the All-NAPHL Under-16 First Team. He averaged more than a point per game from the blueline in NAPHL play this season, producing 29 points (10G, 19A) in 23 games. Evers, who is expected to play for the USA Hockey NTDP for the next two years, was selected by the London Knights in the fifth round of the OHL Priority Selection last weekend. He was considered to be a second round talent heading into the draft, but he dropped to the last pick of the fifth round due to his commitment to UND and expected commitment to the NTDP.  
• Thompson and Tambellini both made NHL Central Scouting's Top 10 lists of 2013 NHL Draft-eligible players for their respective divisions.

A Few Recruit Notes...

• UND commit Troy Stecher of the Penticton Vees was named the BCHL Interior Conference's Best Defenseman for 2012-13. The Vees captain produced 47 points (8G, 39A) in 52 games in helping his team earn the Interior Conference's number one seed for the BCHL playoffs. Stecher, fellow UND commit Wade Murphy, and the rest of the Vees begin their defense of the RBC Cup tomorrow against Salmon Arm. 
• Stecher and Murphy were also named to the All-BCHL Interior Conference First Team last week. Murphy finished the season T-5th in scoring with 70 points (23G, 47A) in 50 games played. Meanwhile, Surrey's Adam Tambellini earned Coastal Conference Second Team honors following his 65 point (36G, 29A) campaign. Surrey's acquisition of Tambellini, whose 36 goals tied for the third most in the league, paid big dividends for the Eagles down the stretch. Surrey captured the Ron Boileau Trophy after finishing the regular season with the league's best record and they will begin postseason play tomorrow night as the number one overall seed.
• Junior Austin Poganski was named the St. Cloud Times' All-Area High School Player of the Year following his outstanding season for St. Cloud Cathedral. Poganski led the Crusaders with 66 points (35G, 31A) in 26 games, falling one game short of a state tournament berth. He has also appeared in a pair of Tri-City Storm (USHL) games as an affiliate player, during which he has picked up a goal and an assist. Here is a profile video on the UND commit:

• Shane Gersich has appeared in three USHL games with the Omaha Lancers as an affiliate player.  
• Christian Evers earned an invitation to the USA Hockey NTDP Evaluation Camp, which will take place later this month. A strong performance by Evers could very well earn him an offer to join the NTDP Under-17 team for next season. Evers and his Omaha U-16 squad recently earned the Midwest Tier 1 championship, and this weekend they will be taking part in the Central District Regional Championships where they will by competing for a spot in USA Hockey's U-16 National Championships.

Recruit Profile: Troy Stecher

Photo-BCHL.com

Previous Team:  Penticton Vees (British Columbia Hockey League)
Arrival at UND:  Fall 2013
Position:  Defense
Birthday:  April 7th, 1994
Hometown:  Richmond, BC, Canada
Height:  5'11"
Weight:  180
Shoots:  Right


Profiles & Press Clippings:

• BCHL 2012-13 Profile/Stat Page
• Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
• Vees Central: Vees Captain Troy Stecher Commits to North Dakota
• BCHL: Commitment Press Release
• Penticton Western News: Vees Captain Played Through Injury To Help Team (Apr 2013)
• The Province: BCHL Opponents Will Be On Same Side Come This Fall (Apr 2013)
• Richmond Review: Stecher's Stock Rising (Nov 2012)
• Richmond Review: Richmond's Troy Stecher Could Be Sleeper in NHL Draft (Jun 2012)

2012-13:

• Earned 1st Team All-BCHL Interior Conference honors while producing 47 points (8G, 39A) in 52 games as the Penticton Vees team captain. He added six assists in 15 postseason games in helping the Vees to the BCHL Finals.
• His 39 assists tied for the most among BCHL defensemen while his 47 points tied for second.
• He earned the BCHL Interior Conference's Best Defenseman Award.
• He was named a finalist for the CJHL's Top Defenseman award.
• Played for Canada West at the 2012 World Junior A Challenge, earning a silver medal while producing two points (1G, 1A) in four tournament games.

2011-12:

• He was named 2nd Team All-BCHL Interior Conference after a 42 point (5G, 37A) regular season campaign for Penticton. In earning the RBC Cup Playoff's Top Defenseman honors, he produced 15 points in 26 postseason games (BCHL Playoffs, Doyle Cup, RBC Cup) as Penticton won the RBC Cup as Canada's World Junior A national champions.
• Played for the gold medal-winning Canada West team at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge, participating in five tournament games.

2010-11:

• Playing for Penticton of the BCHL, he produced 20 points (5G, 15A) in 54 regular season games and five points (2G, 3A) in nine postseason contests.