skip navigation

Recent Region 5 News

Stenman A Top Pick

By Craig Peterson 06/11/2021, 10:30pm EDT

Cranbrook Grad Picked In The Top 25 Of The USHL Draft

The United States Hockey League (USHL) conducts its annual entry draft in two phases. First, there’s a 10-round “futures” draft where teams select players following the conclusion of their 15O youth hockey seasons. Then, a 15-round Phase-II Draft where all players of junior-eligible ages are available to be selected. In total, four former Michigan High School Hockey players were selected throughout the 2021 USHL Draft proceedings, none higher than recently-graduated defenseman Leyton Stenman (Cranbrook, 2021).

A member of the 2021 Michigan High School Hockey Coaches’ Association (MHSHCA) Dream Team, Stenman was one of the most steady and impressive players in the state. Sioux Falls selected the 6-foot-1 defender with the 23rd overall pick in the second round. As a senior, he scored five goals and 16 points in 18 games, leading the Cranes to their first state title since 2015. He also signed a North American Hockey League (NAHL) tender agreement with the Aberdeen Wings last November, so Stenman is one that could have a couple junior options this fall.

Joey Larson (Hartland, 2019) completed his second full season of junior hockey, splitting time between the NAHL and USHL throughout 2020-21. He’s slated to join Northern Michigan University in the fall, but that didn’t prevent Muskegon from using its second-round pick on the former Mr. Hockey, giving Larson another option for the fall.

 Fellow member of the 2021 graduating class, Tanner Rowe (Calumet, 2021) was selected by Omaha in the 12th round. Rowe forgoed his senior season to begin his junior career with the NAHL’s Maryland Black Bears. He scored six goals and 13 points in 46 games this season and will have the opportunity to continue climbing the junior ladder to the USHL in the fall. 

Muskegon selected a second MI-HS alum in the 14th round with 16-year-old Landon MacDonald (Brighton, 2023). After playing his freshman season with the Bulldogs, scoring eight goals and 13 points in 19 games, and getting drafted by the Mississauga Steelheads in the 2020 OHL Draft, MacDonald played his 16U season with Little Caesars.  

The USHL is a highly-sought-after path for high school players, but is not a very common “route” to the next level for kids from the state of Michigan. 

There are roughly 24 AAA-level teams when considering the 15O, 16U and 18U age groups, and 138 MI-HS teams this season. All those teams and organizations combined to produce 19 total players — including Stenman and MacDonald — selected during last week’s Phase-I and Phase-II Drafts. That, by no means is a knock to any entity, but simply illustrates just how difficult it is to be drafted into the league out of Michigan amatuer hockey, and even more challenging to make a roster in the USHL the following season. Other junior leagues like the NAHL, BCHL and NCDC have grown in popularity as “stepping stones” to the USHL as well as producing hundreds of Division-I NCAA prospects of their own.

 

 

 

 

 

Bilek Earns All-American Honors

By Craig Peterson 04/20/2021, 7:45pm EDT

Former Brighton Captain Listed Among Top Performers in NCAA

Last week, The American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) announced its 2020-21 First- and Second-Team All-Americans. Among them was Army West Point’s Colin Bilek (Brighton, 2015) after having a career year for the Black Knights.

In 22 games, the junior forward led the team with 18 goals and 25 points and finished among the top scorers in the country. For his efforts, Bilek was recognized by the AHCA as a Second-Team All-American, along with his Army teammate Trevin Kozlowski. 

The 5-foot-11 winger played two seasons of junior varsity hockey for Brighton before making the varsity team as a junior. In 56 career games for the Bulldogs, Bilek scored 20 goals and 38 points and served as captain during his senior season. After graduation, he played one season in the USPHL where he was captain for the Rochester Jr. Americans. He jumped from Tier-III junior hockey in 2015-16 to the North American Hockey League (NAHL) the following fall, where Bilek played two seasons for the Northeast Generals, again serving as captain.

Bilek is the first MI-HS alum to be recognized as an All-American since 2018, when fellow Brighton native Cooper Marody (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 2015) earned Second-Team honors as a junior for the University of Michigan.

 

 

 

 

 

Garby Going To Army

By Craig Peterson 04/14/2021, 2:15pm EDT

Pymouth Alum Commits To The Knights

At the end of last month, College Hockey, Inc., reported that Andrew Garby (Plymouth, 2018) had verbally committed to play Division-I hockey for Army Military Academy for the 2021-22 season.

Garby played three years of triple-A hockey before making the jump to high school for his senior season. During the 2017-18 campaign, the rangy defender scored 10 goals and 27 points in 25 games from the blue line. He was one-of-four Wildcats to be named First-Team All-State that season, after Plymouth went 17-6-2 and ranked sixth in the state, according to MyHockeyRankings

After graduation, Garby signed a North American Hockey League (NAHL) tender agreement with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in Alaska. There, he spent three seasons with the organization, scoring nine goals and 48 points in 131 career games. 

Garby is set to join an Army squad that featured two MI-HS alumni on the team in 2020-21, with sophomore Brett Abdelnour (University Liggett, 2016) and captain Colin Bilek (Brighton, 2015).