NA3HL - Firland Management

Skylands Junior Kings Announce Commitment of Forward to Towson University.

Shawna Romain — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 16:01:50 +0000

Towson, MD – The Skylands Junior Kings are delighted to announce the commitment of forward, Jake Lissy, to Towson University.

Towson University Tigers men’s ice hockey competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) in the highest division; men’s division 1. The Tigers also compete in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) for league play against, Drexel, Lehigh, Navy, Penn State Berks, Temple,Villanova, West Chester, and William Patterson.

The 18-year-old Rockaway, NJ native is in his first season with the Kings of the NA3HL.

“We are really excited to welcome Jake into our program! He is a great kid both on and off the ice. His experience playing in an older league this season with the Skylands Kings will be very beneficial to his success here at Towson”, remarked Jeremy Snyder – Assistant Coach and Head of Recruiting.

“We are very proud of the growth we have seen from Jake this season both on and off the ice. Jake has a knack for scoring in big moments, he has three game winning goals for us this season in our 12 wins so far. He is a great teammate who always comes to the rink with a smile on his face. We are excited to continue to watch him progress as he moves onto the college level with Towson University!” – Kings Coaching staff

During to his time with the Junior Kings, in the NA3HL, the 5’10-foot forward has played in 31 games, scoring three goals and adding four assists.

Of Jake, Kings General Manager, Rita Mitchell, has said, “Jake will be a great addition to the Towson program. He works his tail off, listens, is coachable, and does anything that is asked of him to the best of his ability. He is a great kid, with a great attitude, that becomes quite infectious. We are very happy for him!”

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Skylands Junior Kings Alum, Craig Garrigan, nets his first professional goal of this season with the Dundee Stars

Shawna Romain — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 14:10:54 +0000

Craig Garrigan post match interview

Skylands Junior Kings Alum, Craig Garrigan, nets his first professional goal of this season with the Dundee Stars. Garrigan, was a player for the Skylands Junior Kings, of the NA3HL, for two seasons prior to his professional career.

The 20-year-old Dundonian brings international experience to the Stars after leading the GB U20 side in the role of assistant captain during the World Junior Championships.

Stars general manager Omar Pacha is delighted to add Craig to the 2018/19 roster commenting, “Craig is a very fast and skillful player that has a lot of potential. He works extremely hard all over the ice and brings a strong asset in his hard shot. I think Craig is a perfect fit for this club. We are looking forward to working together”.

During to his two seasons with the Junior Kings, in the NA3HL, the 5’11’’ foot forward tallied in 131 points in 87 games, scoring 67 goals and adding 64 assists, Craig was the team captain in the 2017-18 season leading his team to the playoffs.

“Garrigan brought so much to the Kings as a player, a captain and an all around great person.” Head Coach, Adam Mitchell said, “It was great to watch Craig’s progress on and off the ice for the two seasons. He has grown as a leader and shows a lot of passion in his work ethic, in the gym, in skills sessions and practices. Craig’s offensive skill and hard shot should set him up well for this next level, as well as his speed and competitive attitude. I was impressed with his willingness to learn and coachability, and it is serving him well at the pro level.“

“We are very proud of the way Craig represented our Skylands Kings organization both locally and internationally and so happy for his success and commitment to the Dundee Stars!” said Rita Mitchell, General Manager for the Kings. “He is a great athlete and team-mate, and the Stars are not disappointed in the acquisition of Garrigan. We wish him the best of luck!”.

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Firland Owned NA3HL Team, The L/A Nordiques’ Chauvin and Ouellette a Dynamic Blue Line Duo

Shawna Romain — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:39:04 +0000

Cole Ouelette has 22 points in just 12 games played for the undefeated Nordiques.

By Tom Robinson, usahockey.com

Cameron Robichaud knows other coaches may choose a different approach.

Blessed with two high-scoring defensemen — the two highest scoring in the entire North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) — the Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques coach chooses to play them together on a regular basis, not just in power-play situations.

J.P. Chauvin and Cole Ouellette have made that strategy pay off for the Maine-based team, which has won its first dozen games to rank on top of the standings for the Coastal Division and the 36-team NA3HL while also leading the entire league in goal differential and ranking second in goals scored.

“Typically you’ll see a lot of teams will split up their offensive defensemen and stick them with a defensive D,” Robichaud said. “I’ve gone with them together. At times, they may get caught because they are so offensive, but they have such good skating that even when they get caught, they’re able to get back, no problem.

“At times, I get a little upset and say to them, ‘You can’t have two defensemen jumping,’ but then they don’t get scored on because they get back.”

Any risks the approach takes have been offset many times over by the rewards in the offensive zone during the 12-0 start.

Chauvin and Ouellette not only rank first and second among NA3HL defensemen in scoring, but they are also 1-2 in the league in plus-minus. Chauvin is at plus-34 with seven goals and 17 assists. Ouellette is plus-33 with three goals and 19 assists, seven of which have come on the power play.

They get help from the more conventional defensemen on the team in keeping the Nordiques’ goals against per game at 1.75, the third-best figure in the league.

“We have some veteran leadership in our defensive corps, besides Ouellette and Chauvin,” Robichaud said. “We have two ’98 [birth year] defensemen, Donovan Tehan and Andrew McCormick, who are kind of more defensive and really kind of shut down the back end and allow some space and opportunity for us to be offensive.”

Chauvin, a 20-year-old from Massena, New York, dates back to the Nordiques’ predecessor when he played for the Lewiston/Auburn Fighting Spirit in 2016-17, prior to changes in ownership and management.

“His strength is the offensive side,” Robichaud said. “I’m not going to try to change it.”

There were other changes in the team, however.

The Fighting Spirit missed the playoffs in 2017. The Nordiques went 32-11-3-1 last season and finished second in the division in both the regular season and playoffs where they won a first-round series.

“Last year was our inaugural season,” Robichaud said. “We had a pretty strong season and we lost in the Coastal Divisional finals.

“When I had built the team last year, it was kind of a two-year plan. We have a lot of returning guys and I was able to bring in guys at the end of the season last year that I wanted for this year. So, we have 15 or 16 guys who, whether it was for a full season or just five games, wore a Nordiques jersey last year.”

Click here to read the rest of the feature story

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New England Sports Village to host 2019 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament

Shawna Romain — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 12:43:13 +0000

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced a new location and date for the 2019 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, which will be held from February 18-19, 2019 at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The New England Sports Village is home to the NAHL and NA3HL’s Northeast Generals.

“We are excited about hosting the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament out East and showcasing our league and players to and wide variety of scouts and fans. This is an exciting new step for the NAHL and another great example of our owners investing in our product. With the large number of NCAA teams and scouts in the region, it will be a nice addition to the great exposure we already get as a league and likely help us add to the record number of NCAA commitments,” said NAHL Commissioner and President Mark Frankenfeld. “The NAHL Top Prospects Tournament is the most unique event we host, because its sole purpose is to provide those players that are still uncommitted a great opportunity to play in front of hundreds of NCAA and NHL scouts for a chance to make a great impression and earn an NCAA commitment or get drafted into the NHL.”

The NAHL Top Prospects Tournament is one of the most highly scouted events of its kind. Last season, over 230 scouts attended the event, which featured almost every NHL team and NCAA Division I school. The event continues to provide the hundreds of NHL and NCAA scouts in attendance with a look at the best uncommitted players the NAHL has to offer, as well as, some potential NHL Draft picks. It continues to be an important part of the NAHL event model, which is inclusive of the NAHL Showcase in September and the NAHL Robertson Cup National Championship in May.

The NAHL enters the 2018-19 season riding an all-time high as USA Hockey’s only Tier II-sanctioned junior hockey league. For the fifth year in a row, the NAHL set a new NCAA commitment record, this time finishing with 331 total NCAA commitments during the 2017-18 season, which includes a record total of 229 NCAA Division I commitments. Over half of the record-breaking NCAA commitments last season came following the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.

The commitment record is part of an ongoing and rising development path that has seen 1,345 NAHL players make NCAA commitments during the last five years. In addition, 25% of freshmen that played NCAA Division I hockey this past season were alumni of the NAHL. It once again re-emphasizes that no other junior league in the world saw as many NCAA commitments for their players, while they were actually playing in the league.

“The fact that over half our NCAA commitments came after our Top Prospects event is a testament to the model. Scouts now have an established roadmap to track a player’s development, which includes assessments throughout the season and then making a determination based on his progression,” continued Frankenfeld.

During the 2019 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, 120 total players from the NAHL will be spread amongst six teams, who will play in two games each during the event. The event will feature teams that represent the four divisions in the NAHL: Central, East, Midwest and South, along with two NAHL Selects teams. Only those NAHL players without an NCAA commitment are eligible to participate in the 2019 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, with the exception of those who will be playing on the NAHL Selects teams. Each of the teams will consist of a 20-man roster (12 forwards, 6 defensemen, 2 goaltenders). Each team will play two games at the event.

The 2019 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament will also be played in conjunction with the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament in Attleboro.

View Full Story Here

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Skylands JR Kings add Nolan Descoteaux to their 2018-19 Coaching Staff

admin — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 15:07:10 +0000

The Skylands Junior Kings are pleased to announce the addition of Nolan Descoteaux to the coaching staff for the 2018-19 Season. Coach Descoteaux will assist Head Coach Adam Mitchell, with a heavy focus on the defensemen.

Nolan Descoteaux, a Dallas, Texas native, has been playing hockey for 25 years. A career defenseman, he played his youth hockey for the Dallas Jr. Stars and Dallas Alliance bulldogs, with teams reaching the national tournament on two separate occasions and a 3rd place finish at the Minor Midget national tournament.

Descoteaux played his final two years of youth hockey for Milton Academy in the Boston, Massachusetts area. This led to two years of junior hockey for the South Shore Kings of the formerly known EJHL (Eastern Junior Hockey League). In his time with the Kings, Descoteaux finished with 74 pts in 84 games, with a runner-up finish at the national tournament in his second season. Nolan committed to play NCAA Division I hockey at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). Descoteaux, a team-mate of Adam Mitchell (Kings Head Coach), played 4 full years with Mitchell at RIT appearing in 139 games tallying 35 points. Descoteaux graduated with a Bachelors degree in business management with a minor in marketing.

Post-collegiate play saw Descoteaux in 4 years of professional hockey in the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) playing 231 total games, amassing 75 total points, with 8 different teams, including a Kelly Cup Championship in his rookie season with the Allen Americans.

Junior Kings Head Coach, Adam Mitchell had this to say about Descoteaux, “being teammates and classmates at Rit will make for a nice transition into coaching and create a solid base for communication and idea sharing and it will be exciting to be reunited on the ice. We are very excited to bring Nolan aboard this season. Playing in the NCAA and in the ECHL, he will bring a lot of experience and a new point of view as a defenseman behind the bench for us.”

Skylands Ice World and the Skylands Junior Kings are excited to add Nolan Descoteaux to the coaching roster of not only the Junior Team, but “Coach Deco” will be available for private lessons, group lessons and youth leagues and clinics beginning this summer!

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Junior hockey: Nordiques to skate in Lewiston again

admin — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 17:14:47 +0000

Firland Management purchase NA3HL Hockey Team

From the Sun Journal

JUSTIN PELLETIER, Managing Editor Nights/Sports

Local Sports |

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 10:00 pm

LEWISTON — Same team, same location, new name — one that is the same as an old, well-known and time-honored name in Lewiston-Auburn hockey lore.

HOCKEY FANS, MEET YOUR LEWISTON/AUBURN NORDIQUES.

Androscoggin Bank Colisee owner and operator Jim Cain has confirmed his purchase of the L/A Fighting Spirit of the North American 3 Hockey League, a team he will rebrand under the Nordiques banner once the current season is over.

The purchase ends a tumultuous couple of months for Cain and his Firland Management enterprise. Fighting Spirit owner and head coach Rod Simmons was looking to divest himself of the team after enduring a personal loss this winter, Cain was looking for a buyer while simultaneously looking at different league options.

“After a lot of discussion among my family and the rest, where we had entertained the notion of selling off a piece of the Colisee to someone else in return for solidifying junior hockey here, we looked again at the opportunity of buying the Fighting Spirit,” Cain said. “We’ve done that now, and we’re going to rebrand under the L/A Nordiques banner, which is very suitable for this market, it’s something people can identify with, it has a long history here.”

The Maine Nordiques were a professional team that operated within the old North American Hockey League from 1973 to 1977, based at the Central Maine Youth Center, now the Colisee. The Nordiques served as a farm club for the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association.

Forty years later, the Nordiques name — and logo — will make its return to the cities.

The team itself will continue playing in the NA3HL, a Tier III junior league with a footprint that includes teams from Montana to Maine.

The league, Cain said, is familiar to him and his company.

“I went through the second of three interviews with the league now, and we’ve passed muster every time,” Cain said. “I’ve been around this league for a long time now, almost 20 years, and so it’s not as if it’s new to us as a company.”

And, like the past few years, the Nordiques will continue to use billet families in its pay-to-play model.

“We’re still going to use the traditional billet model, where players will be housed in the community,” Cain said. “We think that’s valuable for both the team and its reputation, its depth in the community and its service to the community.”

The Nordiques will also retain a big piece of this year’s coaching staff — former local standout Cam Robichaud, who cut his teeth coaching in the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs program after finishing his playing career.

“We’ll be retaining Cam Robichaud, who I believe is both solid as a coach and in character,” Cain said. “I think he can grow this business here in a sustainable way, and it makes a lot of sense for us.”

“I’m definitely excited,” Robichaud said. “It’s a perk to be able to continue coaching in my hometown, where I played before my own junior career.

“I’m real excited not only to have the team right here in Lewiston, but to be able to work with Jim himself. He’s a well respected, highly connected person in hockey communities, and he’s been a mentor for me, and we chat daily.”

Even with three games remaining as the Fighting Spirit, like any coach in hockey, Robichaud already has an eye on the future of the organization.

“Cam has identified some very, very good young men who are in the local market, meaning in New England, who can help us out,” Cain said. “(Robichaud) spent six years with the Monarchs’ organization, which is a very, very good coaching organization, and he comes with a lot more skill than many people recognize, and we’re really pleased that he’ll be able to use his leadership skills to move on.”

“You never really stop recruiting,” Robichaud said. “You’re always kind of keeping your eyes and ears open, and as soon as I caught wind that I would be the head guy, I started doing a little bit more on the recruiting side, getting in touch with some of my contacts with the Eastern League, guys that I’ve developed relationships with over the years.”

The Fighting Spirit’s final home game of the regular season is Friday against the Biddeford-based Maine Wild at 7 p.m. They are locked in a battle with the Northeast Generals for the fourth and final playoff position in the Coastal division.

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