Two players from Hockey East have been selected to participate in Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team Selection Camp.
Boston College sophomore center Alex Newhook and Northeastern freshman goaltender Devon Levi both earned the nod to attend the section camp for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship that will take place this December and January in Alberta, Canada.
Based on the timeline, Newhook and Levi likely will miss the first six to eight games of their respective teams’ season while north of the border. The duo are part of four collegiate players invited. Wisconsin sophomore center Dylan Holloway and Michigan freshman defenseman Owen Power are the others.
Newhook, a 2019 first-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, had a big freshman season for the Eagles. He was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Year and NCAA Rookie of the Year, among other honors. In 34 games, the St. John’s, Newfoundland, native had 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points.
Levi is expected to be a key piece of Northeastern’s team this season. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, native comes to the Huskies by way of the Carleton Place Canadians in the Central Canadian Hockey League. Formerly committed to Vermont, Levi’s stock soared with his performance for Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge.
Levi was selected by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL draft. He is expected to be the starting goaltender for the Huskies, when he’s available to be in the lineup.
Stenberg joins South Shore Kings
Right wing Michael Stenberg will be lacing up his skates in the USPHL NCDC for the South Shore Kings, that organization announced Thursday morning.
The ’04 from Needham, Mass., played prep hockey at Thayer Academy over the past two seasons, including as an eighth-grader in 2018-19. He committed to Penn State in April 2019. In addition to playing for Thayer, he’s played split-season hockey for the Cape Cod Whalers.
He had been skating for the Whalers’ 18-U team this fall. As a freshman at Thayer in 2019-20, Stenberg scored 18 goals and 23 assists in 27 games. He’s a power forward who plays hard, dominates below the dots and shoots it hard. His size and strength allow him to win a lot of puck battles, knock off opposing defensemen from pucks, and facilitate scoring opportunities for his linemates.
Stenberg was drafted in the first round, fourth overall, by the Des Moines Buccaneers in the 2020 USHL Phase I draft. A late ’04, he’s expected to matriculate to Penn State for the 2023-24 season.
Stenberg joins a couple of other notable ’04s from the region in making the move to the NCDC. Cushing defenseman Jackson Dorrington, a Northeastern commit, and right ring Cameron Lund are now playing for the Junior Bruins. ’03 and Boston College commit Billy Norcross also left the Penguins to play for the Islanders Hockey Club. ’02 Nolan Hayes left Cushing to skate for the South Shore Kings.
News of Stenberg’s move to the NCDC sparked rumors that Thayer would not be playing hockey this winter. According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, Thayer is still planning on playing exhibition games, regardless of what the Independent School League decides to do.
Many in hockey circles, including prep school coaches, NHL scouts and agents, and college coaches, have expressed deep concern regarding the future of prep hockey. With schools canceling seasons and preventing kids from leaving campus for split-season games, there is a fear that prospective players could opt for full-season Midget hockey and Tier 2 hockey in the region in the future.
Former prep player commits to Air Force
Joe Schubert, who played a season at Phillips Exeter followed by two at St. Paul’s, has announced his commitment to play college hockey at Air Force.
An ’02 from Cleveland, Schubert is skating for the New Jersey Titans in the North American Hockey League this season. In six games, he had three goals and three assists to lead the team in scoring.
In the 2019-20 season at St. Paul’s, he had 13 goals and 24 assists for 37 points in 27 games. Schubert has good size, is a strong skater, and can shoot the puck with zip.
