Several New Englanders and players with ties to the region were honored this week during the unveiling of the United States Hockey League (USHL) awards for the 2021-22 season.
Cameron Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Ben Steeves (Bedford, N.H.) were the only two New England natives to receive hardware, but nine other players who are either committed to colleges in the region or who played prep school or midget hockey locally were recognized for their play.
Lund, a Northeastern commit who played for Cushing, South Shore Kings and Junior Bruins while coming up the ranks of youth and prep hockey, was named to the USHL All-Rookie Second Team. The '04 had 25 goals and 25 assists in 62 games for the Green Bay Gamblers during his first season playing outside of New England. A projected second or third-round NHL draft pick, Lund will begin playing for coach Jerry Keefe’s Huskies this fall.
Steeves grew up playing for the New Hampshire Avalanche and New Hampshire Junior Monarchs. An '02, his family moved out of the region in 2018. Committed to Minnesota Duluth, Steeves made the All-USHL Third Team in his second year with the Sioux City Musketeers. In 70 games, he had 45 goals and 32 assists while helping the Musketeers win the USHL Clark Cup as playoff champions.
Boston University commit Jeremy Wilmer was rewarded for eclipsing the century mark in points by being named the USHL Forward of the Year and landing on the All-USHL First Team. Playing for the Tri-City Storm, the top team during the regular season, he racked up 26 goals and 80 assists in 65 games. The '03 NTDP alum will matriculate to BU this fall.
Also picking up two honors was UConn recruit Arsenii Sergeyev. He was named the USHL Goaltender of the Year and was placed on the All-USHL First Team. The '02 from Yaroslavl, Russia, was a seventh-round selection of the Calgary Flames in the 2021 NHL draft. During 41 regular season games for Tri-City, he posted a 30-6-2 mark to go along with a .918 save percentage. His arrival in Storrs will certainly solidify the Huskies’ goaltending.
Joining Wilmer and Sergeyev on the All-USHL First Team was Chicago Steel center Adam Fantilli, an '04 who played the 2019-20 season for Kimball Union and Top Gun. The Michigan commit scored 37 goals and had 37 assists in 54 regular season games for Chicago, the leader of the USHL’s Eastern Conference during the regular season. A late '04, he’s projected as a top-five pick in the 2023 NHL draft.
Two players with ties to the region, former Berkshire and River Rats center Aidan Thompson and Boston University commit Quinn Hutson, made the All-USHL Second Team. Thompson spent two seasons at Berkshire before heading to the USHL. His production soared this season as he potted 24 goals and added 62 assists in 60 games for the Lincoln Stars. The '02 is committed to defending national champion Denver for the 2022-23 season. Similarly, Hutson had a monster second season in the USHL with the Muskegon Lumberjacks. He scored 40 goals and 49 assists in 68 games for the Eastern Conference finalists. He’s committed to play alongside his brother, NTDP defenseman Lane Hutson, for the Terriers in 2022-23.
A couple players who played prep and midget hockey in New England joined Steeves on the All-USHL Third Team. Former Lawrence and River Rats defenseman Damien Carfagna and Mount Saint Charles alum Owen McLaughlin received third-team honors. Carfagna, a late '02, was traded from Green Bay to Sioux City at the deadline. Between the two teams, the offensive defenseman registered six goals and 44 assists in 71 games. Carfagna is committed to New Hampshire for the 2022-23 season. McLaughlin, an '03 center committed to North Dakota, was also on Sioux City’s championship team. The 2021 seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers had 28 goals and 49 assists in 72 games.
Making the USHL All-Rookie First Team was Holy Cross commit Antonio Fernandez of the Lincoln Stars. The late '03 defenseman had 14 goals and 19 assists in 65 games in his second season of junior hockey. A late bloomer, he had bounced around from team to team at the midget level before spending the 2020-21 season in the NAHL with the Amarillo Bulls.
South Kent Selects Academy goaltender Jacob Fowler took the USHL by storm after joining Youngstown at the midway mark of the season. The late '04 went 11-4-1 with a .927 save percentage in 18 regular season appearances. Committed to Clarkson, he spent two seasons at South Kent after playing youth hockey for the Florida Alliance.
