Two of the top uncommitted 2004s in New England committed to local colleges this week. Phillips Exeter left wing Kurt Gurkan and Shattuck-St. Mary’s defenseman Kazimier Sobieski committed to Yale and UMass, respectively. Gurkan, from Darien, Conn., has played the past three seasons for Dana Barbin at Phillips Exeter while skating split season for the...
Two of the top uncommitted 2004s in New England committed to local colleges this week. Phillips Exeter left wing Kurt Gurkan and Shattuck-St. Mary’s defenseman Kazimier Sobieski committed to Yale and UMass, respectively.
Gurkan, from Darien, Conn., has played the past three seasons for Dana Barbin at Phillips Exeter while skating split season for the Neponset Valley River Rats. In addition, he played one game and practiced with the Jersey Hitmen in the USPHL NCDC this season, due to the coronavirus negatively impacting the prep school season.
Gurkan played up for the River Rats 18-U Showcase team during January and February. In 11 games, he scored 10 goals and 11 assists. He had an impressive showing at the New England District Select 17 Festival, which earned him a spot at the recently completed USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp.
Gurkan would have been scouted by Yale assistant coach Paul Kirtland at those events, as well as the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Main Camp. The Bulldogs were one of a handful of schools who were on Gurkan. A couple of other Ivy League schools and teams in Hockey East had shown varying degrees of interest in the skilled forward. Projecting out to Yale, Gurkan will likely fit in as a second- or third-line player for Keith Allain’s program.
Like Gurkan, Sobieski will play college hockey close to home. The South Deerfield, Mass., native will play just a few miles down the road at Mullins Center.
Sobieski just had a strong showing at USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp that earned him several college offers from top teams in Hockey East. He ultimately chose to play for UMass.
Sobieski has spent the past three seasons playing for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a prep school in Faribault, Minn. In 47 games during the 2020-21 season, the blueliner had nine goals and 19 assists. Sobieski has good physical tools, skates well and shows a good stick with some jam. In December, I rated him as the seventh best uncommitted `04 in Massachusetts.
