The winds are picking up and the sky is opening up - it’s time for the storm, as the NCDC’s Northern Cyclones bring waves of skill, determination, grit and everything needed in this beautiful game of hockey every time a team steps on the ice. 

The Cyclones have seen their ups and downs in the standings and postseason, like nearly any team will - the ups included a 2019 playoff upset of the top-seeded Jersey Hitmen and a shot at the 2019 Dineen Cup champion Junior Bruins in the semifinals. The 2020-21 season, which saw absolute shutdowns of their rink and team, and having to move for six weeks to Florida just to complete what turned out to be only a 29-game season (out of a usual 48) could certainly be considered a down. 

But the Cyclones are always looking at the big picture - you can’t really call anything a “down” when you create a team, set a culture that the players follow, see the players become like brothers and work for each other, regardless of the outcome. 

The Cyclones often say they are in the business of creating better young men, better people, moreso than just better hockey players. But with a massive track record of NCAA advancement, they have that base covered as well. Confident in their approach and development mission, the Cyclones certainly have their sights set on hardware as well. 

“We expect to win a championship and to place all our guys in the best college hockey programs possible,” said Flanagan, whose team opens on Saturday, Sept. 24, against the rival New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs. 

The 2021-22 season provides another opportunity for personal growth and hockey development, with many players from last season returning and several strong newcomers making their first appearance in the Black, Crimson and White. 

“Our General Manager Bill Weiand put together a great group of players,” said Head Coach Bill Flanagan. “We have a good combination of younger and older talent within the team. 

“Everything is different from this year’s team and last year’s team,” added Flanagan. “Our strengths and weaknesses within the team are still to be determined since we have a lot of new guys on the team this season.” 

The team has named returning NCDC players Massimo Pietroniro and Pavel Karasek as Captains for the 2021-22 season. John Goldowski and Brennan Dickey will be Alternate Captains. 

Pietroniro is an ‘02 forward, who registered 19 points in 29 contests last year, while Karasek (‘01) is now a fourth-year NCDC Cyclone after earning his promotion from the Premier team in 2018-19. 

One year before that, he had played on the Springfield Pics’ 16U and was the USPHL 16U’s leading scorer for 2017-18. Karasek is already third all-time in NCDC games played for the Cyclones and can pass into the No. 1 spot early in the year. 

Goldowski and Dickey are second-year NCDC Cyclones - a little trivia: they were actually born three days apart in 2001. 

Like Karasek, defenseman Austin Rice (‘02) is a fifth-year USPHL veteran. He is entering his third year with the NCDC Cyclones and will likely be in the top five all-time in NCDC Cyclones games played by the end of this season. Players join the Cyclones and certainly like to stay. 

In terms of exciting newcomers to the NCDC Cyclones, watch for Hudson Nadasdi, Eduard Gabdrakhmanov, and Chance Uzzell. 

Nadasdi (‘02) is a forward who has had a lot of success first with the TPH Thunder and more recently with the Nashville Jr. Predators AAA program. Uzzell (‘04) has also played for both these organizations and joins from the Seacoast Performance Academy. 

Gabdrakhmanov (‘03) is a USPHL veteran, playing mostly at the 16U and 18U levels the past two years, but with some NCDC experience as well. 

With these players on board, and so many more with impressive resumes, Flanagan stands firm in his expectation “to win the championship and place all our guys in the best college hockey programs possible.”

“I think that every game will be competitive this year and should all be one goal games,” he added, of the NCDC as a whole. “There is great talent this year and great coaches.” 

The P.A.L. Junior Islanders look like they’ll be sticking around the top echelons of the National Collegiate Development Conference for a while. 

In their first two years under Head Coach Mike Marcou, the Jr. Islanders have finished in a three-way tie for fourth and fourth alone, respectively. That was after a 10th-place finish under the previous coach in 2018-19, so the organization has definitely wedged itself into the top pack in swift order. 

However, the team is still seeking that elusive deep playoff run to validate these great regular seasons. Granted, they only had one chance, in 2021, after COVID-19 canceled the 2020 playoffs. But after a two-game series win against Philadelphia Hockey Club, they came up just short in a pair of close games with eventual Dineen Cup finalists the Rockets Hockey Club.

Marcou is back for Year 3 and certainly likes the looks of what he expects will be his team roster when the first game day arrives against the Connecticut Jr. Rangers, in terms of being able to remain among the top third of the league in the USPHL’s Tier-II Tuition-Free Junior Hockey League. They can also continue producing NCAA Division I and III talent, as they did with no less than seven players on a younger team last year. 

“I am very happy with the new talent we have coming in this year. We have a great core of returners coming back. I am excited to get out and compete,” Marcou said. “We have 12 returning players from last year, which helps with our experience. We brought in some younger players this year with a lot of talent. It will be fun to watch these players develop.”

Among the 12 returning players is returning Captain Spencer Korona, who enters his fourth NCDC season and seventh USPHL season overall. At 133 games, Korona has a very good chance to become the all-time leader in NCDC games played after about half the season and then just build on that record from there. His 51 points through 41 games last year were a career high and represent most of his 87 career points.  

Korona is already the Jr. Islanders franchise leader in assists (67) and is second in points, another record he has a very good chance at breaking this season.

“He has been a great leader and has had a lot of success both individually and as a team captain,” said Marcou.  

University of Vermont recruit Kyle Mandleur is also going into his fourth NCDC season, having joined the Jr. Islanders towards the end of the 2020-21 season after starting the season with Philadelphia’s inaugural team.  

Tyler Crist, who scored 21 points in 38 regular season games in his first NCDC go-round, returns and joins Korona as the only other top 10 scorer back in the lineup. 

Also coming back as forwards are ‘03 standout Carter Hanrahan, entering his fifth USPHL and second NCDC season, as well as John Riggins, Will Kormanik and Shane Zarcone. 

On the blue line, career Jr. Islander Nick Serio leads a group of four veterans. This will be Serio’s sixth USPHL season and third NCDC campaign, and he is in a position to break current Wesleyan University player (and former career P.A.L. player) Liam Donelan’s team games played record among defensemen, standing at 104. 

Mason Vonk enters his second NCDC season and fourth total USPHL campaign, while Reid Shafer and Tyler Rolston are also second-year NCDC players. 

Luca Leighton is moving up from the P.A.L. 18U team, Rolston split last season between the USPHL Premier and NCDC Jr. Islanders. Along with Serio’s whole career, these individual progressions illustrate the organization’s commitment to internal promotion and upward mobility in player development. 

As for newcomers, Marcou will let that large group of talented players shine as they go, without naming names for now. 

“I think that we have good character young men coming in, that have a lot of skill,” Marcou said. “We lost some big pieces from last year’s team. It will be a good opportunity for them to come in and play.”

The Jr. Islanders go up against last year’s top two teams, the Jersey Hitmen and Rockets Hockey Club, 14 times this season, representing almost a third of their schedule. It’s iron against iron so often for the Jr. Islanders, and that remains the case when they face an organization with a strong track record like the Connecticut Jr. Rangers as well, adding another seven games there for almost half their total season, including their opening home-and-home series on Sept. 24 and 25. Philadelphia comes in with a year of NCDC knowledge under its belt, and Utica Jr. Comets have the excitement of a new coach in Louis Educate who is well-versed in the USPHL culture from his time with their Premier squad. No nights off, in other words. 

“I am excited to see the league this year,” Marcou said. “The South division is very competitive and every night is a tough match-up.” 

The Connecticut Jr. Rangers believe all the work done over the off-season paid off in a fantastic group of young student-athletes that has come together very well early on - and they’re still just under two weeks away from their first puck drop, which takes place Sept. 24 against the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders. 

“I’m very excited to work with this group. We are growing each day we are together,” said veteran Head Coach Jim Henkel. “We feel like we have been able to recruit from all areas of the U.S. and internationally to hopefully bring us back to where we were a few years ago.” 

The “Where we were” referred to here is the NCDC Championship series of 2019 - then a best-of-three series - when they had a very close series with the eventual champion Boston Junior Bruins. Standings-wise, the Jr. Rangers have been floating through the upper middle, finishing third in 2019-20 and seventh overall in 2020-21. In other words, they remain a perennial threat to do damage in the playoffs as proven. 

“We have a lot of depth and competition throughout the lineup. We feel we have added more depth to our group than we have had the last two years,” said Henkel. “We will play again with a lot of speed and puck possession/transition style game. We’re looking forward to getting off to a great start and generating some positive flow going forward.”

You can’t count out a team that returns players with the elevated talent level of Andrei Levushkin, for starters. He led the Jr. Rangers in goal-scoring with 16 goals through 31 contests. 

“He plays with a ton of speed and skill. He scored a highlight-reel goal in the All-Star Game last year,” added Henkel. 

Additional top Jr. Rangers coming back include the Flansburg twins (Schuyler and Spencer), Mika Petersen, Bobby Barrasso and Derek Manzella. 

Manzella (‘02) is a returning goaltender out of Eagan, Minn., who put in 15 games of action for the Jr. Rangers, going 7-7-0-0 with a .901 save percentage. 

“Having a solid piece in net will provide a great backbone for us,” Henkel said. 

On defense, Petersen was already a rising star as an ‘03 last year, even running the Jr. Rangers power play. “He’s a fantastic skater with a lot of skill and hockey sense.”

Barrasso is an ‘02 who brings size (6-feet-4-inches, 194 pounds) and good knack for scoring, adding five goals throughout the season last year including one in the playoffs. 

“He will be in the lineup on a daily basis and will generate a ton of offense and physicality,” added Henkel. 

The Flansburg twins, who are 2002-born, are both sixth-year USPHL and third-year CJR veterans, so their experience is a massive boost to the Jr. Rangers crew. Schuyler is a center and Spencer is a right wing, both of whom came up to the Jr. Rangers from the CP Dynamo Midget program. 

“Schuyler will provide a big boost down the middle for us,” said Henkel. “It’s great to have Spencer back as one of our top returning PK guys and he will add some scoring on the right side.”

Every team needs to reload when they experience the mark of success that is advancement to NCAA hockey, and the newcomers to the Jr. Rangers fit the mold of the high-character player Henkel is always looking for. A group of 2003’s in particular has the coach excited for what they can do come game time on Sept. 24. 

Cade Baker (‘03) isn’t a total newcomer, having played a game with Connecticut last year, but he already has three USPHL seasons in the books, all with the Skipjacks Hockey Club’s 16U and 18U teams ove the years. 

“He has a ton of skill and works hard,” said Henkel. “He had some good opportunities last year.” Aidan HAws, an ‘03 center, “is very quick and  thinks the game very well. He’s very crafty with the puck and should factor in a good amount on the offense.” 

Additionally, Henkel has high expectations for ‘03-born Michiganders Brennan Sass and Billy Shields. 

“They [both] have a high motor and generate a ton of offense when they create turnovers,” said Henkel. 

The NCDC saw more than 70 of its players advance to or commit to NCAA Division I universities during the 2020-21 season. Henkel said the NCDC has certainly arrived on the scene as a major Tier II player in college advancement, and the league’s profile is only growing. 

“I expect that we will have continued growth and a better league than we have had,” said Henkel. “It has been a steady growth each and every year for our league and I expect it to be the same this year.”

The Jr. Rangers regularly do battle in the South Division, home to the 2021 Dineen Cup Champion Jersey Hitmen - and the finalist Rockets Hockey Club. 

“I think the South division will be very competitive and deep. I know the coaches have been out recruiting and building their programs accordingly,” added Henkel. “I am not sure there will be any surprises, as all the teams have been out in full on recruiting mode all spring and summer.”