A ninth Eagle off to school
Defenseman Caleb Cordas has become the ninth member of the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to secure a school commitment ahead of the 2023-2024 season. Cordas, who has a 2002 birth date, has accepted on offer from New England College, which is a Division 3, National Collegiate Athletic Association school.
A big defender, Cordas played just 14 games with the Eagles to end the 2022-2023 NOJHL season but he made an impact with six assists and impressed the team’s president and general manager Bruno Bragagnolo.
“A later season addition, he was solid game in and game out for us and was very good at both ends of the rink,” Bragagnolo relayed to Hockey News North. “We wish Caleb all the best and are proud of his achievements. I’m sure he will have a successful college career at a very good school and hockey program.”
As was earlier reported by Hockey News North, the other eight Eagles from the ’22-23 team who will be playing college hockey in ’23-24 are forwards Jack Mortson, Zack Briskey, Hunter Friesen, Michael Szlag and Chase Tallaire, defensemen Colin Handy and Isaiah Gagerman and and goalie Logan Raffaele. All have 2002 birth dates with the exception of Handy who was born in 2003.
At the top of the list is Mortson, who led the Eagles in scoring during the ’22-23 season with 32 goals, 35 assists, 67 points. Mortson is headed to UMass Boston, which is a Division 3, NCAA level program.
Meanwhile, Briskey is headed to Northland College, which is also an NCAA D3 school, Friesen has committed to the University of Dubuque, which is another NCAA D3 program, while Szlag off to Western New England, which is also home to an NCAA D3 school, and Handy is headed to Marian University, which is also a D3 NCAA school. Gagerman, meanwhile, is off to Indiana Tech of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Raffaele has committed to Lake Superior State’s ACHA program and the high scoring Tallaire is moving on to Grand Valley State of the ACHA.
. . . I don’t know what the parameters are but it would be sooo nice if these fine young men could obtain scholarships at Canadian colleges and universities . . .
Way to go, boys! Proud of all of you. We’ll miss you this season.