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Apr. 25—GRAND FORKS — UND answered a question at center in a big way.
The Fighting Hawks landed Clarkson junior center Ellis Rickwood out of the NCAA transfer portal Friday morning.
Rickwood was the highest-scoring player outside of Atlantic Hockey to enter the portal this offseason.
The 6-foot-2 center from Brantford, Ont., tallied 10 goals and 35 points in 39 games last season. He centered Clarkson's top line, playing between Hobey Baker Award finalist Ayrton Martino and senior Ryan Richardson.
Rickwood also won 57.5% of faceoffs last season.
Rickwood was named first-team all-ECAC along with Martino and Colgate senior Brett Chorske.
"It was a bit of a no-brainer," Rickwood said of choosing UND. "I was talking to my family and agent. We identified that there was a big hole at center there and a big opportunity.
"It's a historical program. You see all the alums. You see the facilities. I've heard everything is top tier. You're treated like professionals there. I'm really excited."
The Fighting Hawks lost several of their regular centermen in the offseason. Sacha Boisvert transferred to Boston University, while Cameron Berg, Jake Schmaltz, Carter Wilkie and Louis Jamernik V graduated.
UND returns Cade Littler, who played in the middle last season.
UND also recently
grabbed a commitment from Jack Kernan,
the leading scorer of the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL.
Rickwood had a point explosion as a junior.
After tallying five points as a rookie and nine as a sophomore, he jumped to 35 as a junior under first-year Clarkson coach J.F. Houle.
"It was awesome," Rickwood said. "Our new coach came in, let me play free, play my style. I had two unbelievable linemates — Ayrton Martino, who has signed in the NHL, and Ryan Richardson. We complemented each other well. They made my life easy. I owe my success to them a lot."
Rickwood said he didn't generate much NHL interest with his big junior season. He's an undrafted free agent.
"I didn't have many calls from NHL teams," Rickwood said. "When thinking about that, talking with my agent and family, we thought I might have to go to a stronger conference to prove myself and remove my doubt. It's my last year. I wanted to prove myself and bet on myself."
Rickwood will play against his old team this season.
UND is scheduled to play at Clarkson in Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y., on Oct. 24-25.
Rickwood said he has high hopes for the Fighting Hawks as a team.
"I want to win," he said. "I don't like to lose. I want us to be a good team. I want us to be a top team and ultimately make a run in the tournament. That's my goal. I want to win."
Rickwood played junior hockey for Victoria in the British Columbia Hockey League. He centered Nashville Predators first-round pick Matthew Wood in Victoria.
Wood and Rickwood finished 1-2 in the BCHL in scoring that season.
The Fighting Hawks now have 12 forwards lined up for next season.
The seniors are Rickwood, Dylan James and Ben Strinden. Minnesota Duluth transfer Anthony Menghini is the lone junior. The sophomores are Littler, Mac Swanson, Cody Croal and Dalton Andrew. The rookies are Kernan, Will Zellers, David Klee and Josh Zakreski.
UND still has two or three more forwards to add.
The Fighting Hawks are pursuing Michigan Tech transfer Isaac Gordon, who is from Manitoba. Gordon played two seasons at Tech.
Continue reading...
The Fighting Hawks landed Clarkson junior center Ellis Rickwood out of the NCAA transfer portal Friday morning.
Rickwood was the highest-scoring player outside of Atlantic Hockey to enter the portal this offseason.
The 6-foot-2 center from Brantford, Ont., tallied 10 goals and 35 points in 39 games last season. He centered Clarkson's top line, playing between Hobey Baker Award finalist Ayrton Martino and senior Ryan Richardson.
Rickwood also won 57.5% of faceoffs last season.
Rickwood was named first-team all-ECAC along with Martino and Colgate senior Brett Chorske.
"It was a bit of a no-brainer," Rickwood said of choosing UND. "I was talking to my family and agent. We identified that there was a big hole at center there and a big opportunity.
"It's a historical program. You see all the alums. You see the facilities. I've heard everything is top tier. You're treated like professionals there. I'm really excited."
The Fighting Hawks lost several of their regular centermen in the offseason. Sacha Boisvert transferred to Boston University, while Cameron Berg, Jake Schmaltz, Carter Wilkie and Louis Jamernik V graduated.
UND returns Cade Littler, who played in the middle last season.
UND also recently
grabbed a commitment from Jack Kernan,
the leading scorer of the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL.
Rickwood had a point explosion as a junior.
After tallying five points as a rookie and nine as a sophomore, he jumped to 35 as a junior under first-year Clarkson coach J.F. Houle.
"It was awesome," Rickwood said. "Our new coach came in, let me play free, play my style. I had two unbelievable linemates — Ayrton Martino, who has signed in the NHL, and Ryan Richardson. We complemented each other well. They made my life easy. I owe my success to them a lot."
Rickwood said he didn't generate much NHL interest with his big junior season. He's an undrafted free agent.
"I didn't have many calls from NHL teams," Rickwood said. "When thinking about that, talking with my agent and family, we thought I might have to go to a stronger conference to prove myself and remove my doubt. It's my last year. I wanted to prove myself and bet on myself."
Rickwood will play against his old team this season.
UND is scheduled to play at Clarkson in Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y., on Oct. 24-25.
Rickwood said he has high hopes for the Fighting Hawks as a team.
"I want to win," he said. "I don't like to lose. I want us to be a good team. I want us to be a top team and ultimately make a run in the tournament. That's my goal. I want to win."
Rickwood played junior hockey for Victoria in the British Columbia Hockey League. He centered Nashville Predators first-round pick Matthew Wood in Victoria.
Wood and Rickwood finished 1-2 in the BCHL in scoring that season.
The Fighting Hawks now have 12 forwards lined up for next season.
The seniors are Rickwood, Dylan James and Ben Strinden. Minnesota Duluth transfer Anthony Menghini is the lone junior. The sophomores are Littler, Mac Swanson, Cody Croal and Dalton Andrew. The rookies are Kernan, Will Zellers, David Klee and Josh Zakreski.
UND still has two or three more forwards to add.
The Fighting Hawks are pursuing Michigan Tech transfer Isaac Gordon, who is from Manitoba. Gordon played two seasons at Tech.
Continue reading...
