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University of Massachusets Athletics
Six To Join UMass Hockey In Fall Of 2006
May 24, 2006 | Hockey
May 24, 2006
AMHERST, Mass. - UMass Hockey Head Coach Don Cahoon announced this week the addition of six players to the Minuteman hockey family. All six will join the team in the Fall of 2006, and the class consists of three defensemen, two forwards and a goaltender.
Justin Braun is a product of the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers and a Vadnais Heights, Minn. native. The 6'1, 180 lb. Braun joined the Gamblers late in the 2004-05 season before playing the entire 05-06 season in Green Bay as a right-shot defenseman. He played in a total of 69 games with two goals and 11 assists, while collecting 69 PIMs last season with a +5 rating.
"Justin is a steady player with a very strong frame," said Cahoon. "He is also strong with breakouts and with more weight, will have the expectation of being effective right away."
Defenseman Kevin Kessler comes to UMass from the 2005-06 EJHL Champion New Hampshire Junior Monarchs. The 6'3, 215 lb. native of Scarborough, Maine also spent three seasons at Cushing Academy. Kessler played in 48 EJHL games, recording six goals and 15 assists with 83 PIMs. He was also selected to the EJHL All-Star Team.
"Kevin is a big, strong, hard-hitting `stay at home' defenseman," said Cahoon. "He has one great attribute that can never be overlooked: tremendous competitiveness. He will have a tremendous impact on our program in the next four years."
Dan Meyers is a 6'2, 215 lb. EJHL All-Star goalie with the Green Mountain Glades under coach Brad Holt. The Voorhees, N.J. native held a 2.67 GAA and .927 save percentage in 25 games played for the Glades in 2005-06. Prior to his junior career, Meyers competed for the Eastern Regional H.S. team (N.J.) and holds the all-time records for save percentage, goals against average and wins records, in addition to being an MVP.
"Dan is a big, strong presence in net, which is important to the position," said Cahoon. "He's a very athletic, big kid that will challenge Jon Quick for playing time."
Martin Nolet hails from Quebec City, Quebec and is a left-shot defensemen. The 6'3, 205 lb. Nolet attended Champlain College in Lennoxville, Quebec where he played for Judes Valée, and is currently ranked No. 100 among North American skaters by the NHL's Central Scouting Service for the 2006 draft.
"Martin has all of the requisite skating skills and he's an extremely powerful skater," said Cahoon. "He's a high-end performer with good stick skills, and he'll bring an offensive and defensive presence to the team. He can be a premier player not only on our team, but at the league and national level as well."
William Ortiz III is a member of the 2005-06 Salisbury School New England Prep School Championship team under coach Dan Donato. The Framingham, Mass. native is a right-shot forward standing at 5'9, 170 lb. Ortiz collected 38 goals and 43 assists in his two years at Salisbury and was an All-Tournament team member during the 05-06 Prep School playoffs.
"William is a productive player with very quick feet," said Cahoon. "He gets a lot of puck touches in the offensive zone and will give us some offensive production."
Brett Watson, who hails from Media, Pa., completes the class. The 5'11, 170 lb. center spent the last two seasons with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL under coach Bliss Littler, and Watson played for the Billings Bulls (NAHL) before his USHL stint. He accumulated 44 points for the Storm.
"Brett comes from a great hockey family, as his father and uncle both played for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970's," said Cahoon. "His brother Chase is also a senior at Providence, so Hockey East isn't unfamiliar to him. He's an extremely intelligent kid, which translates into hockey intelligence. We can use him in many situations."
Stay tuned to umassathletics.com for updates on these six individuals, including pictures.