By Alexis Demopoulos
The NCDC helped push forward Brogan Shea to showcase his abilities and grow as a player. With the help of the Wilkes/Barre Scranton Knights and Head Coach Josh Fusco, Shea earned himself an NCAA Division III commitment to Western New England University for the 2025-26 season.
“The NCDC helped me get put in the right position to be recruited because of how good the league is,” said Shea. ‘It makes it easier for coaches to see what they are getting based on what you are doing out there against the good competition. There is not a single easy game to be played all season.”
Shea is very familiar with the NCDC after playing a handful of games in the league the past two seasons, but this year decided to sign with Wilkes/Barre Scranton and is loving his experience there so far. In 20 games played, Shea has contributed seven points and loves the fact that he is challenged every game.
“I like the organization and the team,” said Shea. “We are a hard working team and can take it to some of the top teams in the division. What made me sign with them was our new head coach. Coach Fusco made the decision even easier to go there after chatting with him.”
Shea started communicating with Western New England Head Coach Michael Young in the beginning of October and things quickly took off from there.
“Coach Young liked my speed and my ability to make plays and even to set myself up with scoring chances,” said the Williamstown, N.J. native.
Shea took a liking to the campus during his first visit, impressed with the classroom sizes, the hockey facilities and the dining hall. He knew Western New England was a place he could envision himself attending.
“I liked how big the campus looked and felt, but in reality it was a small student and class size, which I really like,” said Shea. “The campus is beautiful especially with the changing seasons. All the buildings look and feel new, and they even have a lot of options at the dining hall. I also really like that Western New England is in the CNE (Conference of New England) and they play some really good teams.”
Aside from hockey, Western New England really drew in Shea with their finance program as well. Shea has taken a liking to finance and plans to major in that with the hopes of becoming a financial planner in the future.
“What interested me most about WNE was their finance program,” said Shea. “They also have a high hiring rate after graduation for finance.”
Shea right now is focused on getting stronger as he knows once he gets to the college level, it will be a whole different level of challenges than what you see in junior hockey.
“One of the biggest parts I’ll be working on is getting stronger,” said Shea. “It is a lot different to be going up against 25 year olds rather than 18-19 year olds in their first year juniors. They are way stronger.“
Shea has many different abilities on the ice and thrives on being both an offensive and defensive weapon. With his commitment already secured, he is hoping to help his team bring home a championship.
“I think the best parts of my game are my speed and ability to make plays off of that,” said Shea. “I am also a 200- foot player, so I believe I’m good at defense. I hope to accomplish a playoff push and to hopefully win the Dineen Cup with my team.”
The NCDC congratulates Brogan Shea, his family, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights and Western New England University for his commitment.
