Note: October Players Of The Month includes September statistics.
Forwards
Jared Rothman, Rockets Hockey Club
Rothman (‘06/Chappaqua, N.Y.) was the strongest rookie forward in all of the NCDC. The former Salisbury School standout put up a 6-11-17 line in his first 13 NCDC games, for a 1.31 points per game. Rothman scored points in every contest from Game 2 through Game 13. Even though the streak was snapped in November, it remains the longest point streak by any player by four games above his closest competition.
Gregory Diamond, Mercer Chiefs
Diamond (‘04/West Chester, Pa.) has been with the Chiefs since 2022-23, and he is just six points from becoming the NCDC program’s all-time leading scorer. He sits with 42 points, thanks in part to the eight goals and six assists for 14 points he put up through the end of October, averaging 1.27 points per game for his third season. He capped an October in which Mercer went 9-0 by putting up his first four-point game (1-3-4) on Oct. 26.
Aiden Ryan, Jersey Hitmen
Ryan (‘04/Raleigh, N.C.) put up 10 goals through the end of October to tie for the league lead in that category, and he also registered four assists for 14 points in 12 games, averaging 1.17 points per game. Ryan is in his third NCDC season and second with the Hitmen and he has 43 points in 81 career games, including 15 total points in 14 games this season.
Forward Honorable Mention: Arthur Mirante, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Defensemen
Jake Stevens, Mercer Chiefs
Stevens (‘05/Newton, N.J.), who made his Chiefs debut last season after previously being drafted by Mercer in 2022, has risen to become an absolute staple to the Chiefs’ success. A recent commit to Middlebury College, an NCAA Division III school playing in the NESCAC, Stevens put up a goal and 13 assists for 14 points in just eight games, for an average of 1.75 points per game since he joined the Chiefs in October.
Wilson Farrow, Jersey Hitmen
Farrow (‘04/Sudbury, Ont.) has been, for much of the season thus far, the leading scorer among defensemen and finished October just a point behind South Shore’s Jason Zaccari for that honor. Farrow is a fifth-year junior veteran with OJHL and NAHL experience in addition to his NCDC time, over which he’s posted a 2-13-15 line in 12 games of September and October.
Defenseman Honorable Mention: Carson Nickulas, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Goaltender
Nick Bunch, Jersey Hitmen
Bunch (‘05/Canton, Mich.) was undefeated through five games at the end of October, and had a .953 save percentage, good for third in the league. Bunch’s play was a big reason that the Hitmen started out undefeated through 10 games and they’ve only lost once in regulation as of early November. His 1.60 GAA also saw him tied for a top five spot league-wide.
Goaltender Honorable Mention: Dominick Gatto, Mercer Chiefs
Selection Process: The division’s coaches are presented with a ballot form with statistical leaders (ranked by points per game average for skaters and save percentage for goaltenders) and vote on that form. The league takes the results of that vote and presents the coaches with the finalists, who are able to vote on further changes if desired.
Summaries by Joshua Boyd
