By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce that P.A.L. Jr. Islanders veteran forward Carter Hanrahan has been named the Atlantic Division 2023-24 Defensive Forward Of The Year.
Hanrahan is the second in his family this year to win an NCDC award, as his younger brother Coleson Hanrahan was earlier named the Atlantic Division Defenseman Of The Year.
Carter Hanrahan enjoyed his best offensive season of his four-year NCDC career, putting up 57 points (tied for seventh in the league) and he was fourth in assists with 40.
He skated an average of 20:23 per game, second among forwards on the team, and his 91 blocked shots on the season were second only to brother Coleson, and were tied with Brown University recruit Jack Hewitt. He was also a +23 on the season with 210 defensive takeaways.
He was third in power play assists (22) and fourth in power play points (24, tied with Coleson). Carter Hanrahan also led the Jr. Islanders with an average of 3:22 in penalty killing time per game.
Carter Hanrahan, like Coleson, joined the Jr. Islanders out of the Springfield Pics organization. The 2003-born native of Longmeadow, Mass., first joined the USPHL in 2017-18, suiting up for the Pics’ USPHL 16U team. Over three years with that program, he went on to win a USPHL 16U American Division championship and is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 116 points in 88 games.
During his time with the Pics, he also appeared in the USPHL 16U All-Star Game in 2020, and made a good impression on the P.A.L. powers that be also in the building for the NCDC All-Star Game for that year at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass.
The next year (2020-21), he first started – and finished – the season with the Jr. Islanders’ NCDC team still as a 16-year-old. He additionally played nine games with the Jr. Islanders’ Premier team that year. He is one of the few in the league to have played a regular role with his team during the six-week Hub City Tampa event in January and February of 2021.
After three more seasons beyond that season, Carter has gone on to become second all-time in games played for the Jr. Islanders’ NCDC team (144 games) and he is fifth all-time in points (103). Along with last year’s run to the Dineen Cup Championship and all of his other NCDC playoff appearances, he is tied for second in playoff games (18) and he is tied for third in points (16).
“I am honored to be named Atlantic Division Defensive Forward Of The Year,” said Carter. “I would like to thank the P.A.L. organization for everything they have done over the last couple of years. Having Mike Marcou and Frank DiChiara as my coaches for the past four years has really helped me not only develop as a player but a person. I would also like to thank my friends and family for all their support along the way. And, lastly, I would like to thank [Springfield Pics 16U coaches] Anthony and John Sarno for giving me this opportunity.”
“I’m am very happy to see Carter get acknowledged for all of his hard work,” said P.A.L. Head Coach Mike Marcou. “Carter played four years for P.A.L. in the NCDC and has developed both on and off the ice. I look forward to following his success in the NCAA.”
The NCDC congratulates the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders’ Carter Hanrahan on being named the Atlantic Division 2023-24 Defensive Forward Of The Year.
About The NCDC
The National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) was founded in 2017 as the Tuition-Free Tier II conference of the United States Premier Hockey League, itself founded in 2012. The NCDC consists of 18 teams in three divisions, two on the Eastern Seaboard and one in the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
The NCDC has sent more than 250 alumni to play NCAA Division I hockey, and more than 900 overall into NCAA college hockey. There were also more than 250 alumni in pro hockey around the world during the 2023-24 season. Former NCDC player Drew O’Connor has become a regular with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Collin Graf recently signed and has played with the San Jose Sharks, and there have been seven players selected in the NHL Entry Draft from the NCDC.
