For Immediate Release
By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce the naming of Provo Predators forward Jonatan Raatikainen as the Mountain Division Defensive Forward Of The Year.
An ‘04 from Kaaro, Finland, Raatikainen is in his third year of North American hockey, coming to Provo from the Shawinigan Lake School. In 52 games this year with the Predators, in his first junior season, he put up 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 52 games.
Additionally, Raatikainen co-led the Predators with a +13 rating, and he was the team’s top faceoff man with 699 wins on 1,189 attempts for a 59 percent success rate. He led Predators forwards in blocked shots (40) and takeaways (188), while also shelling out 19 hits. Provo qualified for the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and faced the Utah Outliers, falling by a 3-1 series score.
“I am very honored for the recognition from the coaches in the Mountain Division and the trust of my own coaching staff during the good and bad times that we went through as a team this season,” said Raatikainen.
The NCDC joins the Provo Predators in congratulating Jonatan Raatikainen on this fantastic honor.
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, and there have been seven players selected in the NHL Entry Draft from the NCDC.
