Summaries by Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
Selection Process: Voting took part in two phases. In the first phase, the division’s coaches voted for three of their own players and three players from other teams in the division. Once these results were compiled, the division’s coaches voted on the final team.
Forwards
Dylan Hineman, Tampa Bay Juniors
The ‘06 local talent from Steinbrenner High School was the leading scorer for the Tampa Bay Juniors’ Elite team, registering 54 points in 41 games as a junior rookie. Hineman was a co-leader for the team in plus-minus at +43. He joined the Juniors as one of 10 former Tampa Bay Jr. Crunch players, including one other All-Star on this list.
Kevin Rosello, Tampa Bay Juniors
Rosello (‘03/New Port Richey, Fla.) came to the Juniors out of J.W. Mitchell High School, where he played with fellow Junior Carter Trussler, and ended up leading the Juniors in points per game with 1.51 (52 points in 37 games). Rosello and Hineman are both now in the top 10 for single season points in the Juniors’ elite history. He also saw five games up with the USPHL Premier team. Rosello finished the season with nine power play goals, good for third in the Elite Conference.
Mookie Killen, Tampa Bay Juniors
Killen comes from the aforementioned group of 10 former Tampa Crunch 16U teammates who would move on to join the Juniors. The ‘06 from Steinbrenner High School put up 40 points in 37 games with the Juniors, during the same season in which he put up 19 points in 13 games for Steinbrenner.
Fynn O’Neill, Florida Eels
O’Neill (‘03/Calgary, Alb.) put up 51 points in 43 games to lead the way offensive for the Eels this season. He just completed his third season of junior hockey, as he came from the Heritage Jr. B Hockey League in his home conference. O’Neill’s 23 goals were also tied for most from an Eels player this year. The Purdue Northwest University (ACHA) recruit put up a +35 on the season, to rank second among the Eels forwards, and he won 564 faceoffs for a 72 percent success rate.
Alex Cochran, Florida Eels
Cochran (‘05/Plano, Texas), a product of the McKinney North Stars AAA program, started his junior career very well by putting up 42 points in 36 games. He was a huge playmaker, both overall (26) and on the power play (seven assists to lead the team).
Zayn Haddon-Harris, Florida Eels
Haddon-Harris (‘04/Boca Raton, Fla.) joined the Eels, which had previously seen his older brother Taurin enjoy great success at the Premier level before moving on to Curry College in 2022. Zayn is making his own name with the Fort Myers, Fla.-based Eels, putting up 42 points in 40 games this year. His 23 goals on 141 shots gave him an impressive 16.3 shooting percentage.
Colby Sims, Atlanta MadHatters
Sims (‘04/Rocky Mountain House, Alb.) was a huge part of helping the MadHatters make their first trip to the USPHL Nationals, putting up 39 points in 36 games. Another product of the Heritage Jr. B League in Alberta, Sims became the MadHatters Elite team’s all-time leader in goals (37), assists (46) and points (83). He finished with 10 more points in nine career playoff games, including six games this year in the MadHatters’ first-ever Nationals run.
Will McLaughlin, Atlanta MadHatters
McLaughlin (‘04/Yorktown, Va.) ended up joining the MadHatters in the middle of the season and became a key cog in the machine that pushed its way into the USPHL Nationals for the first time. After 19 games with his previous team that ended up folding, he jumped to the MadHatters and registered 19 more games and came out with a total of 39 points in 38 games. He also had nine points in six playoff games.
Vincent Faggioli-DeLong, Florida Jr. Blades
Another local Florida talent who became a go-to player for his team, Fort Myers, Fla.’s own Faggioli-DeLong (’06) finished as the leading scorer for the Jr. Blades with 32 points in 39 games. A former member of the Florida Jr. Everblades Midget program, Faggioli-DeLong also got a chance to play in two games with the Jr. Blades Premier team.
Arnaud Bourgeois-Barry, Palm Beach Typhoon
The ‘05 from Quebec jumped right into his first junior season and immediately lead the Typhoon in scoring for his first year, scoring 34 points in 40 games. Bourgeois-Barry’s 34 points ranked fifth in the three-year history of the Typhoon.
Defense
Jacob Munkwitz, Tampa Bay Juniors
Munkwitz (‘04/Smithtown, N.Y.) came to the Juniors from Long Island, where he had three prior years of USPHL experience with the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders organization. Jumping into a new organization was a seamless transition for this strong blueliner, who put up 41 points in 40 games in the regular season. He also helped the Juniors in the postseason, adding four assists as they made a run in the USPHL Nationals. His 20:12 of ice time was second on the Juniors, as were his 37 blocked shots. His 119 shots on goal led the Tampa Bay defense.
Lucas Gonzalez, Tampa Bay Juniors
Gonzalez (‘04/Superior, Colo.) is another who came from beyond Florida to join the many longtime teammates on the Juniors and mixed right in – and led the way as well. Gonzalez skated the most of any Juniors player this year, at 21:18, while also contributing 36 points in 43 games in his second USPHL season. Having previously played with the WBS Knights, he was able to make his second straight trip to USPHL Elite Nationals. His +43 on the season tied Dylan Hineman for the Juniors team lead.
Sean Burke, Florida Eels
Burke (‘03/Wellesley, Mass.) unfortunately saw his season interrupted due to injury – he missed all of January – but while he was on hand for the Eels, he was extremely strong. He scored 23 points in 24 games this year from the blue line, and he led the team in average ice time at 22:23 per game. The second-year blueliner, an Elon University (ACHA) recruit, leaves junior hockey with 46 points in 64 Elite games, and he also played in nine Premier games, joining that team through most of October 2023.
Goaltender
Jackson Bernier, Atlanta MadHatters
Bernier (‘03/Belfast, Maine) posted the USPHL Elite’s second best save percentage for a single season at .952 – ranked first in 2023-24 – thanks to his huge season of going 9-5-0-0 and pushing the MadHatters to a first-ever trip to the USPHL Nationals. Bernier went 2-0 during the postseason while making four total appearances. Bernier is first in MadHatters history for his .952 save percentage as well as his 1.58 single season goals against average.
Ethan Carlone, Tampa Bay Juniors
Carlone (‘04/Tecumseh, Ont.) joined the Juniors in October and was off to the races, coming out of the regular season with a .924 save percentage and an 11-3-0-0 record, along with a 2.30 GAA. He then went 4-1-1-0 with a .935 save percentage in the postseason, including the Juniors’ Nationals run.
