Selection Process: The league media office sends top candidates to divisional coaches for review and coaches either approve or challenge the nominations.
Summaries by Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
Forward: Ilya Biesiedin, Potomac Patriots
The ‘05 from Kharkov, Ukraine, continues to push the goal-scoring pace in the Elite Conference, recently putting up 15 goals in just eight December games. He added seven assists to that for a 22-point month. That helped to give him 20 goals and 34 points in 20 games. He also has four points in 11 Premier games for a similarly loaded Patriots team at that level. He is strong in all areas, including his two-way game (+12 led team) and in the faceoff circle (85 faceoff wins out of 132 faceoffs for a 64 percent success rate).
Forward: Noah Ribeiro, Potomac Patriots
Ribeiro (‘05/Montreal, Que.), the son of longtime NHLer Mike Ribeiro, was right on fire with Biesiedin for the Patriots, putting up 18 assists and adding three goals for a 21-point month of eight games. He improved to 54 points on the season through 27 games. He also leads the entire Elite in assists with 43.
Forward: Nathan Rhodes, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes
Rhodes (‘04/Corona, Calif.) averaged 1.67 points per game for his team as they posted 10 points – all from assists – during the month of December, playing six games over that stretch. His +8 was second best among Jr. Canes forwards as the defending National Champions went undefeated on the month and stand on a nine-game winning streak. That’s only bettered by the Patriots’ 10-game winning streak and the Jr. Canes are fighting to overcome their two-point gap behind Potomac for the league lead.
Defense: Kirill Golubev, Potomac Patriots
The ‘07 out of Russia has been one of the most exciting new USPHL Elite players this year and surely has a bright future ahead, given his young age. Recently, he put up four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in eight games from the Patriots blue line. His +9 was tied for best among the Patriots defensive corps and his 20:40 of ice time led the team. Coming out of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 16U program, Golubev now has 41 points in 23 games.
Defense: Colby Markham, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes
A major cog in the Jr. Canes’ championship run in 2023, Markham (‘05/Raleigh, N.C.) has helped the Jr. Canes enter 2024 – and this week’s USPHL Tampa Showcase – on a 10-game winning streak. He put up a 3-4-7 line in December’s six games, and his 19:20 of ice time was second on the team and his 25 shots on goal led all Jr. Canes defensemen. Markham now has 29 points in 22 Elite games this year and has been called up for three Premier games, as well.
Goaltender: Jean Berthaudin, Hampton Roads Whalers
Berthaudin (‘03/St-Rose-du-Lac, Man.) was absolutely on fire in net during the month of December, turning away 157 of 163 shots in 380 minutes of action, while also registering no less than three shutouts, twice against the Columbia Infantry and a third time in a row against the Bold City Battalion in his USPHL Florida College Showcase kickoff game. For the month, he came away with a .963 save percentage and a 0.95 goals against average, while posting a 5-1-0-0 record. For the season, he is 11-4-0-0 with a .952 save percentage.
