Note: September statistics are also included in October Players Of The Mont
Forwards
Caleb Rae, Florida Jr. Blades
Rae (‘07/Stouffville, Ont.) has been a great newcomer for the Jr. Blades, leading the team out of the gate with five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 11 games. He started out red hot with nine points in his first five games, including a three-point junior debut on Sept. 20. To close October, he led all of the Florida Division with a 1.18 points per game average (among players competing in at least 50 percent of their team’s games).
Max Ratliff, Tampa Bay Juniors
The second-year TBJ forward Ratliff (‘06/Tampa, Fla.) helped the Juniors stand at first place in the Florida Division and go 10 games without a regulation loss to bridge October and November. Up to Oct. 31, Ratliff had posted a line of five goals and six assists for 11 points, averaging 1.1 points per game. Tampa Bay’s scoring leader evened up his career points per game at exactly 1.0, with 51 points in 51 games played.
Rene Krytinar, Tampa Bay Juniors
Krytinar (‘07/Praha, Czechia) has been back and forth between the Tampa area and his home country, but he has settled in very nicely this season with a line of six goals and four assists for 10 points in 10 games. His highlight was putting up a 3-2-5 line against the Florida Jr. Blades on Oct. 4.
Forward Honorable Mention: Matt Gonzalez, Palm Beach Typhoon
Defense
Steven Eberhardt, Bold City Battalion
Eberhardt (‘07/Seaford, N.Y.) returned for a second season with the Battalion and has solidified himself early on as one of the top blueliners in the Florida Division for the 2024-25 season. With eight points in nine games, he had already bypassed his full 2023-24 season points total of seven points. He has already seen time in three USPHL Premier games for the Battalion, as well.
Cooper Christensen, Florida Jr. Blades
Christensen (‘07/Oldsmar, Fla.) joined the Jr. Blades with an Elite season already under his belt and showed just how important veteran leadership can be with two goals in his first game as a Jr. Blade. He went on to post four goals and three assists for seven points in 11 games overall up to the end of October.
Defenseman Honorable Mention: Ty Elzinga, Florida Eels
Goaltender
Shane Passaro, Tampa Bay Juniors
Passaro (‘04/Palm Springs, Calif.) returned this year and has been in mid-season form from the start, going 4-0-0-0 with two shutouts and a .941 save percentage. He stopped 96 of 102 shots through the end of October and held a 1.47 GAA. Leaderboard-wise, he was fourth in GAA and second in shutouts. For his career, he is 17-4-0-0 with a .917 save percentage.
Goaltender Honorable Mention: Filip Vitanov, Florida Eels
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
