Summaries By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
Limited March regular season games were also taken into statistical account.
Selection Process: The league media office sends statistical leaders to divisional coaches for review and coaches either approve or challenge the nominations.
Forward: Joona Juntunen, Connecticut Jr. Rangers
Juntunen (‘03/Hyvinkaa, Finland) is proof positive of just how much a new coach and culture change can benefit a returning player to a team. Juntunen was a strong leader with the 2022-23 Jr. Rangers, scoring 47 points in 42 games last year, but this year, his offensive game just exploded. He finished with 112 points as one of three Jr. Rangers in the 100-point territory, the only team to feature as many. His 112 points tied for second in the Premier, and he got there partially by putting up an 11-14-25 line in his final seven games of the regular season. Juntunen also finished his season by scoring 105 points in 29 straight games, and he also registered a 3-2-5 line in his single game played against the Brooklyn Aviators in the playoffs.
Forward: Filip Tomiczek, Elmira Impact
Tomiczek (‘04/Trinec, Czechia) set the Impact’s record for single season scoring with 93 points in 44 games, just a season after Nathan Garau had set a high bar with 82 points in 2022-23. Tomiczek passed that and many of his 51 assists were to Lex Roldan, who himself posted 83 points to pass the prior record. Tomiczek finished the season with 13 goals and 14 assists in 13 regular season games, for a 27-point month. One telling aspect of his game is that opponents have no legit answer for him – he drew eight opponent penalties in February, while only sitting four minutes himself. In the playoff round against the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders, Tomiczek scored three points in two contests.
Forward: Peter Labos, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Speaking of 2023-24 players setting records for their teams, Labos (‘04/Plainview, N.Y.) registered the best single season of a Jr. Islander, with 73 points in 44 games. Both Labos and teammate James Clifford (58 points) sailed past the previous record of 46 points in 43 games. In February, he put up 12 goals and added eight assists for 20 points in 13 games. He was also tied for the team’s plus-minus lead with +7.
Defense: Hunter Scanlon, Connecticut Jr. Rangers
Scanlon (‘03/Rockford, Ill.) is a proud USPHL Premier record-holder, standing No. 1 in both defenseman career points (212) and single season points (108). He finished the month of February by averaging exactly four points per game, putting up nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points – in only six games. He’s not only just about the offense – he also led the Jr. Rangers with 49 blocked shots in those six February games.
Defense: Markus Andrews, Connecticut Jr. Rangers
Andrews (‘03/Stockholm, Sweden) saw a huge year-over-year improvement in points, moving from 35 points last year to 85 points here in 2023-24. February was a particularly productive month, as he put up a pair of goals and 19 assists for 21 points in the seven games that he played. In February, he was out on the ice for an average of 24:16 per game, pretty identical to Scanlon’s 24:23.
Goaltender: Steven Reganato, Rockets Hockey Club
Reganato (‘04/Holbrook, N.Y.) helped the Rockets win their final five straight games of the regular season. His contribution to that run was going 3-0, including stopping 38 of 39 against the Springfield Pics on Feb. 9 at the Northern Cyclones Showcase, followed by a huge performance of 39 saves on 40 shots the same weekend against the Islanders Hockey Club. He finished the month with 19 saves on 21 shots against Brooklyn for his undefeated month, part of a four-game winning streak. His February totals were 95 saves on 99 shots in .960 save percentage and a 1.30 GAA.
The Rockets have an extremely strong goaltending duo that also includes Ryan Rhodes, who was called upon in the playoff series against the Hershey Cubs and stopped 71 of 73 shots for a .971 save percentage.
