Summaries By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.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
Alexis Toussaint, Fort Wayne Spacemen
Toussaint (‘04/Varennes, Que.) was an outstanding addition to the Spacemen as they made yet another trip to the USPHL Nationals and reaching the quarterfinal round, making it two years in a row for that feat. His 40-44-84 line placed him in the top 20 of scoring overall, while also ranking second all-time in Spacemen history for a single season. His +24 rating led the Spacemen this year, while his 216 shots on goal and 18.5 shooting percentage (from his 40 goals) also led the team. His 35 hits led Spacemen forwards, as well.
Ryan Jaros, Battle Creek Kernels
Jaros (‘03/Portage, Mich.) returned to the Kernels to become the outright team leader this year, putting up 53 points, representing a 35-point improvement on the 18 points he posted in 2022-23, the Kernels’ first year. With his 71st career point on Feb. 24, he became the Kernels’ all-time leading scorer. Jaros was the Kernels’ ice time leader with 25:23 per game. His skill set pushed opponents beyond the limits of the law, as he drew 25 penalties this year while sitting for a grand total of just two minutes all year. He also had five points in the Kernels’ four playoff games the last two years.
Gerdas Paulauskas, Chicago Cougars
Paulauskas (‘04/Lisle, Ill.) completed Year 3 with the Cougars by registering the best total of his career, improving from 38 points in 2021-22 to 44 points last year to 57 this year. Altogether, that gave Paulauskas 139 points in 122 games with the Cougars, good for fourth best total in team history. He also had five points in nine playoff games the past three years, including a 2022 trip to Nationals. His +10 on the season was second among Cougars forwards.
Brian Bell, Motor City Gamblers
Bell (‘03/Macomb, Mich.), a veteran of the prestigious Honeybaked AAA program, completed his second season with the Gamblers, improving to 91 points in 84 games for his career, good for fourth in the Gamblers’ USPHL Premier history dating back to 2017-18. This year, Bell had 10 goals and 34 assists for 44 points in 42 games. He was a whiz in the faceoff circle as well, winning 513 of 827 for a fantastic 62 percent success rate.
Connor Hasse, Battle Creek Kernels
Hasse (‘03/Denver, Colo.) was, like Jaros, a second-year Kernel who was there when it all began in 2022 and right through this year. Hasse scored 24 goals and 20 assists for 44 points in 44 games, an improvement on his 26 points as a junior rookie last year. He was completely devoted to his team, as seen by his team-leading 75 blocked shots on the season. He won 571 faceoffs (52 percent success rate) also to lead the team, and his 23:20 of ice time was good for second on the team. He finished his career with 70 points in 83 games.
Caden Day, Chicago Crush
Day (‘05/Batavia, Ill.) was immense as a rookie junior player in terms of lifting the second-year Crush from fifth with 33 points last year to third with 54 points this season. A local talent, Day came in from nearby programs like the Geneva Cyclones and West Dundee Leafs, and put together 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points in 44 games. He went on to add four goals and six points in four games in the playoffs. Day’s +20 led the team, as did his 63 hits, showing his dedication to a two-way games.
Defensemen
Jake Taylor, Metro Jets Development Program
An ‘05 blueliner from Macomb, Mich., Taylor helped the MJDP to give up just 90 goals all season, and that also helped them to a +90 goal differential, as the MJDP made their fourth straight trip to Nationals. Taylor put up 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 44 games, and he added six points in seven games as the MJDP made the National semifinals for the first time. Taylor scored the double-OT goal that put the MJDP into the semis, as well. His +29 led the MJDP this year, and his 19:42 was second on the team.
Jake Mullins, Motor City Gamblers
Mullins (‘03/Clawson, Mich.) completed his third Premier season, and second with the Gamblers. Mullins racked up 35 points in 30 games this year, and also contributed three assists in four playoff games. For his career, he finished with 99 points in 72 Motor City regular season games, making him the team’s all-time USPHL Premier scoring leader. He was No. 1 in ice time all year for the Gamblers, skating an average of 22:59 per game.
Cyler Brogle, Chicago Crush
Joining Day in helping the Crush improve by 21 points in the standings, Brogle (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) was another second-year Crush player who’s been there since Day 1 and was a big key to the team’s success. He played in 29 games this year, and put up a 1-14-15 line, and was also a key defensive player with 43 blocked shots (his 1.65 blocks per game was second best on the team), and he also came out with a +7 on the season.
Goaltenders
Andrew Parmentier, Metro Jets Development Program
The second-year Jets player out of Chesterfield, Mich., saw a big improvement in the second season, especially in helping the MJDP to the National semifinals. Parmentier (‘04) played in 22 games this year, putting up a .921 save percentage and a 15-3-0-0 record during the regular season. During the playoffs, he went 4-0-0, which included playing all 82:03 of the MJDP’s quarterfinal double-OT game against Potomac, which he won with 41 saves. Parmentier’s 22nd win this past regular season made him the MJDP’s all-time leader in wins. He came out of De La Salle High, where he was a teammate with three other MJDP players.
Maxim Zinchenko, Fort Wayne Spacemen
Zinchenko (‘04/Yekaterinburg, Russia) was huge for the Spacemen in going 15-7-0-0 this year, and putting up a .918 save percentage. He had originally joined in 2022-23, and went 3-1-1 last year in the postseason with a .936 save percentage, as the Spacemen made their playoffs debut last year. They made it back this year, largely on the back of Zinchenko’s season-long efforts, and he was strong again in the playoffs, going 4-2-0-0 with a .924 save percentage. He is the Spacemen’s all-time leader in wins (21), and his .922 career save percentage is best among all Spacemen goalies with at least 10 games played.
Jack Sundhall Crush
The second-year Premier goalie Sundhall (‘03/Goteborg, Sweden) had the most wins of all Midwest East goalies, winning 17 in a 17-7-2-1 season, and he also posted a .923 save percentage to rank in the Top 20 league-wide. Sundhall had previously played with the Pueblo Bulls in their last Premier season before they moved to the NCDC. For his two seasons, Sundhall put together a 22-10-2-1 Premier career with a .918 save percentage.
