Week of Dec. 23, 2023
Games of Dec. 13-21, 2023
Summaries by Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
Northwest Division
Forward: Tyler Hanson, Rogue Valley Royals
Hanson (‘03/Medford, Ore.) pushed through a tough draw of teams for the Royals and came out with six points over the four games, with three goals and three assists. He posted a 1-2-3 line against Bakersfield at the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase and finished the event with a shorthanded goal. Overall, he has 47 points in 31 games this year and 138 points in 92 career regular season games.
Defense: Oliver Melnychuk, Bellingham Blazers
Melnychuk (‘06/Delta, B.C.) was a consistent help for the Blazers as they put up some strong performances. Not only did he score three goals and one assist, he was also the Blazers’ ice time leader with 20:25 per game. He also led the team with shots on goal with 14. For this season so far, he has 15 points in 28 games.
Goaltender: Rahul Sharma, Bellingham Blazers
Melnychuk’s former Aldergrove Kodiaks teammate Sharma (‘03/Delta, B.C.) put together another fantastic weekend of hockey, stopping 49 of the 51 shots he faced of the three days the Blazers played at the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase. This included a 20-save shutout of Long Beach, and he also stopped 29 out of 31 shots against an offensively potent Ontario Jr. Reign team. His .939 save percentage on the season is good for top five in the league.
Pacific Division
Forward: Tristan Frizado, San Diego Sabers
Frizado (‘05/Mirabel, Que.) was goal-hungry throughout the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase, putting up back-to-back hat tricks on the same day – Dec. 18. He also prepared for his showcase with a 2-6-8 performance against Long Beach on Dec. 16. For the four games he played through Dec. 19, he put up eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points.
Defense: Tim Gradin, San Diego Sabers
The ‘04 blueliner Gradin just joined the Sabers here in December out of previously playing this year in his home country. He put up three goals and eight assists for 11 points in five games – the Dec. 16 Long Beach game followed by the four games in Las Vegas. During this stretch, he led the team in minutes played at 25:29 and also had no problem playing the body with a team-leading six hits. He was a +10 overall, and he finished 2024 with a 5-10-15 line in nine games.
Goaltender: Cebald Debiak, Lake Tahoe Lakers
Debiak (‘05/Lavaur, France) was among the busiest man in net at the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase, playing 174 minutes and coming out with a 2-1 record for the event. In each of his three starts, he never gave up more than two goals and came out with 96 saves on 101 shots for a .950 save percentage coming out of the event. Debiak went 3-1-1-0 in December with a .938 save percentage.
