To start 2024, eight BCHL alumni were honoured with monthly or weekly recognition in their respective conferences. This group is highlighted by one former BCHL player who was named National Player of the Month by the Hockey Commissioner’s Association.
Hockey Commissioner’s Association Player of the Month/Hockey East Player of the Month
Josh Nadeau (F) – Freshman – University of Maine (Penticton Vees)
Nadeau was second among all NCAA skaters with 12 points and his two points per game in six December outings was the best of any player that skated in more than four contests. He also paced Hockey East with six goals and two power-play strikes, two of which were game winners. He started the month with a pair of three-point games, scoring a hat trick before recording three primary assists the next night. He ended the month on a 12-game point streak.
Nadeau played the previous two years with the Penticton Vees, winning back-to-back championships alongside his brother Bradly. In 2022-23, he finished second in the BCHL with 44 goals, 66 assists and 110 points in 54 games. In last year’s postseason, he tied for the league lead with 35 points in 17 games on 16 goals and a league-best 19 helpers. At season’s end, he was awarded the Bob Fenton Trophy as the BCHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player.
Hockey East Rookie of the Month
Bradly Nadeau (F) – Freshman – University of Maine (Penticton Vees)
Bradly was second only to his brother Josh in December, putting up 11 points in just six games. He began the month with three primary assists to set up Josh’s first collegiate hat trick and followed up with a four-point night and a hat trick of his own the next time out. He recorded at least one point in five of his six appearances and paced the league with 23 shots on goal.
Nadeau played for the Penticton Vees for two seasons from 2021 to 2023 and helped the team to back-to-back Fred Page Cup championships. In 2022-23, he led the league in scoring with 113 points in 54 games and earned the Vern Dye Memorial Trophy for league MVP. His 17 postseason points last spring tied for the league lead and his 17 goals were the most in the BCHL Playoffs. As a result, he won the first-ever Jeff Tambellini Trophy for playoff MVP. He was drafted in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes in June.
Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month
Steven Agriogianis (F) – Senior – Mercyhurst University (Nanaimo Clippers)
Agriogianis led the Lakers in points for the month with 10 on two goals and eight assists, with the helpers tying for the Atlantic Hockey lead. The Beach Haven, N.J. native turned in multi-point games in three of the Lakers’ five December contests. Against Canisius on Dec. 2, Agriogianis led the offence with a trio of assists to help Mercyhurst to a 5-1 victory. His totals for the month included 47 faceoff wins while his 10 points landed him in second place on the conference scoring list for the month.
The 24-year-old spent the 2019-20 campaign with the Nanaimo Clippers and finished in a tie for third in team scoring with 39 points in 51 games, while his 17 goals were fourth most on his club.
Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week
Ethan Leyh (F) – Senior – Bentley University (Langley Rivermen)
Leyh netted a hat trick in the Falcons’ 4-3 overtime win over Union last Saturday. The Anmore, B.C. native scored his first two goals – one on the power play – just over two minutes apart in the first period to give Bentley a 2-0 lead. Leyh then completed the hat trick nine minutes into the second period to stake the Falcons to a 3-0 lead. Leyh fired five shots on goal and won 14 faceoffs in the victory.
The 2001-born forward played two full seasons in the BCHL from 2017 to 2019 with the Langley Rivermen. He was his team’s leading scorer his final year in the league, piling up 43 points in 51 regular-season games.
CCHA Forward of the Month
Adam Eisele – Sophomore – Minnesota State University (Penticton Vees)
Eisele led the Mavericks to a 3-2-1 month, recording three goals and three assists for six points in six games. He finished December on a five-game point streak, including netting a pair of goals to go along with two helpers in Minnesota State’s three victories in that span. He was also successful in the faceoff circle, winning 60 per cent (57-of-95) of his draws in the month. In total, he notched 17 shots on goal and had one block at the defensive end.
The Lake Elmo, Minn. product joined the Penticton Vees partway through the 2021-22 campaign and averaged nearly a point per game with 13 goals and 13 assists in 27 contests. Eisele was even more consistent in the postseason, finishing fourth in team scoring with 19 points in 17 games, helping the Vees to a Fred Page Cup championship.
Big Ten 1st Star of the Week
Simon Tassy (F) – Sophomore – University of Wisconsin (Salmon Arm Silverbacks)
Tassy helped Wisconsin to the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off championship, scoring game-winning goals on consecutive nights. He was responsible for four of the six goals his team scored as the Badgers defeated Air Force, 3-0 on Dec. 28 and Northeastern 3-0 on Dec. 29. The 22-year-old netted Wisconsin’s first natural hat trick since 2000 in the championship game and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Forward.
Tassy played three seasons with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks from 2019 to 2022. During the 2021-22 campaign, he finished third in the league in both points and goals with 78 and 38 respectively and was voted as the league’s Most Valuable Player at season’s end.
ECAC Hockey Defender of the Month
Jayden Lee – Graduate – Quinnipiac University (Langley/Powell River)
Lee averaged a point per game, recording four assists in four December contests. Throughout the month, the Bobcats defence limited opponents to two goals or fewer in each game. With a total of 15 assists this season, Lee leads the Bobcats in that category. The Quinnipiac captain concluded the month with six shots on goal and a plus-four rating.
Lee played two years in the BCHL, the first with the Langley Rivermen and the second with the Powell River Kings. His breakout season came in 2018-19 with the Kings where he had 36 points in 55 games to finish tied for 12th in scoring among BCHL blueliners.
ECAC Hockey Defender of the Week
Nicholas Carabin – Senior – Princeton University (Coquitlam Express)
Carabin had a three-point weekend on the blueline in the Tigers lone game against Harvard. The senior defender notched an assist on each of the first two goals to tie the game at two halfway through the matchup, adding a goal of his own in the third frame. In the 5-2 victory, Carabin posted three shots on goal and concluded with a plus-one rating.
Carabin played the 2019-20 season with the Coquitlam Express where he notched 27 points in 58 games to finish third in defencemen scoring. He helped the Express to first overall in the regular season and a first-round series sweep against the Langley Rivermen before the season was shut down due to the pandemic.
