Three Canadian born forward recruits made verbal commitments to the University of Denver this week. Jarid Lukosevicius, Liam Finlay & Logan O'Connor will attend DU in upcoming seasons.
Jarid Lukosevicius [5’11 165 lbs] is slotted to arrive at DU in 2015. He started well in his first
full BCHL campaign, scoring 5 goals and adding 10 assists in his first
14 games. Lukosevicius was named to the Canada West
selection camp roster for the upcoming 2013 World Junior A Challenge.
For Lukosevicius, selecting a school and committing to a higher level
of hockey was a new experience. “I didn’t know much about American
colleges before the season, but I knew that Denver was an excellent
school. When they made me an offer, I knew I had to accept it”
“Denver is a very reputable program” says Kings Head Coach and
GM Kent Lewis. “They’ve got a very good staff, it’s a great place to
live, and they’ve certainly recruited some great BCHL players over the
years. They’ve done a great job in recruiting and we are happy for
Jarid and his family that he has made the decision to go to Denver.”
Lewis believes Lukosevicius’ start to the season was just one
contributing factor to Denver pursuing the 18 year-old winger. “Schools
have been tracking him since last season when he was one of the top
players on the North West Giants who won the BC Major Midget League”
says Lewis. “He’s a good player, and he’s going to get better. These
type of players don’t come along very often. His shot is hard and
accurate, he sees the ice very well and he’s got a really high compete
level.”
Coach David Michaud announced that Liam Finlay will attend DU, "Liam's development has progressed
rapidly since joining the British Columbia Major Midget League
last season as a 15 year old. To have one of our players commit to
an elite NCAA Division 1 hockey program early in his second year of
midget hockey is a very rare occurrence and speaks to Liam's dedication
and perseverance.”
To date with the Okanagan Rockets, Finlay has posted 16 goals and 52
assists in just 48 regular season games played. This season, he has 6
goals and 12 assists for 18 points in just 7 BCMML games. Finlay
recently committed to play the 2014-15 season with the Penticton Vees of
the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). As a reserve player for
Penticton this season, Finlay has one assist in three games played.
Finlay is very excited about his decision to commit to the Pioneers.
"In researching NCAA hockey programs with my family, we felt that the
University of Denver (DU) was a model program. DU has an excellent
reputation both academically and scholastically. I am very interested in
their business program and, of course, the long track record of Denver
Pioneer hockey success was very appealing.”
Logan O'Connor moved down to the USA this winter to play hockey for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL. Last seasonhe 5-foot-11, 165-pound winger recorded 23 points (7g, 16a) in 34 games
for the Calgary Royals Midget AAA team. He helped lead the Royals into
the playoffs where he posted four points (1g, 3a) in five games.
2014 Recruiting Class Updated Stats
F Landon Smith (Salmon Arm, BCHL) - 13 games, 8 goals, 11 assists
F Tyler Pham (Indiana, USHL) - 6 games, 0 goals, 1 assist
F Jared Fiegl (U.S. Under-18) 8 games, 0 goals, 1 assist
F Garrett Gamez (Tri-Cities, USHL) 5 games, 0 goals, 0 assists
F Cody DePourcq (Penticton, BCHL) - 12 games, 4 goals, 6 assists
D Tariq Hammond (Okotoks, AJHL) - 12 games, 2 goals, 8 assists
2015 Recruiting Class Updated Stats
F Dylan Gambrell (Dubuque, USHL) 4 games, 1 goal, 2 assists
F Kevin Conley (Team Wisconsin Under-16, AAA)
F Jarid Lukosevicius
F Logan O'Connor
2016 Recruiting Class Updated Stats
F Troy Terry (Thunderbirds, AAA)
F Liam Finlay
