While the goal of every United States Hockey League player is to claim a Clark Cup championship, a key part of the league’s mission statement is assisting its players in securing college commitments.
Three Youngstown Phantoms joined the commitment parade in recent days, with Taylor Holstrom (Mercyhurst College), Brett Gensler (Bentley University) and Andrej Sustr (University of Nebraska-Omaha) establishing verbal agreements to play hockey at the NCAA Division I level.
This month, the USHL reached a new milestone in its education-oriented goals and pushed the total of current league players with college offers to 200 for the first time ever.
Holstrom ranks second on the Phantoms with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) after racking up 19 for the Omaha Lancers last season. The southern California native will skate in the Atlantic Hockey conference for head coach Rick Gotkin, who has led Mercyhurst to six NCAA postseason appearances in his 22 seasons behind the Lakers’ bench in Erie, Pa.
Fellow Phantoms forward Gensler (13 goals, 14 assists) will join his friend Holstrom in Atlantic Hockey next fall, donning the blue and gold of the Bentley University Falcons. Located in Waltham, Mass., just a few miles west of Boston, Bentley employs reigning Atlantic Hockey coach of the year Ryan Soderquist, who received the honor after leading the Falcons to a 10-win improvement last season.
6-foot-6 Czech defenseman Sustr rounds out Youngstown’s newly college-bound trio. The Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks currently dress 20 USHL alumni, the most in NCAA hockey. Dean Blais is in his first year as UNO’s bench boss and recently coached Team USA to a gold medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships; he also served as head coach and general manager of the USHL’s Fargo Force from 2007 until last spring’s run to the Clark Cup Final.
The addition of Holstrom, Gensler and Sustr to the Phantoms’ college commitment list brings the total to nine. Scott Mayfield (University of Denver), Dave Donnellan (Western Michigan University), Luke Eibler (Northeastern University), Cody Strang (University of Wisconsin), Jefferson Dahl (University of Wisconsin) and Stuart Higgins (University of Maine) had previously reached deals to further their educations.
Courtesy: Youngstown Phantoms
