CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – The Corpus Christi IceRays will be well represented this year at the annual North American Hockey League’s Top Prospects Tournament as (D) Kyle Froese, (F) Tony Roisum, (F) Maurin Bouvet will take the ice for the South Division while (F) Jake Durflinger will skate for the NAHL U18’s at the event which takes place February 17-18 at the Troy Sports Center in Troy, MI.
“This is a great opportunity for our players to get increased exposure to college and NHL scouts,” said head coach John Becanic. “You always wish you could have more of your players included but there are a lot of good players playing in the south.
Our entire organization is proud of these young men and their accomplishments and look forward to watching them excel at this event.”
For the South Division on defense, the ‘Rays will send Kyle Froese, who on the season has four goals and eleven assists in 40 games played. The Traverse City, MI native came to the IceRays during the off-season in a trade with the Soo Eagles.
“I'm very honored and excited to be chosen by not only our coaching staff, but also the coaching staff throughout the South Division and to be recognized by them is very exciting,” said IceRays captain Kyle Froese. “It is a great showcase for hockey players and I'm excited to represent the IceRays and the south division.”
On offense, Corpus Christi is having two of its’ players at the tournament. Tony Roisum and Maurin Bouvet will play in their first Top Prospects event.
“It's an honor to be selected for the Top Prospects,” said Roisum. “Not only am I excited to play for the South Division, but more importantly, excited that I get to represent the Corpus Christi IceRays organization.”
This season, both Roisum and Bouvet are tied for second place on the team with 18pts. Roisum has five goals and 13 assists in 42 games while Bouvet has scored seven times and assisting 13 other goals.
“I'm very glad to be part of the Top Prospects tournament,” said Bouvet, a native of France. “It's not only a great opportunity for me, but I am excited to represent the IceRays too and I'm very proud! So I have little bit of pressure but I can't wait.”
The NAHL 18U Selects is a combination of the best 18U players from the entire North American Hockey League and Jake Durflinger will suit up for that.
“I was very excited when I heard the news and very honored that I was chosen to represent the IceRays organization,” said Durflinger. “The Top Prospects Tournament is a great event for the league with some of the top players on hand and I am very excited to take part in it.”
In 43 games played with the IceRays this season, Durflinger leads the team in points and goals. Nine goals have been scored so far this year by the young forward while also assisting ten others.
The Top Prospects Tournament has become one of the most highly-scouted events of its kind. Last season, over 170 scouts attended the event, which featured almost every NHL team and NCAA Division I school. Over a third of the players that competed in last year’s event ended up with an NCAA Division I opportunity.
Complete schedule of the 2014 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament – CLICK HERE
South Division Roster – CLICK HERE
18U Selects Roster – CLICK HERE
The IceRays are home this Friday and Saturday night inside American Bank Center as they host the Fairbanks IceDogs. Puck drops at 7:05PM, coverage begins at 6:50PM with the IceRays Pregame Show on sportsjuice.com, ustream.com, and fasthockey.com. Click LISTEN LIVE for on the IceRays website for more information!
Stay current with the latest team news by visiting www.goicerays.com. In addition stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/corpuschristiicerays), Twitter (@goicerays), and the team’s Youtube channel ICERAYS TV (@goicerays)
