Press Release
PENTICTON, BC–The
Penticton Vees Jr. ‘A’ Hockey Club is pleased to announce forward Ryan
Gropp (96) has committed to the University of North Dakota (UND) for the
2014-15 season.
Vees President, General Manager and Head Coach
Fred Harbinson, says he’s excited to help prepare Gropp for the next
step, “It has been an eventful past couple of days for Ryan and his
family; the invitation to U-18 selection camp and now a commitment to
UND. Ryan has had a lot of options to choose from over the past year and
our organization is extremely proud of Ryan and look forward to helping
him grow as a player."
Gropp, 16, is coming off an impressive
rookie campaign with the Vees, where he was crowned the British Columbia
Hockey League (BCHL) Rookie of the Year. The Kamloops, BC product
recorded 12 goals and 31 points in 50 games, and was the youngest player
in the league last season. In the Fred Page Cup Playoffs, Gropp kept up
with his regular season pace, scoring four goals and finishing with
nine points in 15 games, as the Vees fell to the Surrey Eagles in the
Fred Page Cup Final.
Thursday Gropp was one of 42 players to be
invited to Hockey Canada’s Summer U-18 selection camp for the Ivan
Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Gropp will head to Toronto, Ontario at the
end of the month and compete for a spot on the 22-man roster for the
August tournament.
UND is one of the most decorated and storied
programs in men’s college hockey. UND has appeared in the NCAA
tournament 27 times and the Frozen Four 19 times, and won has seven NCAA
Division l Championships, 15 Western Collegiate Hockey Association
(WCHA) Regular Season Championships and 10 WCHA Tournament
Championships. North Dakota is set to play in the newly created National
Collegiate Hockey Conference this fall. Gropp is the fifth Vee in
recent years that will play for the program joining Mark MacMillan,
Brendan O’Donnell, Troy Stecher and Wade Murphy.
(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)
KOTP Ep. 184 – The Final 15
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