TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.
– The Traverse City Hounds sent nine players from last season’s team to various
college hockey programs this year (including six to NCAA Division III
Finlandia University) and while the current Midwest Junior Hockey League
campaign is just two weeks old, the Hounds have done it again.
Rookie forward Garrison Sanipass has been signed by the
Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League and should make his
NAHL debut this upcoming weekend when the Tomahawks host the Soo Eagles for
three games at the War Memorial in Johnstown, Pa.
According to Sanipass, getting the call after just five
games with the Hounds was an incredible feeling.
“I had been talking to Johnstown
since the beginning of the season,” said Sanipass, a 19-year-old native of Northbrook,
Ill. “(Traverse City
coaches) Scott Gardiner and Randy Montrose got me in condition and got me ready
to make the leap to the next level. They also gave me some great advice along
the way.”
This season with the Hounds, Sanipass tallied six goals and
10 assists for 16 points, good for second in the MWJHL scoring race.
“As an organization, we are very excited for Garrison,”
Gardiner said. “He will be missed here in Traverse City,
but Johnstown is getting a great
player and an even better person.”
In signing with the Tomahawks, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Sanipass
becomes the first MWJHL player in the league’s two-year history to sign with an
NAHL team.
“We knew when we signed Garrison that he probably wouldn't
last the whole season here, but to get promoted after just two weeks shows you
how hard he worked and how much Johnstown
really wanted him,” added Montrose. “We certainly wish him the best and hope he
makes an immediate impact with Johnstown.
“In all my years of coaching, there is no sweeter joy than
seeing players develop and move up to higher levels of this game. I've said it
before – this is why we do what we do. Scotty and I will take the wins, sure,
but our priority has been, and will always be, to develop our players to get
promoted to higher levels of junior hockey and eventually, to college hockey.”
With the Tomahawks, Sanipass will join former Little Caesars
teammates Shane Bednard, Alex Jaeckle and Brett Young, so he’ll be going in
having at least three recognizable faces in the locker room.
“Once I get to Johnstown,
I am just looking to improve my skill and contribute to the team any way I
can,” Sanipass said. “I know that Johnstown
has a great community – I’m really looking forward to playing there. It’s a
great opportunity and I plan on staying there the rest of the season.”
(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)
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