The Sherwood Park Crusaders Junior A Hockey Club are pleased to announce that 1996 born Defenseman Chase Torontow has committed to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels of the American Collegiate Hockey Association for the 2017-18 season.
“After my fly down to UNLV I knew I wanted to go there. It’s an exciting time to be on a hockey team in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights coming to the city. The program is partnered with them and their new facility, where we will be playing our home games, is world class. We will be on the ice before [the Knights] almost everyday.” Says Torontow.
“I’m very happy for him and proud of him, there were a lot of schools after him and he made a great choice. He was one of our best Defensemen in the playoffs and it was no surprise that he and Ben Sowa shared our top Defenseman award for this season.” Says Crusaders General Manager Kyle Chase.
The Edmonton, AB native spent all four of his seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey with the Crusaders, appearing in 214 Regular Season Games, scoring 12 Goals, 68 Assists for a total of 80 Points and amassing 272 PIM’s over his junior career.
“When he came to us, he stepped into our lineup immediately and contributed right away as a 17 year old and progressed throughout his career. He’s maybe not big in stature but he plays big, guys fear playing against him.” Chase added.
“Everyone that I met when I was visiting UNLV treated me extremely well and I can’t wait to get the season rolling in September.” Noted Torontow.
Torontow had a career year in 2016-17 with 6 Goals and 30 Points. The blueliner will join a program that makes the jump from Division 2 to Division 1 in the ACHA and compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey League.
“Now that the team has gone Division 1 in the ACHA, I am very honored and excited to help this program transition to the NCAA and win a National Championship.” Added Torontow.
With the commitment to UNLV by Torontow, the Crusaders now have four players committed to Post Secondary institutions for the 2017-18 season as Forward Gage Joel is committed to Central Oklahoma of the ACHA, Forward Tyler Maltby is committed to Arizona State of the NCAA and Forward Tanner Younghans is committed to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology of the ACAC.