The Brooks Bandits are pleased to announce that 20 year old Forward Matthew Marcinew has committed to play for the University of Denver. Located in Denver, Colorado the “Pioneers” play in the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) under first year Head Coach Jim Montgomery. The Pioneers have enjoyed a storied history in the NCAA and look to make their mark in the NCHC.
Matthew is from Calgary, AB and is an alumnus of the Calgary Buffalo Hockey Association where he played midget hockey before making the jump to the AJHL with the Lloydminster Bobcats. After a successful rookie season in Lloydminster he was moved to the Olds Grizzlys where he quickly became one of the elite scorers in the league. Last season Marcinew quietly scored 33 goals and 25 assists, which was good for 8th in AJHL scoring. He was always a threat against the Bandits, which made it a natural fit for the organization to try and acquire his rights. On June 30th the Bandits made a trade for the rights to the Grizzlys top scorer to try and replace some of the offence that graduated from the program.
Head Coach/GM Ryan Papaioannou, “We are very happy for Matty, a Division 1 commitment was his main goal moving into the season. For him to accomplish that prior to the season and have the opportunity to play at Denver this year is a dream come true for him. It definitely has its down side for the organization not being able to have him in the lineup this year but moving players along is crucial to the development of our league. We only had a short time to get to know Matty but his presence at our summer camp was very professional and we wish him the best in his NCAA career.”
The Bandits Organization would like to congratulate Matty and his Family on his athletic and academic future.