The Bonnyville PONTIACS are extremely proud to announce that both Steenn and Brinson PASICHNUK have committed to play for the NCAA Division I Arizona State University Sun Devils, located in Tempe, Arizona.
Both Steenn and Brinson are ‘homegrown Bonnyville players'.
General Manager and Head Coach Rick SWAN says, “Steenn is in his 3rd full season with the PONTIACS and is the team captain. He is the consummate leader both on and off the ice, and is a main component of our organization's culture. He is a two-way power forward with a strong, athletic frame and plays in every situation offensively and defensively. Steenn is strong on his skates and hard to knock off the puck, he plays in tough areas and looks to go to them. Over his Junior 'A' career he has always been consistent from shift to shift, loves to play a physical game and leads by example. Steenn has worked tirelessly on improving his game over the course of his Junior 'A' career and he has developed tremendously over the last three years and his upside as a player is huge.”
“Brinson was nominated for the AJHL's Top Rookie Award and was selected as the team's Top Rookie last season. He is a special player and his compete level is elite. Brinson's development, like Steenn's, as a player from last season is a real testament of his coachability, his character to 'want to be a hockey player' and the amazing potential that he has moving forward. Brinson is heavily relied upon to play against the opposition’s best players every night and he plays with grit. Brinson has a great stick defensively and has special offensive instincts which makes him uncomfortable to play against. Brinson is also a NHL Central Scouting 'watch list' player for this year's NHL Draft and he won a Gold medal for Team Canada West this season at the World Junior 'A' Championships.”
“As an organization, we couldn't be happier for Steenn and Brinson and the entire PASICHNUK family as well as the town of Bonnyville,” says Head Coach and General Manager Rick SWAN. “Both players will be a major part of the new culture and key building blocks to building an NCAA Division I championship program that Coach POWERS is looking to do. I look at the Sun Devil commitments from the AJHL and get excited about what the future lies for their program.”
Steenn and Brinson become the 25th Bonnyville PONTIAC player to play in our program and commit to a post-secondary hockey program since 2014.