Brooks Bandits forward Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON) has committed to attend and play for Resselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), it was announced today.
Located in Troy, New York, the RPI Engineers play in the NCAA Division I ECAC Hockey conference under second-year head coach Dave Smith.
Mahshie, 19, is coming off a breakthrough season in his second campaign with the Bandits. Scoring 65 points (34 goals, 31 assists) in 57 games, he was the 12th-highest scoring player in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), ranking third in Alberta in goals and fourth in power play goal scoring. His year included 21 multi-point games, two hat tricks, eight multi-goal games, and two career-high four-point games.
The year was a more than tripling of his point total and nearly quadrupling of his goal total from his rookie campaign in 2017-18, in which he scored 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) in 50 games, adding 6 points in 11 playoff matchups as well.
“Ryan is more than deserving of an opportunity to play at the next level,” said Bandits head coach and general manager Ryan Papaioannou. “His progress in the last 12 months is a credit to the work he’s been willing to put into each day.
“Ryan has a great skill set for a player of his size and his numbers this season reflect what he can accomplish with opportunity,” he added. “We are looking forward to his contribution in the playoffs, National Championship and again next season as a leader with our club.”
Prior to his Junior A career, Mahshie spent two years playing for Ridley College in the Midwest Prep Hockey League (MPHL).
He becomes the second Bandit in team history to commit to RPI, after former Bandit defenceman Shane Bear (Calgary, AB) continued his hockey career there this past season.
Mahshie is the 15th player on the 2018-19 Bandits roster committed to an NCAA Division I institution, joining:
• Simon Gravel (Canisius College)
• Nathan Plessis (Brown University)
• William Lemay (University of Vermont)
• Andrew Lucas (University of Vermont)
• Brandon Scanlin (University of Nebraska Omaha)
• Luke Bast (University of North Dakota)
• Mack Hancock (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• Ray Christy (Colorado College)
• Nick Hale (College of the Holy Cross)
• Jakob Lee (Canisius College)
• Andranik Armstrong (University of Massachusetts-Lowell)
• Tyler Campbell (Dartmouth College)
• Simon Boyko (University of Vermont)
• Arnaud Vachon (Colgate University)