Colorado College added two more players to next season’s incoming class and another for the near future before the weeklong NCAA early signing period concluded on Wednesday.
Defensemen Cole Josefchak and Alex Pernitsky, both of the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, signed their national letters of intent this past week along with Connecticut right winger Connor Sundquist.
The two defensemen are scheduled to join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference program next fall along with blue-liner Charlie Raith and forward Christiano Versich, both of the U.S. Hockey League’s Chicago Steel. They signed last fall. Both have three assists in 13 games for the Steel. The four will replace the four seniors scheduled for graduation next May.
Josefchak, a 6-foot-1, 201-pounder from Calgary, has seven points (six assists) in 22 games for the Bobcats while current and future teammate Pernitsky, 6-0, 185 pounds, of Unity, Saskatchewan, recorded eight points (seven assists) in 14 games so far.
(CC assistant) Gene (Reilly) went up there and liked what he saw in both of them,” CC coach Mike Haviland said. “They are two big, thick Western Canadian boys who play the game hard. They both have good hockey IQs.
“They skate well and defend well. They play a hard game which we felt we needed to add to our defensive corps. We are really fortunate to get both of them.”
Sundquist, a 6-0, 170-pounder with three points (two assists) in 15 games with USHL Sioux City, is likely joining CC the following season. Sundquist was the subject of a recent Gazette article when he scored his first junior goal – the game-winner — on Breast Cancer Awareness Night last month in front of his mother Melissa, who has Stage 3 breast cancer.
“He’s an offensive forward who plays the game the right way,” Haviland said. “He is a 200-foot player and he’s a smart player. We’re happy to get him signed.”
The next NCAA hockey signing period is April 13 through Aug. 1, 2016.