ALASKA HOCKEY SIGN GRIZZLIES

December 06, 2006 Victoria Grizzlies -

Alaska Hockey Signs Jamie Benn

Nanooks keep it in the family with addition of younger Benn

FAIRBANKS, AK – The Alaska Nanooks hockey program announced Thursday that Jamie Benn a 6-2, 185-pound left wing of Victoria, British Columbia, has signed a National Letter of Intent in the NCAA Early Signing Period.

Benn is the younger brother of 19-year-old Jordie Benn, a 6-1 185-pound defenseman, who signed with the Nanooks in the late signing period last spring but deferred his enrollment at the University of Alaska Fairbanks until the 2007-08 season.

The Benns are already playing together this season for the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). The second youngest player on Victoria’s roster, the 17-year-old Benn plays on the team’s top offensive line with center Tyler Bozak and right wing Gary Nunn, who have also committed to Division I programs (University of Denver and the University of Minnesota at Mankato).  In 19 games this season, the younger Benn has 16 goals and 9 assists for 25 points with 29 penalty minutes.

“Offensively he’s very gifted and has a good nose for the net,” said Grizzlies head coach Rylan Ferster.  “As a 17-year-old he’s showing he can score goals at this level.”

“He’s got the one thing you can’t teach; he can score goals,” said Ferster.

The Nanooks head hockey coach Tavis MacMillan echoed Ferster’s praise of Benn.

“Jamie Benn is a goal scorer,” said MacMillan. “Very few young men have the talent and skill to score goals like he does.”

Recently, Benn garnered some national notice as he was named a “B” Player to Watch by the National Hockey League's Central Scouting Service. A “B” rating is given to a “player to note” who is considered a potential later round selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Benn played two seasons for the Peninsula Panthers in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (Junior “B”).  During the 2005-06 season he had 31 goals and 24 assists for 55 points with 92 penalty minutes in 38 games with the Panthers. He scored two goals for the South Team in the VIJHL All-Star Game and also tallied five goals and five assists in seven playoff games.

“He’s been a successful goal-scorer at every level he’s played at and there’s no doubt in our minds that he will continue that success at the collegiate level,” said MacMillan.

Benn is the seventh Victoria player in recent history to sign with the Nanooks.  Senior center Curtis Fraser (Surrey, BC), junior left wing Kyle Greentree (Victoria, BC), junior goalie Wylie Rogers (Fairbanks, AK), sophomore forward Adam Naglich (Las Vegas, NV), sophomore left wing Justin Binab (Victoria, BC) and incoming recruit defenseman Jordie Benn (Victoria, BC) have preceded him in the virtual pipeline that has bolstered Alaska’s roster in the past few seasons.
 
“It was pretty shocking when they called and asked if I wanted to be a Nanook,” said Benn, “but it was exciting because I knew that Jordie was going there already.”

“Plus I’ll be getting an education and experiencing a great program with a great hockey community.  I’m excited to be a part of that.”

Alaska Hockey Signs Ron Meyers

FAIRBANKS, AK –Alaska Nanooks head hockey coach Tavis MacMillan announces the signing of Ron Meyers of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, to a National Letter of Intent for the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Meyers becomes the third recruit to sign during the NCAA’s Early Signing Period.
“Ron Meyers is a very welcome addition to our program,” said assistant coach Wade Klippenstein.  “His work ethic and commitment to academics and athletics will be second to none.  He’ll be one of the hardest working student-athletes we have.”
A 5’9”, 170-pound center, Meyers skates with the Victoria Grizzlies hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) this season. He has scored four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 22 games and tallied 24 penalty minutes.
“He’s a leader and a winner,” said Grizzlies head coach Rylan Ferster.  “He’s gritty; he’s the first in and out of the corners.  He goes into high-traffic areas and plays well.  He sees the ice very well and distributes. He’s full of character.”
Meyers is excited for the opportunity to play for the Nanooks in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
“It will be a big challenge but that’s what a hockey player dreams of,” Meyers said. “I want to keep moving up and this is the next step.  Getting the chance to play hockey and go to school at the same time is a great honor.”
Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Meyers was the captain of the Prince Albert Minots (2005-06) of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. He notched 15 goals and 28 assists for 43 points with 22 penalty minutes in 41 games.
In 2004-05 he totaled 11 goals and 27 assists for 38 points with 26 penalty minutes in 44 games.

Meyers played briefly for Melfort in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League both seasons. He played three games in 2004-05 and had one assist and scored a goal in his only game in 2005-06.
His second season with the Minots was highlighted when he scored two goals, including the game winner, in triple overtime to win the Telus Cup Canadian National Midget Hockey Championship.
“He’s the kind of guy every team needs to be successful,” added Klippenstein.  “He’s proven he’s a winner and knows what it takes.”
Meyers is also the third recruit from the Grizzlies to sign with the Nanooks, joining current teammates, Jordie and Jamie Benn.
“When I came to Victoria this year I met the Benn brothers and knew that they were coming to Alaska,” said Meyers. “I’ve gotten to know them playing with them and it shows me the kind of players they’re (Alaska’s) recruiting to their program.  They are great guys and the kind of players I want to keep playing with for the next four years.”
He is one of many in a slew of players who have traveled the virtual pipeline from the Victoria-based team to the Nanooks program.
“I’d heard a lot of Victoria boys go up there and really like it. They get treated like professionals,” Meyers said. “Who wouldn’t want to experience a program like that?”
While eager to get to Fairbanks and extremely committed to his hockey, Meyers was not always committed to just one sport.  He gave up another physically demanding sport in his adolescence to pursue his hockey career.
The Meyers’ family, who lives on a ranch in Prince Albert, has a taste for roping and competing in local rodeos.  The exposure fostered the young Meyers’ interest so much so that he took to riding bulls in middle school.  Unfortunately a shoulder injury sidelined his cowboy adventures and he made a decision that he didn’t want such injuries to jeopardize his future with hockey.
“The older I got the more hockey became a bigger priority for me,” Meyers said.
He joins forwards Landon Novotney (Red Deer, AB) and left wing Jamie Benn (Victoria, B.C.) in the Nanooks recruiting class of 2007.