Atlantic Youth Hockey League

Four AMHL Alumni to Skate in Tonight's AAPG

Release Date : 09/24/2015

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Four Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League alumni will take to the ice in Buffalo, N.Y. for the fourth annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game at the First Niagara Center.

Defensemen Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./Harvard) and Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y./Boston University), along with forwards Graham McPhee (Bethesda, Md./Boston College) and Tage Thompson (Oyster Bay, N.Y./UCONN), will be among 42 players taking to the ice as the top American prospects eligible for the 2016 NHL Draft.

The four players also completed, or are in the process of completing, a two-year stint with the United States National Team Development Program.

According to USA Hockey, 26 players that participated in the 2014 version of the game were chosen in the 2015 draft, including seven first-round selections.

Fox and McPhee will skate for Team Jeremy Roenick, while McAvoy, Thompson will skate for Team Derek Plante

Fox spent his Atlantic Youth Hockey League career with the Long Island Gulls. The Harvard-committed defenseman was one of the top offensive defensemen during his tenure on the island, averaging over two points per game. Fox lead the Gulls’ 16U National team to the USA Hockey Nationals in 2014, receiving an AYHL All-Star selection and the All-American Defenseman Award for his playoff performance.

McAvoy, a top defense prospect for the upcoming draft, is the lone member of the list to have played in both the Atlantic Youth and the Metropolitan Junior Hockey Leagues. Like Fox, McAvoy spent his AYHL career with the Long Island Gulls but McAvoy joined the New Jersey Rockets junior program as opposed to playing midgets because the waiver policy for 15-year old players were still in place. McAvoy won a Keegan Cup Championship with the Rockets in 2013.

McPhee spent four seasons in the AYHL, all with Team Maryland, averaging just over 34 points per season. McPhee then joined the prestigious Shattuck St. Mary’s program, where he averaged over a point-per-game in his two seasons. The Bethesda, Maryland native committed to Boston College while at Shattuck and is completing his second season with the NTDP.

Thompson spent two season in the AYHL, playing for Mid-Fairfield in 2011 and then with the Long Island Royals in 2012. The UCONN-committed forward just completed his two-year stint with the NTDP. Thompson’s offensive output has increased every season beginning with the 2012-13 season and he was one of the top scorers at the 2015 Select 17s.

Fox, McAvoy and McPhee were also selected in the OHL Priority Selection.