Atlantic Youth Hockey League

12 players with ties to AYHL named on 2016 CSS Final Rankings

Release Date : 04/18/2016

BUFFALO, NY – Twelve players with ties to the Atlantic Youth Hockey League, one current player and 11 alumni, were among the 280 players ranked by NHL Central Scouting on its Final Rankings for the 2016 National Hockey League draft.

Alumnus defenseman Charles McAvoy (Long Beach, NY/Boston) was the highest ranked former AYHL player, ranking sixth among all North American skaters. The Long Beach, New York native was ranked ninth in the Midterm Rankings.

North Jersey Avalanche 18U forward Robert Hampton (Middletown, NJ/Northeastern) was the only currently player to appear on the rankings, ranking 191st.

McAvoy has been ranked among the top draft-eligible players all season long. The defenseman spent four seasons with the Long Island Gulls before moving on to the New Jersey Rockets for one season in the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League. In McAvoy’s one season with the Rockets, he claimed a Keegan Cup Championship and was named Offensive Defenseman of the Year. McAvoy then joined the United States National Team Development Program, winning a pair of gold medals. McAvoy was recently named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, after a three goal, 25 assist, season with Boston University.

Long Island Royals alumnus Tage Thompson (Oyster Bay, NY/UCONN) was next on the list, ranking 20^th. Thompson spent two seasons in the AYHL at Bantam Major and 16U American. Thompson moved to the PAL Islanders organization before moving on to the NTDP for one season. In his freshman season at the University of Connecticut, Thompson had 14 goals and 18 assists in 36 games.

After being ranked 117^th at the midterm rankings, defenseman Cam Dineen (Toms River, N.J.) was one of the largest gainers in the final rankings, moving 78 places to 39^th. Dineen spent four seasons in the AYHL, three with the Rockets and one with Team Comcast. Dineen moved to the Rockets’ Eastern Hockey League program, winning its Rookie of the Year honor. A one-time Yale commit, Dineen instead went to the North Bay Battalion, scoring 13 goals and 46 assists, and is up for the Ontario Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Fellow Gulls’ alumnus defenseman, Adam Fox (Jericho, NY/Harvard) was ranked 50^th in the final rankings, moving up 17 places from the midterm rankings. After two seasons in the AYHL, Fox moved to the NTDP, where he has been a top-assist man for the program, racking up over 70 assists in his time in Ann Arbor, etching his name in the program’s record books. Fox will be a freshman at Harvard University in the fall.

After being overlooked in the midterm rankings, Ross Colton (Robbinsville, NJ/Vermont) appears at 89 in the final rankings after helping to guide the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to the United States Hockey League’s Anderson Cup as the regular season champions. Colton set the single-season scoring record for Cedar Rapids, with 35 goals and 31 assists in 55 regular season games. Colton spent eight seasons in the AYHL, seven with the Mercer Chiefs, and one with the Rockets, before moving to the Taft School, where he spent one season before moving to the USHL.

Coming in at 110 was Team Maryland alumnus Graham McPhee (Bethesda, MD/Boston College). McPhee spent four seasons with Team Maryland (Pee Wee Minor through Bantam Minor), before he joined the prestigious Shattuck St. Mary’s program for two seasons. Following his time at Shattuck, McPhee joined the NTDP, where the winger has had 19 goals over two seasons in Michigan.

Thompson’s teammate at UCONN, Joe Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) was next on the list at 118. Masonius spent five seasons in the AYHL, one with the New Jersey Junior Titans and four with the Rockets. After his Bantam Major season, Masonius spent two seasons with the Jersey Hitmen, before joining the NTDP. The defenseman had six goals and 15 assists in his freshman season.

High-scoring forward Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn.) is next on the list, coming in at 143 for the final rankings. Only spending one season in the AYHL (Bantam Minor with the New Jersey Colonials in 2011), Harper has been a prolific scorer at Avon Old Farms, scoring 106 points in just 49 games. Harper closed out his 2015-16 campaign with the Omaha Lancers (USHL).

Harper’s teammate at Avon Old Farms, defenseman Adam Karashik (Ridgefield, Conn/UCONN) appears at 154. An alumnus of the Mid-Fairfield Youth Hockey program, along with the Connecticut Oilers, Karashik spent three seasons in the AYHL, being recognized as an All-Star with the Oilers in 2015. The Ridgefield, Connecticut native joined Avon Old Farms following his season with the Oilers and closed his 2015-16 campaign with the Chicago Steel (USHL).

Brandon Crawley (Glen Rock, N.J.) is the last AYHL alumnus defenseman on the list, appearing at 182. Crawley spent six seasons in the AYHL, five with the Avalanche and one with the Rockets. Following his Bantam Major season, Crawley moved to the Jersey Wildcats program and then on to Selects Academy. With Division I opportunities present, Crawley elected to sign with the London Knights (OHL) as a free agent to prepare himself for the 2016 NHL Draft. In his two seasons in the OHL, Crawley has nine goals and 25 assists.

Returning to the AYHL, Hampton had a standout season for the Avalanche, helping the program reach the semifinals at the Toyota/USA Hockey Tier I National Championships for the second consecutive season. Hampton, who is a four-year veteran of the AYHL, scored 21 points in 18 AYHL regular season contests and added 26 points in 23 Tier I Elite Hockey League games for the T1EHL-winning Avalanche.

Peyton Jones (Langhorne, PA/Penn State) is the only AYHL alumnus to appear on the goaltending list, ranking 23 among North American goaltenders. An eight-year player in the AYHL, six with Team Comcast, one with the Rockets, and one with the Philadelphia Junior Flyers, Jones is finishing his second season with the Lincoln Stars (USHL), where he ranks among the USHL leaders in GAA (2.34) and save percentage (.922). 

Click here to view all of the final rankings.