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Central Maine Men’s Hockey Thinking Globally

(PHOTO: CMCC Athletics)

(PHOTO: CMCC Athletics)

At all levels of hockey, recruiting quality players is no longer just a local or even national competition. It is global. When Central Maine Community College Mustangs men’s hockey holds its prospect day at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn on March 6 as it begins preparations for the 2016-17 season, there will be a distinctly international flavor to the process of selecting players.

“We have had strong interest in our program from prospective student-athletes not only from here in Maine, but also from across North America and Europe,” said Mustangs head coach Kevin Cady.

According to Cady, young players from various locales in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Russia, Latvia and the Netherlands have expressed interested in the Central Maine hockey program. The coach is particularly excited about two Swedes who will attend prospect day: goaltenders Marcus Blomqvist and Kalle Andersson.

“Marcus just completed the season with Hedemora SK at the Div. 2 level in Sweden, and he did well there,” Cady said of the 21-year-old from Avista, who posted a 2.55 goals against average and .912 save percentage in 25 games.

“Kalle is the younger of the two goalies [born in 1999], but he’s played above his age group in Sweden and he has good tools to play the position,” Cady said.

Andersson, who hails from the Taby in the Stockholm metropolitan area, played five games at the J20 Division I level for Enebybergs IF, posting a stellar 1.97 goals against average and .937 save percentage. At 6-foot-1, he has the size as well as the athleticism that teams look for in goaltenders, and the ability to fill out a frame that currently packs just 167 pounds. The 6-foot Blomqvist carries 170 pounds.

Among local athletes, Cady said at least three players from the NA3EHL Maine Wild Junior team in Biddeford have signed letters of intent or completed enrollment process at the school. Hoping to make the jump from the Wild to Central Maine are prospects Dylan Farrell-Reny, Sederick Simons, and Jordy Knoren (who originally hails from The Netherlands).

In all, there will thirty-five prospects competing for roster spots next season. Come autumn, the Central Maine Mustangs will play an independent schedule for the first time. Although the schedule has yet to be determined potential opponents include the men’s teams from Tufts University, Bryant University, the Coast Guard Academy, Bates College, USM and UNE, Dartmouth, Thomas College and SNHU. All Mustangs practices and home games will be held in Auburn at the state-of-the-art Norway Savings Bank Arena.

Cady, who has worked in the past for professional hockey teams at both the National Hockey League and American Hockey League levels, is hopeful that the program will attract even more local student athletes and others from proven hockey programs around the world. The coach said the CM hockey training will be demanding but expects his players to pay attention to academics as well as their play on the ice. Athletic director Dave Gonyea echoed the identical sentiment.

“Our expectation for our ice hockey athletes is that they will perform at a high level both in the classroom and on the ice,” Gonyea said.

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