Northeastern assistant captain Nolan Stevens was selected 125th overall by the St. Louis Blues.
By: Josh Brown
BOSTON- Just months after winning its first Hockey East Championship since 1988, three Northeastern Huskies were selected on the second day of the 2016 NHL Draft. The trio consists of assistant captain Nolan Stevens, and incoming freshman Matt Filipe and Jeremy Davies.
Nolan Stevens: St. Louis Blues, Fifth Round, #125 Overall
The Sea Isle City, New Jersey native had a breakout sophomore campaign last season, going from a 3 goal, 9 assist freshman season to netting 20 goals and 22 assists, earning himself assistant captain honors for the 2016-2017 season. A Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star, a member of the Hockey East All-Tournament team, and named Northeastern’s Most Improved Player at the annual end of the year banquet, Stevens shined brightest on the biggest stage for Northeastern, scoring four goals and five assists in postseason play, including a goal and an assist in the Hockey East Championship Game against Umass Lowell.
Welcome to St. Louis, Nolan. #NHLDraft
BIO: https://t.co/tCFFKGdSDr pic.twitter.com/CFUTlIXeOw
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 25, 2016
Matt Filipe: Carolina Hurricanes, Third Round, #67 Overall
The freshman forward is the highest drafted Husky since Jamie Oleksiak went 14th overall to the Dallas Stars in 2011, joining assistant captain Brendan Collier as a member of the Hurricanes organization. After playing three seasons at Malden Catholic High School where he won Super 8 Championships in 2013 and 2014, Filipe, the son of former Northeastern great Paul Filipe, played the 2015-2016 season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. He scored 19 goals and tallied 17 assists while in Cedar Rapids, finishing fifth on the team in scoring and earning USHL All-Rookie Second Team honors.
“Matt is a big, 6’2″, 200-pound forward who gives you some flexibility and versatility in that he can play forward or left wing,” said Northeastern coach Jim Madigan. “He’s heavy on pucks, strong, a great skater with great offensive ability. This year he had a real good year in the USHL playing for Cedar Rapids. We are thrilled to have Matt come in here. He’ll be in that lineup providing some key offensive production for us as well as playing a 200-foot game.”
https://twitter.com/MFilipe4/status/746747219332702208
Jeremy Davies: New Jersey Devils, Seventh Round, #192 Overall
A 5-foot-11 defenseman from Point-Claire, Quebec, Davies played the last two seasons with the USHL’s Bloomington Thunder where he scored 16 goals and 53 assists in 103 career games, becoming the organization’s all-time scoring defenseman. In addition to scoring three game-winning goals, Davies was named USHL Defenseman of the Week on three separate occasions last season, and was the first player in Bloomington history to earn All-USHL honors.
“Jeremy is someone I think most Husky fans are going to come to watch and really appreciate the skill and intelligence that this young man brings,” said Madigan. “This year he was an All-USHL First Team selection, which is a difficult feat to accomplish. He was the leading defensive scorer in the USHL and he’s someone who will break us out of our own zone. He’s really intelligent, a good skater, jumps up in the play well and supports the play. He’s just not an offensive player, he plays 200-feet, but he does it with an effortless approach.”
Extremely blessed and proud to be a @NJDevils ! What a feeling, thanks everyone for the kind words! #GoDevils 👹
— مشرف الرقعي (@JDavies_4) June 25, 2016
Image credit to SBNation. A big thanks to the Northeastern Athletics Communication staff as well.