Pittsburgh, Pa. - Robert Morris University men's hockey has signed five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. The Colonials welcome players from Canada, the United States and France into the fold, with the signings of forwards
Justin Addamo,
Grant Hebert, Nick Lalonde and Ryley Risling, and goaltender Dyllan Lubbesmeyer.
"I would like to welcome these five young men to the Colonial Hockey Family," said head coach
Derek Schooley. "Kody Van Rentergem and
Michael Gershon have done an excellent job in identifying the next wave of student-athletes to continue the culture that previous classes have created."
"All of these young men provide an element that will continue to build upon the successes of the previous years, but most of all they are hard-working young men with good values," added Schooley.
JUSTIN ADDAMO
Addamo is a 6'6" 225-pound forward from Clermont-Ferrand, France, and is the first European player to sign with Robert Morris men's hockey. The 1998-born Addamo presently plays for the Lone Star Brahmas in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), scoring ten goals and tallying ten assists this season. Current Colonials, defenseman
Sean Giles and forward
Alex Dagnal, are both former Brahmas.
Addamo, a left-shooting winger, was rated a C prospect on the NHL's Central Scouting list ahead of the upcoming NHL Draft. The French forward is the second C-rated prospect to be named to an NHL Central Scouting List to sign with the Colonials, joining Canadian defenseman Aidan Girduckis.
Addamo competes for his home country's national teams on a variety of levels, earning a Bronze Medal in the 2014-15 U18 WJC (D1A) and a Gold Medal in the 2015-16 U20 WJC (D1B). In 14 games played in World Juniors competition, the Frenchman has nine points on seven goals and two assists.
"Justin has a great combination of size, speed and skill," said Colonials assistant coach Van Rentergem. "He hasn't been playing in North America for too long, but he is embracing the style of play and it's starting to pay off for him. His size is obviously a huge asset, but his work ethic on the ice and in the gym have us very excited about his potential as an impact player at our level."
"It's a great school," Addamo said in an
NAHL release. "They have a very good business program and their coaches are very good. I'm very proud to be a part of their program."
GRANT HEBERT
Hebert is a 6'3" 190-pound forward from St. Andrews West, Ontario. The 1997-born center scored 91 points on 27 goals and 64 assists during the regular season this year to lead the Central Canada Hockey League in scoring and was named the 2016-17 CCHL MVP.
In 137 games played in the CCHL over the last two seasons, Hebert has scored 52 goals and 151 points. Hebert was named the league's player of the month in December 2016 & February 2017.
"We are very excited to have Grant joining the program," said Colonials assistant coach Gershon. "We have been watching Grant for two years and his growth this past year has been impressive. He was given a more prominent role on his team this year and was able to take advantage by leading the CCHL in scoring and winning the MVP."
"Grant is a big physical power forward who is tough to knock off the puck and hard to play against," Gershon added. "His ability to control the corners and his presence in front of the net have made him one of the toughest players to defend in the CCHL."
"I liked the fit, just the overall feel," Hebert told a
Canadian newspaper about Robert Morris. As far as his intended course of study, Hebert said, "probably something in business, maybe finance."
NICK LALONDE
Lalonde is a 5'9 157-pound forward from Brooklin, Ontario and has played for three seasons with the Cornwall Colts in the CCHL. The 1998-born forward was an alternate captain for the Colts this season, scoring 41 goals and 46 assists through 64 games.
Lalonde traded places back and forth with fellow RMU signee Hebert as one of the league's leading scorers through the 2016-17 season. Lalonde has played 177 games in three seasons in the CCHL, scoring 70 goals and recording 155 points. The Ontario native played for the Team Canada East U19's at the World Junior A Challenge this past season as well.
"Nick is a player that we had been interested in for quite a while before we offered him," said Van Rentergem. "He's one of those players that can make you pay if you give him just a little extra time and space on the ice."
"He's got good hands and makes the players around him better with his vision and creativity," the Colonials assistant coach continued. "He's so sneaky at finding spots on the ice that you don't even notice him until he has the puck in a prime scoring area."
"The facilities are great," Lalonde told a newspaper in Cornwall. "Great town, just outside of Pittsburgh, pretty close to downtown."
RYLEY RISLING
Risling, a 6'3 195-pound forward from Medicine Hat, Alberta, playing for the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) this season. In his first season with the Vees, Risling has scored 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points through 61 regular season and playoff games. Penticton is the former team of Robert Morris' 2016-17 captain, defenseman
Rob Mann.
Risling played for three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) Canmore Eagles, and had a brief stint in the USHL prior to spending this season in Penticton. Risling scored 74 points in 122 games in the AJHL. The left-shooting winger played for the Team Canada West U19's at the World Junior A Challenge in the 2014-15 season.
"Ryley's game has developed nicely this year in Penticton," said Gershon. "He has taken on more of a leadership role and has become an important part of one of top teams in Canada."
"Ryley is a 6'3" forward with a good skill set and the ability to get up and down the ice," Gershon added. "He can play anywhere in the lineup and has shown his ability to adapt easily to any role he has been asked. We are looking forward to adding a player with his skill set to our line up."
"They're an up and coming program that's quickly developed a winning culture," Risling said in a
team release following his commitment to RMU. "Every year they're in the mix to go to the NCAA tournament. That type of environment is big for me in my development moving forward and I can't wait to get there."
DYLLAN LUBBESMEYER
Lubbesmeyer is a 6'0" 195-pound goaltender from Burnsville, Minnesota. Lubbesmeyer recorded a 2.29 goals against average and .923 save percentage in 30 games played for the NAHL's Shreveport Mudbugs this season, ranking in the top ten in the league. Lubbesmeyer's record was 18-6-3-1 in the regular season with the fourth-fewest regulation losses in the NAHL.
The 1996-born Lubbesmeyer was a dominant goalie for Burnsville High School in Minnesota before making the move to junior hockey in the NAHL and was presented with the prestigious Frank Brimsek Award as the Senior Goaltender of the Year in Minnesota high school hockey in 2014-15.
Lubbesmeyer played in the 2017 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament for the South Division team.
"Dyllan is a blue collar kid who works for all of his opportunities," said Van Rentergem. "He's not a huge goaltender but his feet get him into spots to make saves more times than not."
"His physical abilities are highlighted by his compete level, everybody I've talked to has been impressed by his determination."
Robert Morris (22-12-4) wrapped up the 2016-17 campaign with its fourth 20-plus win season, each coming in the last five years. The Colonials finished as Atlantic Hockey conference runners-up after making the school's third appearance in the title game in the last four seasons.
Robert Morris will be captained by defenseman
Alex Bontje in the 2017-18 season. The Colonials return 80-percent of the team's offense including the NCAA's top scoring returner, first-team forward
Brady Ferguson (Amarillo, NAHL). Ferguson is one of three all-conference selections back on the ice for RMU next season, along with third team defenseman, sophomore
Eric Israel (Brockville, CCHL), and all-rookie goaltender
Francis Marotte (Nepean, CCHL).
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