NAHL names Broadcasters, On-Ice Officials for 2020 Top Prospects
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is pleased to announce the broadcasters and on-ice officials who have been selected to work the 2020 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, which takes place on February 17-18, 2020, at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
The NAHL Top Prospects Tournament is one of the most highly-scouted events in junior hockey. Last season, over 220 scouts attended the event, which featured almost every NHL team and NCAA Division I school. The event continues to provide the hundreds of NHL and NCAA scouts in attendance with a look at the best, uncommitted players the NAHL has to offer, as well as, some potential NHL Draft picks. It is an important part of the NAHL event model, which includes the NAHL Showcase in September and the NAHL Robertson Cup National Championship in May.
Rosters for the 2020 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament will be announced on Thursday, January 30th on nahl.com and the selection show will be broadcasted live on the NAHL Facebook page at 1pm (central).
The league has named TJ Chillot from the Austin Bruins and Mark Shelley from the Amarillo Bulls as the two broadcasters who will be calling and doing play-by-play of the games live in HD on HockeyTV. Chillot and Shelley were selected to do the play-by-play for the event by the rest of their NAHL broadcasting peers, who participated in a league-wide vote. In addition, special NAHL correspondent and reporter Kirsten Krull will also be at the event assisting in the broadcasting duties with interviews, rink-side analysis, and special features.
“We have an exciting pair of new broadcasters that will be attending and working the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament for the very first time. A high standard has been set by the broadcasters who have previously called the event, so I think everyone is very excited to see that continue and put on a great broadcast for the fans that will be informative, entertaining, and insightful,” said Alex Kyrias, NAHL Director of Communications.
The NAHL is also pleased to announce the on-ice officials for the event. The head referees are (alphabetical): Caleb Andrade, Conor Harrington, and David Lilly. The Linesmen are (alphabetical): Eric Arrigo, Matt Bleck, Zach Carson, Kendall Handley, Michael Ifkovits, and Matt Heinen. Handley will be the first female official to officiate at an NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, and recently officiated the USA vs. Canada 3-on-3 women’s event at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.
“We are extremely excited and proud of our NAHL officials chosen for this great event. The quality of play by these players will be excellent, and we look forward to sharing the ice with them in Attleboro. We’ve taken feedback from our teams, as well as, our officiating coaches to select our nine officials, as our partnership with the teams has continued to improve during the 2019-20 campaign,” said NAHL Director of Officiating Keith Kaval.
One of the things the NAHL does better than any other junior league is seeing their players earn an NCAA opportunity while playing and being showcased in the NAHL. To date, 175 players have already made NCAA commitments during the 2019-20 season. The NAHL Top Prospects Tournament plays a big role in that success, with over half of the players who played in last year’s Top Prospects Tournament, earning an NCAA Division I opportunity following their participation in the event.
