Bismarck defenseman Gormley makes NCAA D1 commitment

The Bismarck Bobcats of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) are pleased to announce that defenseman John Gormley has committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey for Long Island University.

“It’s really exciting, all the hard work that my parents and coaches put in matched with the time and effort I put in, it’s nice that it paid off,” Gormley said. “LIU is close to home, the coaching staff did a phenomenal job in the recruiting process, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a Shark.”

Gormley, 20, a native of the Bronx in New York, has a goal and an assist for the Bobcats in 9 games this season. A physical defenseman, he leads the Bobcats in penalty minutes with 31 on the season.

“John is a good first-pass defenseman, a big kid that can defend,” said Bobcats head coach Layne Sedevie. “That’s one of the more underrated guys to have on the back end.”

Gormley (6’4/215) was slated to be the captain for Kansas City this season before the Scouts elected to sit the season out due to Covid restrictions. He was selected by the Bobcats in the NAHL Dispersal Draft. During the 2019-20 season, Gormley posted 10 points (3 goals, 7 assist) in 49 games played for the Topeka Pilots.

“I was extremely fortunate to end up in Bismarck out of all of the programs in the NAHL,” Gormley said. “Coach Layne and Coach Hendrickson have done a great job for me since I’ve been here and I couldn’t be more grateful to have them as my coaches.”

“It speaks volumes being a first-year guy coming into our program from another team and earning a letter on his jersey,” Sedevie said. “It just speaks to the type of character John has and what he will bring to LIU.”

Gormley is the third Bobcat to commit this season. Forward Lars Rødne and defenseman Jonathan Ziskie both committed to Niagara University in November. The Bobcats now have 12 players on the 2020-21 roster committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey.

Click here for an updated NAHL to NCAA commitment list