NAHL Announces Bauer Hockey Stars of the Week

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) announced today the Bauer Hockey Divisional Stars of the Week for the week ending March 22, 2026. Only players that are nominated by their respective teams are considered for the Divisional Player of the Week awards.

Central Division Star of the Week: Zach Boren, Forward, Watertown Shamrocks

Hailing from West Fargo, North Dakota, Zach Boren had an anything but boring week with the Shamrocks. The 6-foot-1 forward featured five points over his three games played. Kicking things off on Tuesday night, the Shamrocks were hosting their in-state rival, the Aberdeen Wings, for a St. Patty’s Day special. The 20-year-old contributed to all three goals on the scoresheet for the Shamrocks. He first provided an assist on Daniel Halonen’s power-play tally in the second frame. Boren would help to provide a momentum shift in the third period with a power-play goal eight minutes into the frame. Following that goal, the North Dakota native registered an assist on Joe Rice’s goal in the final minutes of the contest. The Shamrocks would eventually fall; however, Boren provided Watertown with the chance throughout the contest.

Boren is a captain of the Shamrocks, skating with the team in their inaugural season in the NAHL. On Friday night, Watertown would lose to the St. Cloud Norsemen in shootout fashion. With revenge on their mind, the Shamrocks delivered a responding performance on Saturday night thanks to Boren on the ice. The third-year NAHL veteran opened the scoring with a power-play tally in the first period. The captain would show up on the scoresheet once again when he gained possession of the puck in the third frame and provided the set-up to Kyle Greene’s goal. The Shamrocks skate away with a 4-1 win, thanks in big part to Boren’s help.

For the week, Boren featured five points, tallying two goals while making three assists. In addition, both of his tallies were scored on the man advantage. This award marks the second time the North Dakota native has been named a Central Division Star of the Week this season. On his roster, he leads his team with 29 goals and 55 points on the year. His work on the ice has been recognized because he was named as a Top Prospect for the Central Division roster at the 2026 Top Prospects Tournament.

Head coach of the Shamrocks, Casey Kirley, shares more on why Boren has been an important factor to the team this season.

“Zach has been instrumental in our success this season. Throughout the year, he has been a consistent producer offensively, and that continued this past week. He not only has a knack for scoring goals but does a good job of reading the ice and setting up his linemates.”

2nd Star: Brody Dustin, F, Aberdeen Wings

3rd Star: Charlie Kresl, F, Bismarck Bobcats

 

East Division Star of the Week: Charlie Zetterkvist, Forward, Johnstown Tomahawks

Earning his first East Division Star of the Week honors is Charlie Zetterkvist with his six-point weekend for the Tomahawks. The 5-foot-11 forward is a second-year veteran of Johnstown, skating over 100 games with the team. On Friday night, Zetterkvist first showed up on the scoresheet with a power-play primary assist on Justin Chiras’ goal in the opening frame. The New Hampshire Mountain Kings would even the scoreboard 3-3 in the second frame, creating an exciting third period. Quickly in the final 20 minutes of regulation, Zetterkvist finds twine to give the Tomahawks the advantage. New Hampshire would battle from behind in the final moments, forcing the contest into overtime and an eventual shootout. The Tomahawks would fall 5-4; however, the second-year Tomahawk played a crucial role in keeping the contest tight.

Moving into Saturday night, the ‘06 lefty featured a career-high performance. The 5-foot-11 forward first showed up on the scoresheet when he carried the puck across the blue line to the Tomahawks’ offensive zone, providing an assist on Jack Sullivan’s goal in the opening frame. Zetterkvist shows up on the scoresheet again when he wins the faceoff, providing the assist on Sullivan’s second goal of the night. Later in the period, the second-year skater would find twine for himself on the power play, twice. He first lights the lamp at the 5:33 minute mark, thanks to a setup by Jack Genovese. Zetterkvist would score again on the man advantage exactly five minutes later to give the Tomahawks their sixth goal of the night. Johnstown would skate away with a 7-4 win, thanks to Zetterkvist's four-point performance.

For the weekend, the second-year veteran featured a six-point performance, tallying three goals and three assists. So far in the month of March, Zetterkvist has scored 10 points over six games played. His offensive work earned him the recognition of being named a Top Prospect for the Selects Blue roster at the 2026 Top Prospects Tournament. For the year, Zetterkvist is one of the top scorers, tallying 24 goals and 18 assists for 42 points.

Geoffrey Beauparlant of the Tomahawks shares more on what it means to see Zetterkvist recognized for his efforts over the weekend.

“We are pleased that Charlie was awarded the Star of the Week honors for the East Division. Charlie is a silent assassin. One of the quietest players on the team, however, his preparation and gameplay do the talking. He just loves to play hockey. His timely scoring and consistency over the past month have helped us climb back into playoff contention.”

2nd Star: Colin Dustin, F, Rochester Jr. Americans

3rd Star: Corson Maguire, F, Elmira Aviators

 

Midwest Division Star of the Week: Luc Bydal, Forward, Anchorage Wolverines

With no small effort from Luc Bydal over the weekend, the second-year NAHL veteran featured a career-high night while breaking records for the Wolverines. The Long Island commit kicked off his dominant performance on Friday night with a career-high six-point performance against the Kenai River Brown Bears. The 6-foot-2 forward got his night started with a primary power-play assist on Balint Lobenwein’s tally in the opening frame. Moving into the second frame, his offensive prowess continued with back-to-back power-play tallies. Bydal first found twine at the 6:24 minute mark to cut the Anchorage deficit to one. Following that, a minute and a half later, the Grand Forks, North Dakota, native scores from the faceoff circle to even the scoreboard 3-3. Bydal continued his play-making efforts in the second frame when he carried the puck across the blue line into Anchorage’s offensive zone, helping to set up Aiden Lawson’s goal. With the lead now, Anchorage continued into the final frame and continued their scoring efforts. With 6:14 left on the clock, Bydal provides the primary setup for his little brother’s tally. 20 seconds later,  Bydal would secure his final point of the night, notching the assist on Cale Quamme’s goal. He ended his night with six points on the scoresheet, lifting his team to an 8-5 victory.

Moving into Saturday night, the Wolverines were looking to continue their winning ways against the Brown Bears. The ‘05 lefty showed up on the scoresheet twice in the opening period. Bydal first finds twine seven minutes into the contest, extending the Wolverines’ lead. He would finish out the frame with a power-play tally from the faceoff dot to give Anchorage the 4-0 advantage. The Wolverines would eventually skate away with a 5-1 win, thanks to Bydal's offensive prowess on the ice. With the two goals from the contest, Bydal etched his name into the Wolverines’ record book. He now holds the single-season record of 40 goals.

For the weekend, Bydal featured eight points, tallying four goals while making four assists. Three of his four goals were scored on the man advantage, and Saturday night's goal was named the decider. The Long Island commit leads the league with 40 goals and sits fourth overall amongst skaters with 77 points. This award marks the second time he has been named the Midwest Division Star of the Week. In addition, this season, he was also named as December’s Forward of the Month.

Head coach of the Wolverines, Mike Aikens, went into detail on the impact Bydal has had for the Wolverines recently and what record he has broken during his time with Anchorage.

“Luc had a huge eight-point weekend in two big games for us as we push for the playoffs. He’s been a big part of our team's success during the run we have been on. Over the weekend, he broke Talon Sigurdson’s single-season goal-scoring record and is also now the Wolverines’ all-time leading scorer.”

2nd Star: Noah Dziver, F, Minnesota Wilderness

3rd Star: Zach Stahl, G, Chippewa Steel

 

South Division Star of the Week: Michael Modelski, Goaltender, El Paso Rhinos

Featuring another marquee performance between the pipes, Michael Modelski spotlights back-to-back nights of domination in the blue paint. The 6-foot-1 netminder has continued to help put his team in the hunt for a bye in the South Division play-in series with his work in the crease. He kicked off his impressive weekend on Friday night with a 28-save shutout against the New Mexico Ice Wolves. During that contest, Modelski also notched an assist on Gabe Giblin’s power-play tally in the second frame. The last time the New Boston, Michigan native produced a shutout was against the Lone Star Brahmas on February 20, 2026, with a 36-save performance.

The first-year netminder continued his defensive dominance into Saturday night at the El Paso County Event Center, this time turning aside 36 out of 37 shots on net. The lone goal was scored with 5:21 left in the contest following a turnover forced by the Ice Wolves. Thanks to Modelski’s help, the Rhinos skated away with a weekend sweep and key points for South Division playoff purposes.

For the weekend, the Michigan native featured a 0.50 goals-against average and .985 save percentage. This award marks the second time he has been recognized as a South Division Star of the Week. Modelski was also recently recognized as February’s Goaltender of the Month for his work in the crease. On the season, the first-year goaltender leads the league with his .939 save percentage, while ranking fourth overall with his 2.08 goals-against average in his 29 games played. In addition, Modelski was named as a Top Prospect on the South Division roster for the 2026 Top Prospects Tournament. 

Head coach of the Rhinos, Mike Rivera, explains why Modelski is deserving of this honor.

“Mo undoubtedly earned the honor after his performance this past weekend. He was lights out between the pipes and added an assist to help secure two wins. New Mexico is a good team, and to keep them scoreless through five periods is nothing short of impressive.”

2nd Star: Jake Boulanger, F, Amarillo Wranglers

3rd Star: Trace Day, F, Oklahoma Warriors