Eyewitness Reports on Pontarelli, Light

by Ryan Fay

It has been a busy last seven days in Union hockey recruiting.

Cornwall Colts forward Michael Pontarelli is joining the Dutchmen this fall, a year earlier than expected, while former Phillips Academy Andover (MA) prep defenseman Connor Light committed for the 2014-2015 season.

Few Dutchmen fans have ever seen either prospect play, so for some additional insight, I went to a couple people who have.

Michael Pontarelli  Height: 5'7" | Weight: 183 | DOB: 12/22/93 | Position: F | Shoots: R
2012-2013 Team: Cornwall Colts (CCHL)
2012-2013 Stats: 53 gm, 52 g, 55 a, 107 ptsJoining Dutchmen this season
Cornwall Colts assistant coach Dustin Traylen, previously a goaltender at Clarkson from 2002-2005, weighs in on Pontarelli:

Pontarelli (cred: Pointstreaks)

"Michael has been an offensive machine over the last few years. He was far and away the best offensive player in the CCHL last season. He is a consistent scorer and that can be attributed to his diligent work on and off the ice. He is a game-changer and a difference maker in almost every game that he is a part of.

Michael is deceptively powerful; he is a baby faced assassin. He is really on strong the puck, which will serve him well in the corners at places like Cornell. He worked very hard on learning to play a solid two-way game last year, which previously had been a knock on him. His improvement is due in large part to Colts head coach Ian MacInnis, who worked tirelessly with him to improve that aspect of his game.

As [junior "A" hockey] player of the year in Canada, and more importantly a two-way contributor on [our] championship team, there is not a whole lot more we could have asked of him at the junior level.

It's never fair to look too far ahead, but if Michael continues to learn and adapt at the rate that he's going, he could be a four year force [at Union]. If the chemistry with his linemates is good early, you can anticipate production early and often."

Connor Light
Height: 6'5" | Weight: 205 | DOB: 2/8/95 | Position: D | Shoots: L
2012-2013 Team: Phillips Academy Andover (MA) (NEPSIHA)
2012-2013 Stats: 25 gm, 6 g, 5 a, 11 pts
2013-2014 Team: Omaha Lancers (USHL)Committed for 2014-2015 season
Phillips Academy Andover (MA) boys varsity hockey head coach Dean Boylan, formerly a defenseman at Yale from 1970-1973, breaks down Light:
 
"Connor obviously has great size (6'5"/205), but he has an exceptional skill set to complement that size. He has good hands and very good feet for a big man. He can shoot; he scored three goals in one period last year.

Light (cred: Phillips Academy)

He is still learning to make good decisions coming out of the zone. I can say the same thing about any young defenseman that I have coached.

I think Connor can eventually develop into a shut down defenseman who is sent out to play against the other team's top unit. As I said, he also has some very good offensive skills."


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