by: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com
Minot, ND – The Minotauros are proud to announce that four members of the 2013/2014 team have been named to North American Hockey League Top Prospects rosters. The NAHL Top Prospects Tournament presented by Easton, which will be held from February 17-18 at the Troy Sports Center in Troy, Michigan, functions as the league’s all-star festivities. The four Minotauros will represent two different teams in the tournament. Three Tauros will play for the Central Division team; forward Jake McCann and defensemen Scott Dornbrock and Jon Lizotte. Representing the Tauros on the 18U team will be defenseman Michael Bigelbach.
At the event there will be five NAHL teams (four divisional teams: Central, Midwest, North, and South; and one young stars team: NAHL 18U Selects). The four divisional teams will play against each other while the 18U Selects will play against the U.S. National Team Development Program 17U team and another yet to be announced opponent.
The Minotauros sent seven players to Top Prospects last season, however this year with goaltenders Brandon Wildung and Merrick Madsen already having NCAA DI commitments they we ineligible to go. Rosters were selected by the coaching staffs for each team, the Central team will be coached by Chris Tok, the head coach of the Austin Bruins as they are in first place in the Central Division.
Jake McCann: The Tauros leading scorer with nine goals and nine assists has accumulated those numbers with hard work. This is McCann’s second season with the Tauros, and his first selection to the Top Prospects Tournament.
Scott Dornbrock: the big defenseman (6’3” 220) has been a steadying force on the back end for the Tauros. He has three goals and 12 assists and is +4 on the season in 39 games in his second season as a Tauro. Dornbrock also represented the Tauros at least season’s Top Prospects Tournament.
Jon Lizotte: The first year Tauro has five goals and eight assists from the blue line this season. Lizotte is not all offense however, he also leads the team with a +8 rating. This is Lizotte’s first selection to the Top Prospects Tournament.
Michael Bigelbach: Another first year Tauro defenseman making his first Top Prospects appearance, Bigelbach has four goals and 10 assists. Bigelbach will play for the 18U Selects. This is the second season in a row the Tauros have had a player named to the young stars team, last season Mason Morelli represented the Tauros on the 18U team.