USPHL Premier 2024-25 North Division First Team

Forward: Cannon Bonifay, Minnesota Squatch

Bonifay (’04/Fort Worth, TX) was already a star in the Premier from his amazing 47-goal and 88-point performance of 2023-24, but he improved on those already lofty totals by breaking the century mark with 44 goals and 57 assists for 101 points, becoming the third Squatch player in just three seasons of their existence to hit 100 or more. With a career 91 goals and 189 points, he leaves lofty all-time team-leading totals for future Squatch to chase. He also scored a goal and one assist at the USPHL Premier All-Star event in January in Massachusetts. That state is also his next stop as he recently committed to Westfield State University for his NCAA Division III career.

 

Forward: Cayden Sweitzer, Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings 

Sweitzer (’04/Elgin, Ill.) registered a total of 20 goals and 42 assists for 62 points, as he saw a massive improvement from 15 points in 2023-24. In fact, his 62-point season is top five in the Riverkings’ USPHL Premier history going back to 2017-18. Sweitzer was also a member of the Midwest/Great Lakes/North All-Star team in Massachusetts in January. He is committed to Hiram College, a new team for 2025-26 at the NCAA Division III level.

 

Forward: Preston Lundbohm, Northwest Express 

Lundbohm (‘05/Roseau, Minn.) made team history, as well, setting the USPHL Premier single season team record for points with 82 for the Express, formerly known as the Minnesota Moose. In 39 games, he scored 29 goals and added 53 assists. In team history, his 2.10 points per game average was only the second in team history, joining Matteo Menotti’s 2.12 in 2019-20.

 

Defenseman: Lucas Whitehead, Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings

Whitehead (‘04/Barrie, Ont.) was a huge part of the Riverkings’ double threat, as they could beat you offensively and defensively. They finished fifth in the USPHL Premier in team goals against average at 2.05, in large part due to Whitehead and his blueline mates giving up just 24.41 shots against per game. That ranked second in the Premier. Whitehead also chipped in offensively with two goals and 23 assists for 25 points in 30 games, an improvement on the 14 points he posted in his first two seasons. He played in exactly 100 regular season games for the Riverkings, scoring 38 points.

 

Defenseman: Connor Corcoran, Northwest Express 

Corcoran (‘05/Haverhill, Mass.) was a fantastic addition for the Express in their first year in Spooner, Wis., scoring 14 goals and adding 43 assists for 57 points, finishing third in league defenseman scoring and second in points per game at 1.54. Corcoran was also voted to the Midwest/Great Lakes/North team, getting to play in his home state and registering two assists in the vent.

 

Goaltender: Rylan Freshwater, Northwest Express

Freshwater (’05/McDonough, Ga.) finished second in the league in wins with 22, which was part of his overall 22-6-2-0 record. Freshwater also in the top five for shutouts, registering five for a tie for third with four other goaltenders. In winning 22 contests, Freshwater absolutely blew the previous team record of 15 wins out of the water. His .926 save percentage and 2.34 GAA this season are also team records for goaltenders with at least 20 games played in a season.

 

Selection Process: Coaches in the division first nominate players, and then vote on these nominations. If there are ties in positions, there is an additional run-off vote. Coaches are presented with the finalists and given more than 24 hours to make changes if the majority votes to do so. If there are no challenges to the finalists, they are named as the All-Division Team. 

 

Summaries by Joshua Boyd