USPHL Elite 2024-25 Atlantic All-Division Team
Forward: Tyler Bertelsen, Rockets Hockey Club
Bertelsen (‘07/Palmer, Pa.) was a big goal-getter for the Rockets, racking up 37 goals this season. He added 21 assists for 58 points in 44 games. His goal total ranks fourth all-time in Rockets Elite team history for a single season. He was a great pickup this season out of the Valley Forge Minutemen program.
Forward: John Whyte, Rockets Hockey Club
Whyte (‘06/Staten Island, N.Y.) scored 16 goals and added 35 assists for 51 points, with his 35 assists placing him in a tie for fifth league-wide. The second-year Rocket currently has 76 points in 59 regular season games, and he’s also been called up for two games with the Rockets Premier team. He’s also scored six points in eight career
Forward: Harold Stauffer, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Stauffer (‘07/Lake Grove, N.Y.) finished second overall in the USPHL Elite by scoring 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points in 39 games during the 2024-25 season. His 63 points rank him third all-time in Jr. Islanders USPHL Elite scoring since they entered the league in 2022-23.
Defense: Brandon Eigner, Rockets Hockey Club
Eigner (‘08/Mendham Township, N.J.) finished third in points among all Elite defensemen with 11 goals and 28 assists for 39 points in 29 games, good for a 1.34 points per game average. That average was No. 1 among all Elite defensemen for this season. Eigner still found the time to also play with his hometown Mendham High School this year, and formed a great 1-2 punch behind the RHC forwards with his twin brother Brendon Eigner in the Rockets goal.
Anthony De Simone, Rockets Hockey Club
De Simone (‘04/Staten Island, N.Y.) closed out a fantastic three-year Rockets junior career, which itself followed a three-year Midget career within the RHC system. De Simone scored 14 goals and added 14 assists for 28 points in 39 games, with his 14 goals ranking second among Elite defensemen this year. Since earning 12 games in call ups from the Rockets 18U team in 2022-23, he has played in a combined 97 Elite regular season and playoff games, scoring 52 points.
Goaltender: Pandelis Tursi, Connecticut Jr. Rangers
Tursi (‘06/Glen Cove, N.Y.) joined the Jr. Rangers in October and was a huge presence for them as he was in net for more than half of their wins. He went 6-6-3-0 with a .932 save percentage – which was good for a Top 10 spot league-wide. Tursi faced 37.3 shots per game on average, close to the team average of 42.02. He made 40 or more saves in seven of his 19 games.
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