NCDC 2024-25 Awards: Atlantic All-Division Team
NCDC 2024-25 Awards: Atlantic All-Division Team
The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce the 2024-25 Atlantic All-Division team, as voted on by the division’s coaches.
Forwards:
Jared Rothman, Rockets Hockey Club
Rothman (‘06/Chappaqua, N.Y.) was also voted in as the Atlantic Division MVP and Forward Of The Year. Rothman finished the season second in NCDC regular season scoring with 69 points off of 34 goals and 35 assists. His 34 goals also ranked second in the league. He ranks seventh in all-time Rockets points, and his 69-point season ranks sixth in team history.
Ryan Franks, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Franks (‘05/Roslyn, N.Y.) finished in the Top 10 for scoring overall in the NCDC this year, and was fifth in goals, with 31 goals and 61 points this year. Franks is a homegrown product of the Islanders, having started with their 15U team in 2020-21 in the USPHL 15U Division (now Tier 1 Hockey Federation 15U Division). He played two seasons with the NCDC team and very nearly doubled his points year over year from 32 to 61. Franks is seventh in both Islanders NCDC regular season games played (106) and points (93). His 61 points represent the third best total by a P.A.L. player in the NCDC. In the playoffs, he is the Jr. Isles’ all-time leader in points with 29 points in 16 games. Franks was selected in the USHL Phase II Draft by the Youngstown Phantoms in May.
Samuel Ciappa, Mercer Chiefs
Ciappa (‘05/Baldwinsville, N.Y.) crossed the regular season finish line with 63 points off of 24 goals and 39 assists, placing him in a tie for fifth league-wide in points. His 63 points place him third on the Chiefs’ all-time scoring leaderboard, the only member of the Chiefs’ top five to play in just one season, as his 63 points are the all-time best total for a Chiefs player in their three-year NCDC history. His nine points during the Chiefs’ run to the Atlantic Division Championship win and Dineen Cup Championship Series are tied for first in the Chiefs’ history.
Defensemen:
Jake Stevens, Mercer Chiefs
The Atlantic Division Defenseman Of The Year and Middlebury College recruit led all NCDC defensemen in scoring with 55 points. Stevens (‘05/Newton, N.J.) posted 49 assists, which were good for first overall in the entire NCDC this year. It was also the third-most helpers for a single season in the league’s eight-year history. A former Canterbury School teammate of Samuel Ciappa and additional 2024-25 Chiefs, Stevens was a huge part of the Chiefs’ Atlantic Division Championship victory and their deep run at the Dineen Cup Championship Series, finishing one game short of the Championship round, scoring six points in 12 games along the way.
Dylan Margel, Rockets Hockey Club
Margel (‘05/Potomac, Md.) was a second-year NCDC veteran who made his debut with the Rockets this season. From the 2023-24 to the 2024-25 season, Margel improved his points 11 times over, from four points last year to 44 this season. His 44 points are second most by a defenseman in the Rockets’ eight-year NCDC history. Margel is committed to Wesleyan University to kick off his NCAA hockey career this fall.
Goaltender
Lukas Vejmelka, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Vejmelka (‘04/Trebic, Czechia) finished first in save percentage among NCDC goaltenders who played in at least a third of their team’s games, i.e. minimum 18 games, with a .940 mark. This season was the first North American campaign for Vejmelka, who joined from SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč U20 in his home country. He finished tied for third in wins with 23, which is the second most wins in a season by a P.A.L. goaltender in their eight-year NCDC history. Vejmelka’s 2.06 GAA also ranked third this year in the NCDC.
Summaries by Joshua Boyd