Avs tender five prospects, ready for NAHL draft

Frontiersman

PALMER — The offseason is less than two months old, but it’s been a busy one for the Alaska Avalanche.

The Palmer-based North American Hockey League team said farewell to former head coach Brian Huebel and assistant Sean Fish, who both accepted positions within the coaching staff of the NAHL’s Wichita Falls Wildcats. The team also welcomed its new head coach, longtime Anchorage resident and former NHL’er Corey Millen.

The Avs have already hosted three offseason camps, in Anchorage, Los Angeles and Minnesota. Next on the to-do list is the NAHL draft, which is slated to begin via conference call Thursday at 10 a.m. AST.

Alaska has also tendered offers to five prospects the Avs hope to see competing for roster spots during its main camp in the fall. The five players were recruited and signed by Huebel and Fish. Two skaters in the group played in the NAHL’s prospects league last season, and the remainder played high school hockey in 2010-11

Buchanon, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound defenseman, skated with the San Jose Jr. Sharks 18AAA program. The San Jose, Calif., native collected five goals and 19 assists in 37 regular season games. Huebel compared Buchanon to Joe Schmitz, a junior hockey veteran who played with the Avalanche in 2010-11.

“He’s a big, smooth skating defenseman,” Huebel said recently. “He’s got some upside to him.”

The Avs plucked another blueliner from the NAHL prospects league, Franklin, Tenn., native Jesse Kessler. As a member of the 18AAA Thunder, Kessler bagged 7-12-19 totals in 24 games. The 5-10, 186-pound defenseman collected seven of those points (2-5-7) on the power play.

“He’s a hybrid defenseman. He can play anything,” Huebel said. “He’s a kid who can develop to be a leader on the team.”

Alaska landed a pair of Wisconsin high school players. Forward Evan Janssen was a prolific scoring at Green Bay United in Green Bay, Wisc., tallying 45-29-74 totals in 25 games as a senior. The 6-foot, 180-pound front-liner, recorded about 150 points during his high school career.

“He’s got energy, skill, goal-scoring ability,” Huebel said. “He’s a really good kid.”

Janssen also skated for Team Wisconsin alongside Alaska’s fifth recruit, Ryan Dau.

The Hudson, Wisc., native recorded 20-21-41 totals and was named all-state honorable mention. Dau has already committed to Division I Air Force Academy.

“He has big-time energy, pretty good skill,” Huebel said. “He’s an unbelievable leader, a kid who will probably be a captain down the road.”

Former Houston standout tendered

According to a report in the La Crosse (Wisc.) Tribune recently, former Houston High School standout Micah Ranum has been tendered by the NAHL’s Coulee Region Chill.

Ranum played two seasons of hockey and football at Houston High before moving to Thief River Falls, Minn.

As a senior at Thief River Falls, Ranum tallied 20-20-40 totals in 25 games. He was also named all-state honorable mention in Minnesota.

The Chill are based in Onalaska, Wisc.