MUSKEGON, MI — Ahead of the 2023 Dicks Sporting Goods Fall Classic and the start of the 2023-24 USHL regular season the Muskegon Lumberjacks have announced an opening night roster with 28 players. Cody Croal, Ethan Whitcomb, and Sacha Boisvert headline the roster with appointments to the leadership group for the new season.
Some new faces will take the ice for the Lumberjacks with 13 of the 28 players starting their first season with the Lumberjacks. A couple of players come to Muskegon with USHL experience including David Klee and Paxton Geisel, a pair of trade acquisitions during the offseason. Lucas Szyszka, selected in the Phase II draft spent the 2021-2022 season in Des Moines appearing in 27 games for the Buccaneers.
A few of last season's affiliate players have made the roster for the upcoming season including Joe Connor and Xavier Veilleux who played in a handful of games last season, and Lukas Swedin.
Of the 28 players 15 of them are returners from the 2022-23 season including the team's top three point scorers Whitcomb (50), Croal (49), and Boisvert (45). The three players have also been named as the leadership group heading into the new season. Croal, a 2003 birth year from North Branch, MN will act as the team's captain while Whitcomb (2004, St. Catherines, ON, CAN) and Boisvert (2006, Trois-Rivieres, QC,CAN) will both wear A's for the Jacks.
"What we are really encouraged by and excited for as a staff is to have three guys that bring something different, and compliment each other." said head coach Parker Burgess.
The captain Croal leads by example in every aspect of the game. "He puts it all out there every night. He can score, make plays, finish checks, and is a good person. He is really representative of the culture and the type of person that we want here." Added Burgess.
When talking about Sacha Boisvert Coach Burgess credited his drive to compete level and desire to win as driving points for his decision. "The standards and expectations he has for himself and his teammates are extremely high…. We want all of our players to strive for those high standards, and have those high expectations as well."
For Whitcomb it was not just his skills on the ice, but also the ones off the ice that helped him land the role."He's a calm, composed young man. He treats everyone with respect, and is someone that is well liked in the locker room by his teammates." said Coach Burgess. "Having someone as calm and composed as Ethan is going to be really good for our team when adversity hits throughout the season."
The decision was not an easy one for the Lumberjacks hockey staff. "We have a lot of other guys in the room that may not have letters, but absolutely have leadership roles and responsibilities. It's an honor for those three to wear letters on their chests, but important for everybody to understand that leadership extends beyond that and everyone has an opportunity to lead."
The team opens up the regular season on Saturday against the Omaha Lancers at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, PA as part of the Dicks Sporting Goods Fall Classic.
The full roster can be found below, or by visiting www.muskegonlumberjacks.com.
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About the Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are proud and dedicated members of the United States Hockey League (USHL), the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league and leading producer of NCAA players and National Hockey League draft picks in the United States. The club's goal is to create an environment where student-athletes develop into successful young men both on and off the ice, which includes playing the game the right way while keeping up with their studies in the classroom and staying actively involved in the West Michigan community. The organization is committed to providing quality, affordable, and top-notch family entertainment while providing positive role models for the youth and the local community.
