MUSKEGON, MI – Every summer, the month of August brings a flurry of college commitments from players on the Muskegon Lumberjacks and around the rest of Junior Hockey. Follow along the 2025 Lumberjacks commitment tracker as more Lumberjacks announce their college plans.
Matys St-Gelais - UMass Amherst (HEA)
The fourth Lumberjacks affiliate to commit this offseason, St-Gelais was added to the Lumberjacks family during the 2025 Phase I USHL Draft. The Quebec native has spent each of the last two seasons in the United States. In 2023-24, St-Gelais recorded 115 points in 64 14U games with the Seacoast Performance Academy before moving to the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite for the second half of the 2024-25 season. Between SeaCoast and Pens Elite, St-Gelais had 88 points in 59 15U AAA games.
UMass Amherst has been a strong spot for former Lumberjacks to continue their hockey careers in the NCAA. 2025 Clark Cup Champions
Jack Galanek and
Vaclav Nestrasil will both be Minutemen during the 2025-26 season, along with former Jacks captain Owen Melenbacher.
Congratulations on your commitment, Matys!
Noah Survilas – Northeastern University (HEA)
It didn't take long for the Huskies to secure a commitment from the 4-star forward out of Winthrop, MA. A 2024 Phase I selection of the Lumberjacks, Survilas has spent each of the past two seasons at the Dexter Southfield School in USHS-Prep. In 2024-25, his 41 points in 28 games saw a jump from 30 in 31 the previous season.
Survilas joins a long list of Lumberjacks alumni to go from Muskegon to the Historic Matthews Arena, including Joe Conner, Ethan Fredericks, Christophe Tellier, and Jack Williams, who were all on the 2024-25 Huskies roster.
Congratulations on your commitment, Noah!
Melvin Novotny - UMass Amherst (HEA)
Just two weeks after hearing his name called at the 2025 NHL Draft, Melvin Novotny announced his commitment to play NCAA Division I Hockey at UMass Amherst in the Hockey East Association. A native of Taby, Sweden, Novotny is set to join the Lumberjacks this upcoming season as he transitions to North America. During the 2024-25 season, Novotny spent time in the J18 and J20 leagues in Sweden as well as time with the Swedish National U18 Team. With Leksands, he recorded 9 points in 4 J18 Region games before jumping to the U20 team and recording 38 points in 41 games. In international play, Novotny had 18 points in 26 games with the Tre Kronor.
Congratulations on your commitment, Melvin!
