Five Bobcats Named to Join Sedevie at Top Prospects 2016
FRISCO, TX – When the North American Hockey League’s 2016 Top Prospects Tournament begins next month in Plymouth, Mich., Bismarck Bobcat players will comprise one-fourth of Team Central as the league named Hunter Shepard, Cole Souto, Alex Strand, Jared Pike and Aaron Herdt to the annual all-star event.
The five Bobcats will join their head coach, Layne Sedevie, who will serve his third term as Team Central’s head coach in Plymouth.
It is the fifth time in the last eight seasons that the Bobcats will be the best-represented organization on Team Central.
Each of the five players are grateful for the opportunity.
Shepard: “Playing in Top Prospects was among the personal goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year, so it means a lot to make it. And it’s just icing on the cake that five of us get to go to Detroit to represent the Bobcats. It should be a fun experience.”
Souto: “I’m very humbled to be a part of Team Central. There are a lot of incredibly good players on our team who have every right to be in Michigan next month, so it’s a big honor for me to be selected among them. We are all looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity at Top Prospects.”
Strand: “It’s obviously an honor to be selected to go to Top Prospects, but what makes it truly special is that we voted on [nominations] as a team so being chosen by my teammates takes it to another level. We have a lot of great players in our locker room that could have easily made Team Central so I’m very proud and humbled to be on that roster.”
Pike: “At the end of the day, the success of our team so far has made this opportunity possible for me and the other guys going to Top Prospects. All the hard work we’ve put in together is paying off in a lot of different ways. I look forward to putting together a strong effort to represent our program well in Detroit.”
Herdt: “Being named to Top Prospects is a great honor—I’m very excited and my family is very excited for this opportunity. To know that I have that kind of respect from my teammates, our head coach and the coaches of the Central Division is an incredible feeling. It will be a great showcase for all of us going to represent our team and the division. There were probably five or six other guys on our team who deserved to go, too, so we plan to go to Detroit and play for them, as well.”
The tournament will run February 15-16 at USA Hockey Arena. Team Central, the two-time defending Top Prospects champions, will face the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U-17 squad and Team East during the two-day event.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats will start off a three-game week at home when the host the Aberdeen Wings for a 7:15pm tilt Wednesday.
Tickets are now on sale for the rare mid-week contest: fans can buy and print tickets 24 hours a day at BismarckBobcats.com, by clicking “Shop Now” on the team Facebook page or by calling 222-3300.
Wednesday’s installment Titan Machinery Dakota Cup will be broadcast live locally on SuperTalk 1270, KLXX-AM, the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, and worldwide online at NAHL.FASTHockey.com—the official web television partner of the North American Hockey League—with pregame coverage starting at 6:45pm.
Season tickets are still on sale for the 2015-16 season at a pro-rated price; if you want to beat the rush of over 40,000 fans for this year, now is the time! Call 222-3300 to reserve your seats today.