NYR Prospect Watch: Brett Berard, Hugo Ollas, and more

Alan Selavka Updated: Mar 15, 2023

Syndication: Westchester County Journal News — Frank Becerra Jr. / The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Hugo Ollas (2020 7^th Round – 197^th Overall) was named to the Hockey East All-Star Third Team. The sophomore goalie for Merrimack College from Linkoping, Sweden showed why he earned the honor Saturday night, backstopping the Warriors to a 1-0 double overtime win against the Boston College Eagles. Ollas stopped 36 shots on the night to pick up his fourth shutout of the season. A trip to TD Garden in the Semi-Finals of the Hockey East tournament awaits the #14 ranked team in the nation, where they will face the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks.

For his efforts, Ollas was named Hockey East goaltender of the week for the second time this season.

NYR Prospect Watch

new york rangers training camp brett berard — Brett Berard takes part in the Rangers Prospect Development Camp at the Rangers Training facility in Tarrytown July 12, 2022. Credit: © Frank Becerra Jr. / The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK

In other Hockey East action, Brett Berard (2020 5^th Round – 134^th Overall) and Jaroslav Chmelar (2021 5^th Round – 144^th Overall) of the Providence College Friars knocked off Riley Hughes (2018 7^th Round – 216^th Overall) and the Northeastern Huskies by a final score of 2-1 in overtime. Brett Berard and Jaroslav Chmelar each had four shots on goal during the game, but were held scoreless. Brett’s younger brother Brady, who attended Ranger’s development camp in the summer, scored his first collegiate goal 4:00 into overtime. For his play, Brady Berard was named Pro Ambitions Hockey East Rookie of the Week on Monday, March 13^th. The Friars will face-off against top-seeded Boston University Terriers in the Hockey East Semifinals on Friday, March 17^that TD Garden in Boston.

As for Riley Hughes, he finished the season with a stat line of two goals and four assists for six points. In 117 career games at Northeastern, the elder son of Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes had eleven goals and twenty one assists for thirty two points.

Zakary Karpa (2022 6^th Round – 191^st Overall) returned to the lineup for Harvard Crimson after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. Karpa centered the first line during the ECAC quarterfinal playoff series against the Princeton Tigers. He was +2 Friday night with one shot, while going 6-6 on faceoffs. Karpa would give Harvard a 3-0 lead Saturday night, deflecting a shot to score his fifth goal of the season in the second period. Harvard earns the 7^th trip to Lake Placid in the last seven completed seasons, where they will take on Hank Kempf (2021 7^th Round – 208^th Overall) and the Cornell Big Red Friday night after Cornell knocked off Clarkson.

Out west, Simon Kjellberg (2018 6^th Round – 163^rd Overall) scored an empty net goal in Northern Michigan Wildcats’s 4-0 upset of Michigan Tech during the CCHA semifinal. Kjellberg improved his totals to four goals and ten assists on the season, as Northern Michigan won their seventh straight game, and will play for a championship on Saturday against the Minnesota State Mavericks. Eric Ciccolini (2019 7^th Round – 205^th Overall) will also skate for a championship on Saturday as his Michigan Wolverines meet the Minnesota Golden Gophers Saturday for the Big Ten Title.

The Colorado College Tigers pulled off an upset over the ninth ranked Western Michigan Broncos. Noah Laba (2022 4^th Round – 111^th Overall) earned the primary assist on the eventual game-winning goal Friday night of the NCHC quarter-final series, backhanding a pass to linemate Tyler Coffey to take a 2-1 lead in the third period. Laba did well on the face-off dot, winning ten of fourteen draws during his first college playoff game. On Saturday, Laba had three shots, scoring his 11^th goal of the season. The Tigers won 3-2 in overtime to complete the series sweep and will look for another upset against defending champion Denver Pioneers.

Defenseman Victor Mancini (2022 5^th Round – 159^th Overall) saw his season come to an end Sunday when his Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks lost game three of their NCHC quarterfinal series by a score of 5-2 to North Dakota. The sophomore was -2 on the night with one blocked shot. He finishes the year with a stat line of zero goals and eight assists in 32 games. After two seasons, Mancini is still searching for his first NCAA goal with 70 games played.