Merrimack will reportedly lose a recruit to the OHL. 2003-born forward Steven LaForme was traded to the Ottawa 67’s last month, and according to a report in The Turtle Island News, he has signed an OHL contract and will play for the 67’s this upcoming season. By doing so, LaForme will forgo his NCAA eligibility.
“I kind of saw it coming before it happened,” he told the paper of the trade. “Ottawa reached out to North Bay and my agent about the potential of me being traded there.”
The report goes on to later state that he signed an OHL contract.
“It’s always been a dream of mine,” LaForme said. “It’s the highest level of junior hockey you can play, and it’s nice to know I’m finally getting to the big stage. For them to offer me a contract and recognize my talent is amazing.”
LaForme committed to the Warriors in January. Last season he had 11 goals and 45 assists for 56 points in 50 games for the Hamilton Kilty B’s in the GOJHL.
The Warriors and Jonathan Young also recently severed ties. High End Hockey Advising, an advising group, tweeted last week that Young is “garnering quite a bit of attention from Division 1 schools as he enters his final year of junior hockey.”
Young just turned 20 years old. He spent last season in the NAHL split among three teams, beginning the season with Amarillo and Maryland before finishing the season closer to home with the Northeast Generals. In 51 total games, he scored 15 goals and added 15 assists.
Young is from Pelham, N.H. and committed to the Warriors as a 16-year-old while playing for the Islanders Hockey Club. He was drafted by the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL and appeared in two games for the club, but has spent the majority of his junior career in the NAHL after one season with the Islanders in the NCDC.
