Ready And Abel

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I like to celebrate when U SPORTS players find homes at one of the many professional levels of hockey. Whether playing overseas, in the ECHL, in the AHL, or in the SPHL, there are opportunities out there for players who have worked hard and shown a commitment to excellence in Canadian university hockey. There are no guarantees of fame or fortunes, as you know, but these men are chasing their dreams and waiting for that one break they need to take the next step. One goalie will do that by joining a championship team after helping his Canada West team that make its first playoff appearance in school history!

Ashton Abel, pictured above, came to Grant MacEwan University after playing two seasons and eleven games with the NCAA's Boston University Terriers from 2019-2022. For a goalie who likes a heavy workload, playing very little after nine games in 2019-20 where he was 3-3-2 with a 35-save, double-overtime win over Boston College in Beanpot semifinals, Abel simply watched as Drew Commesso and Vincent Duplessis got the majority of starts.

"I went in halfway through the year in my first year and I played quite a bit," he told MacEwan's Jefferson Hagen. "I had a decent year and then my second and third year I didn't get a chance to get in the net at all. I only played one regular season game. Coming back home, I was trying to find somewhere I could get back playing and starting to enjoy coming to the rink a little more."

The Fort McMurray native found his spot with the MacEwan Griffins who needed a "big game" goalie to compete in Canada West, and he'd show his stuff regularly as he appeared in 40 games over the next two seasons. There will be many who look at his 16-22-1 record, 3.87 GAA, and his .895 save percentage and shrug as those numbers seem unimpressive, but Abel's play in the MacEwan net often was remarkable considering the number of shots the Griffins surrendered.

Because of his work at both Boston University and at MacEwan University, the defending SPHL champions in the Peoria Rivermen announced that they had signed Abel to a contract back on August 15! Both he and goaltending partner Troy Kobryn were signed the same day, and it seems Peoria ia very excited about their netminding duo heading into the title-defence season.

"Ashton Abel is a young netminder that we are excited to have. He shows a lot of potential to succeed at the SPHL level and we cannot wait to have him working with coach Eric Levine to take that next step in his development," Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel said.

What Trudel didn't say in that statement is that Abel has every opportunity to be the starter for the Rivermen. Kobryn has nine games of SPHL experience where he was 2-2-2 with all of Fayetteville, Pensacola, and Knoxville last season. He's had six games of action in the ECHL as well, going 2-4-0 in those games with Norfolk and Tulsa, so it's not like Abel is competing with a grizzled veteran for playing time in the coming season. In fact, Kobryn hasn't played over 600 minutes - 10 games in total - in any season since 2019-20 when he was in his freshman season with Merrimack College in the NCAA.

In short, the door is wide open for Abel to grab the starter's role.

After being named as the first repeat winner of the Griffins' Male Athlete of the Year in nine years and helping the Griffins to their first-ever Canada West playoff berth, the Rivermen may have found a goaltending gem in Ashton Abel. Along the way, he set ten program single-season and career records in his final season with the Griffins, and now he has his sights set on helping the Rivermen win back-to-back championships as he embarks on his first professional season.

I have no doubt, after watching him play with the Griffins last season, that Ashton Abel is ready for this new challenge!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!