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Kansas State University

By: D. Scott Fritchen It doesn’t take long for Kansas State senior Carla Bernat, the recently-crowned Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, to put into words the significance that the Wildcats — as a team — head into the 2025 NCAA Championship together.   “It means everything,” said Bernat, who played last year in the national championship […]

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By: D. Scott Fritchen

It doesn’t take long for Kansas State senior Carla Bernat, the recently-crowned Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, to put into words the significance that the Wildcats — as a team — head into the 2025 NCAA Championship together.

 

“It means everything,” said Bernat, who played last year in the national championship as an individual. “I’m so happy we made it. I’ve been wanting to go to a national championship with my team, so getting it done, I was more nervous on that last hole than I was at Augusta.

 

“This is everything.”

 

The K-State women’s golf team will be playing for history when it opens play at the 2025 NCAA Championship on Friday with the first of three stroke-play rounds at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. Following the third round on Sunday, the field will be cut from 30 to 15 teams for Monday’s final round of stroke play where the eight teams that advance to match play in addition to the individual 72-hole national champion will be determined.

 

The quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be on Tuesday, while the championship match will be conducted on Wednesday.

 

Monday’s final round of stroke play and all matches will be shown on GOLF Channel.

 

“This is what we’ve worked toward all year,” second-year K-State head coach Stew Burke said. “On one hand, it was the expectation, but on the other hand, it’s turning that expectation into reality. That’s the most important thing.”

 

Burke 25 SE

Burke on Tuesday was named to the watch list for the Jackie Steinmann National Coach of the Year award, presented annually to the top coach in Division I, II, II and NAIA women’s golf. K-State currently holds school records in scoring average (287.40) and top-three finishes (7), while it is tied for first in wins (2) and top-five finishes (9). Nine of the 12 lowest team rounds in school history have come this year.

“We’ve seen we’re able to do cool things,” Bernat said. “I actually think if we just focus on golf, we’re going to do something cool in nationals. We’ve never had a national championship. We have our chance. We might as well take it.”

 

K-State advanced to its first-ever NCAA Championship by tying for second place in the NCAA Lexington Regional on May 7 in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Bernat, the 2024-25 Big 12 Player of the Year, captured the individual regional title with a 54-hole score of 12-under par 204 to tie a school record matched by fellow senior Sophie Bert, the individual Big 12 Champion.

 

Bernat enters the NCAA Championship ranked No. 17 in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings after earning a two-shot victory over No. 1-ranked Mirabel Ting and No. 2-ranked Lottie Woad of Florida State.

 

Bernat 25 SE

“It was really nice to beat No. 1 and No. 2 in the world,” Bernat said. “I showed myself that with good mental patience and believing in myself, I can do it.”
 
Bernat boasts a school-record scoring average of 69.91, followed by Bert (73.09), Nanami Nakashima (73.86), Alenka Navarro (73.84) and Noa van Beek (74.06).
 
“It’s going to be great to go into it with two players like Carla and Sophie, but in golf it’s your fourth score that counts,” Burke said. “You can have three great scores and a bad fourth score, and that can hold you back a little bit. That’s the team aspect. Those two are leaders and do an amazing job for us, but everybody has stepped up this year. It’s been a total team effort.”
 

Bert 25 SE

K-State, which was the first team left out of the NCAA Regionals a year ago, is one of the biggest comeback stories in women’s golf this season. The Wildcats have busted their way to sit at the table with traditional notable squads in the game.
 
“We know there’s a little bit of disrespect,” Burke said. “When a program hasn’t had the history of being great, people are surprised when you do it. Everybody that came here bought into the vision. We’re glad they’re a part of the first team to go to nationals.”
 
The regionals are finished. Now it’s time for K-State to show the women’s golf world what it can do again.
 
“We all have the same mindset: ‘Let’s go,'” Bert said. “Let’s show them what we can do. We are indeed at the table, and we can show them what we’ve got. It’s so cool. It’s amazing. We just need to do our jobs.”



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MSU to face USA Hockey NTDP in exhibition game this season

Michigan State will continue its annual tradition of playing an exhibition game against the future stars of hockey this upcoming season. The USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under 18 squad released its schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season, which includes a trip to Munn Ice Arena in January. Michigan State will host the USNTDP […]

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Michigan State will continue its annual tradition of playing an exhibition game against the future stars of hockey this upcoming season.

The USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under 18 squad released its schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season, which includes a trip to Munn Ice Arena in January. Michigan State will host the USNTDP on January 4, 2026 — one day after the USNTDP plays at Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan State historically plays an exhibition game against the USNTDP, with the two sometimes playing tight battles. The Spartans have handled USNTDP the past two seasons, with a 6-3 victory this year and a 5-2 victory the year prior.

The Spartans have many ties back to the USNTDP, both with former and current players and coaches. Spartans star goalie Trey Augustine played for the USNTDP prior to coming to Michigan State, and Spartans head coach Adam Nightingale served as the USNTDP head coach from 2020 – 2022 before taking on the same role at Michigan State.

The official Michigan State schedule for the upcoming season has not yet been released. That should be coming out in the next month or two (if not sooner). The Spartans will enter next season again as a preseason favorite to win the Big Ten and contend for a National Championship.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.





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Stonehill Athletics Completes Accelerated Reclassification to Full NCAA Division I Status

Story Links EASTON, Mass. (June 24, 2025) – The NCAA Division I Board of Directors accepted the recommendation from the NCAA Strategic Vision and Planning Committee to approve Stonehill College for full NCAA Division I membership, making 22 of the 23 varsity sports programs eligible for NCAA postseason competition starting this fall. […]

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EASTON, Mass. (June 24, 2025) – The NCAA Division I Board of Directors accepted the recommendation from the NCAA Strategic Vision and Planning Committee to approve Stonehill College for full NCAA Division I membership, making 22 of the 23 varsity sports programs eligible for NCAA postseason competition starting this fall.
 
Originally on a four-year reclassification track after transitioning to the Division I level in the summer of 2022, Stonehill accelerated the process thanks to updated NCAA legislation passed this January. Under new guidelines adopted by the Division I Strategic Vision and Planning Committee at the NCAA Convention, reclassifying institutions can now complete the reclassification process in three years, provided they meet updated academic, financial, and operational benchmarks.
 
This decision affirms that Stonehill is well prepared to compete at the very highest level of collegiate sports and deliver a Division I caliber academic and athletic experience for each of our 23 varsity sports and 550 student-athletes,” said Dean O’Keefe, Stonehill Director of Athletics. “Today is a great day for our student-athletes, as the opportunity to compete for an NCAA title is an important part of the student-athlete experience, and we are thrilled they will now be able to strive for an invitation to an NCAA Division I championship. It is a tremendous credit to the ongoing work and dedication of our student-athletes, coaches, faculty, and staff throughout campus that Stonehill has achieved this important milestone.”  
 
Stonehill successfully fulfilled all additional requirements of the accelerated reclassification process, including achieving Academic Progress Rate (APR) standards and budgetary metrics aligned with those of other Division I programs. Stonehill’s successful reclassification reflects not only athletic readiness but also a continued commitment to academic excellence, as demonstrated by the College’s strong Academic Progress Rate (APR) and overall student-athlete performance in the classroom.
 
“Attaining Division I membership is not only a win for Stonehill student-athletes and our varsity sports programs, it positively reflects on the overall quality of our institution,” said Rev. John Denning, C.S.C., president of Stonehill College. “The NCAA conducted a thorough review, and we were pleased to meet or exceed their expectations for a DI school. This will increase the level of competition for our eligible sports teams and energize Skyhawk fans on campus and among our alumni across the country.”
 
While all 23 programs have been eligible for conference postseason play, only one—women’s ice hockey—had access to NCAA postseason competition during reclassification. 20 of Stonehill’s teams compete in the NEC, while equestrian participates in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA), and women’s ice hockey in the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance (NEWHA). The men’s ice hockey program remains an independent Division I program. Equestrian is Stonehill’s only varsity sport that does not compete in NCAA-sponsored competition or postseason.
 
The women’s ice hockey team was granted immediate NCAA postseason eligibility upon its debut in 2022-23. In just its second season, the team won the 2023-24 NEWHA Championship and became the first Stonehill program to reach the NCAA Tournament, ultimately falling to Cornell in the first round.
 

With full Division I membership now secured, the remaining 21 NCAA varsity programs are eligible for all NCAA Division I postseason competitions. These include March Madness, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs, NCAA Track & Field Championships, Cross Country Championships, Swimming Championships, Soccer Championships, Tennis Championships, Golf Championships, Volleyball Championships, Field Hockey Championships, Lacrosse Championships (women’s), and the Softball and Baseball College World Series.
 
This milestone follows significant institutional investment in athletics after the college announced plans for the Tom & Kathleen Bogan Arena to serve as the new home for ice hockey and basketball.
 
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
 
 





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Team physicians in college sports wary of greater liability risk

The professionalization of college sports has prompted concern among team physicians that they will be exposed to a greater risk of being sued by athletes who claim a poor outcome from treatment caused them to lose future earnings. What You Need To Know College sports physicians are concerned about a greater risk of medical liability lawsuits by […]

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Team physicians in college sports wary of greater liability risk

The professionalization of college sports has prompted concern among team physicians that they will be exposed to a greater risk of being sued by athletes who claim a poor outcome from treatment caused them to lose future earnings.


What You Need To Know

  • College sports physicians are concerned about a greater risk of medical liability lawsuits by injured athletes who claim a poor outcome caused them to lose future earnings 
  • Schools set to share millions this year in direct payments to athletes. Some already make well into the millions
  • Though no malpractice lawsuits seeking lost future earnings at the college level are known to have been filed, Big Ten chief medical officer Dr. James Borchers says it’s only a matter of time

Before July 2021, when college athletes were cleared to be compensated by third parties for the use of their name, image and likeness, such lawsuits would have been virtually unwinnable.

Four years later, and with schools set to share millions directly with their athletes, team physicians are wary. Some of the most high-profile college athletes are already signing multimillion-dollar deals and six-figure contracts are common.

Though no malpractice lawsuits seeking lost future earnings at the college level are known to have been filed, it’s only a matter of time, said Dr. James Borchers, Big Ten chief medical officer and president and CEO of the U.S. Council for Athletes’ Health.

“The complexity for the clinician is going to be significant,” he said. “I do think there are people who are going to evaluate this and say, ‘I didn’t sign up for an 18-year-old making a million dollars and then saying the decision I make affected their ability to make money.’ I think you may see people say this isn’t for me.”

Eagles case grabbed attention

The case of former Philadelphia Eagles player Chris Maragos jolted the sports medicine field in 2023 when a jury ordered his surgeon and an orthopedics group affiliated with the team to pay him $43.5 million for lost future earnings and pain and suffering after he alleged improper care of a knee injury. The orthopedics group ended its two-decade association with the Eagles out of fear of future lawsuits.

At the college level, it still would be hard for an athlete to contend a team doctor’s errant care cost them an opportunity to make money in professional sports because there are no guarantees to play at the next level. However, a college athlete who didn’t have an optimal recovery could argue treatment reduced their ability to make NIL money or to transfer to a higher-level school where they could make more money.

“You had an ACL tear, I did surgery and you never quite made it back — back in my day, you just had bad luck,” said Borchers, who played football at Ohio State from 1989-93. “You’re making a million dollars and that happens, you’re probably having a different discussion.”

Borchers offered a hypothetical situation to illustrate his concerns about the pressures faced by team doctors. A receiver is treated for a hamstring injury, returns to play and reinjures the hamstring. The receiver says the injury never felt fully healed and his agent takes him to another doctor who has a different opinion on how the injury should have been treated.

Borchers said the receiver would have been better off to sit out longer and miss a few more games.

“But there wasn’t money tied to that,” he said. “Now you could say you hurt my ability to go out and perform, so I’m not going to get as much money or (it) has cost me the ability to put more tape out there so I could have transferred to a better situation and made more money. Those are the types of issues we’re hearing about that used to not exist in college sports.”

Who is liable?

Typically in college sports, team physicians are employed by a university-affiliated medical center or local medical group. Athletic trainers are employed by the athletic department.

Team physicians must carry liability insurance either individually or through the medical center or group. The most common limits for a malpractice insurance policy are $1 million per incident and $3 million total in a year, said Mike Matray, editor of Medical Liability Monitor.

“You can see how an athlete’s economic damages, should a medical error end his/her career, would easily exceed those limits,” Matray wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

MLM has followed the medical liability insurance industry since 1975, and though the publication does not track data specific to sports medicine practitioners who perform surgeries, Matray estimated rates for that specialty to be more than $100,000 per year in some states.

Dr. Jon Divine, head team physician at Cincinnati, said Big 12 team doctors are discussing among themselves and university general counsels whether they should increase their liability insurance limits, perhaps to $2 million or $6 million or more.

Divine said he and other team doctors also are taking extra steps in evaluating injuries in the new era of college sports.

“I’ve probably ordered more MRIs than I ever have in 25 years in the last two years,” he said. “It’s to make sure we’re getting it right for the (coaching) staff, for the kids, for the kid’s family. There’s that much more riding on it.”

Changing relationships

A former Penn State football team doctor, Scott Lynch, alleged in 2019 that coach James Franklin attempted to interfere with medical decisions.

A Penn State internal review found evidence of “friction” between Lynch and Franklin but could not determine whether Franklin violated NCAA bylaws or Big Ten standards by interfering with medical decisions. Lynch was awarded $5.25 for wrongful termination by the hospital that had employed him.

Dr. David McAllister, head team physician at UCLA who has been practicing for 27 years, said the relationship between team doctor and athlete has gone from one built on trust to now being transactional and at times adversarial.

When athletes spent four or five years at the same school, as once was the norm, friendships were formed and the team doctor continued to provide care for the some athletes long after their playing days. Now, McAllister said, many football and basketball players are taking advice from agents and business managers whose priority is the athlete’s earning power, and that puts pressure on team physicians.

“There are seasoned, experienced people that do what I do who either recently got out of it or are really considering it because they don’t want to be exposed to the liability,” McAllister said, “and they don’t find it that much fun anymore.”

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Florida State QB stokes fire with Alabama with ruthless Nick Saban taunt

The Seminoles and Crimson Tide go head-to-head for their 2025 college football season opener and one star has already gone above and beyond to get under the skin of his opponents 13:19 ET, 24 Jun 2025Updated 13:19 ET, 24 Jun 2025 Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos has offered a damning verdict ahead of his new […]

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The Seminoles and Crimson Tide go head-to-head for their 2025 college football season opener and one star has already gone above and beyond to get under the skin of his opponents

Tommy Castellanos
Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos has offered a damning verdict ahead of his new team’s season opener with Alabama

Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos says Alabama has no chance of stopping him without Nick Saban “to save them” when the two sides go head-to-head in two months’ time.

The Seminoles open their 2025 college football account with a visit from the Crimson Tide on Saturday, August 30 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL, where they will be hoping to get off to a better start than they did last season when they lost to Georgia Tech in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, before ending the season 2–10 (1–7 ACC).

Things worked out relatively better for Alabama, however, with the Crimson Tide ending at 9–4 (5–3 SEC) in its first season without the legendary Saban. Last month, various reports stated that Donald Trump had put him in charge of co-chairing his commission following crunch name, image and likeness (NIL) reform meetings ahead of a commencement address at the University of Texas.

READ MORE: Tommy Fleetwood’s wife made feelings clear on 23-year age gap as PGA Tour wait goes onREAD MORE: Sophie Cunningham made relationship status admission in brutally honest fashion

Trump’s commission into college athletics then appeared to hit a roadblock after the Saban-led initiative was put on hold, in which he was due to serve alongside Texas businessman Cody Campbell, founder of Texas Tech’s Matador Club NIL collective and chairman of the Texas Tech board of regents.

Regardless of what his next steps are, Saban is bound to have one eye on proceedings at Alabama as they continue life without him, although his focus could now be fully on the season opener against Florida State after one of their players opted to name drop him during some old fashioned trash talk.

Despite Florida State’s horrendous season in 2024, former Boston College star Castellanos now believes they’re back, and has sent Alabama a damning verdict ahead of their season opener in just a few months’ time.

NIck Saban
Nick Saban became a college football legend during his time with the Alabama Crimson Tide

“I’m excited, man. People, I don’t know if they know, but you go back and watch every first game that I played in, we always start fast,” he declared to On3. “I dreamed of moments like this. I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.”

It was quite the statement from Castellanos, who also previously played for the UCF Knights prior to entering the transfer portal and signing for Boston College.

He wasn’t done there, however, further divulging how he believes he’s been a step above the rest in the ACC for the last two years. “And then the ACC. I feel like I tore the ACC up by my damn self for the last two years, and now I’m with a squad,” he said.

“I hope people don’t think that Florida State is going to be the same team it was last year because we have weapons. People can’t just sit back in zone coverage and watch me.”

Tommy Castellanos
Castellanos has called out Alabama for not having Nick Saban to save them anymore

Under ex-NFL coach Bill O’Brien, Castellanos was impressive for the Eagles in 2024, recording an 18:5 touchdown to interception ratio and 4-1 start before three straight losses to Virginia, Virginia Tech and Louisville.

After O’Brien announced that FIU transfer Grayson James would get the start over Castellanos at SMU in November last year, the 21-year-old announced his intention to enter the transfer portal the next day.

Within a month, Castellanos announced that he would transfer to Florida State, and he is now preparing to lead the Seminoles as starting quarterback in 2025 in what is also his final year of college eligibility.



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MCWS Final down, but among most-watched in best-of-three era

With the series ending in a sweep, the Men’s College World Series Final was no match for last year’s three-game set. The two-game LSU-Coastal Carolina Men’s College World Series Final averaged 2.50 million viewers on the ESPN networks, down 11% from last year’s three-game Tennessee-Texas A&M series (2.82M) but the most-watched sweep since the final […]

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With the series ending in a sweep, the Men’s College World Series Final was no match for last year’s three-game set.

The two-game LSU-Coastal Carolina Men’s College World Series Final averaged 2.50 million viewers on the ESPN networks, down 11% from last year’s three-game Tennessee-Texas A&M series (2.82M) but the most-watched sweep since the final shifted to a best-of-three format in 2003 (ten total series).

Sunday’s Game 2 averaged 2.78 million viewers across ABC and ESPNU, down five percent from Tennessee-Texas A&M Game 2 last year (2.92M) but still the sixth-largest audience for an MCWS game on the ESPN networks.

Facing breaking news coverage, Saturday’s Game 1 averaged 2.18 million on ESPN and ESPNU — down 4% from last year’s opener (2.26M).

This year’s MCWS Final ranks as the fourth-most watched in the best-of-three era. LSU has played in three of the top four, with the Tigers’ 2023 win over Florida (2.86M) and 2009 win over Texas (2.76M) ranking first and third respectively. (Last year’s series, which ranks second, is the lone exception.)

The complete Men’s College World Series averaged 1.21 million viewers, down 22% from last year (1.56M) but still the third-largest audience for the event since 2011 — behind only last year and 2023 (1.65M). The MCWS averaged fewer viewers than the Women’s College World Series earlier this month (1.3M), though the two-game MCWS Final outdrew the three-game WCWS Final (2.2M).

The full NCAA baseball tournament averaged 537,000 viewers.



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Sam Laurila’s big year in Fargo changed how NHL scouts viewed him – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — Sam Laurila was eligible for the NHL Draft last year. The defenseman from Moorhead watched it on television but did not see his name pop up on the screen. “I wasn’t really expecting to go,” Laurila said. “I didn’t have a very good year, honestly. I wasn’t watching with too much expectation. […]

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GRAND FORKS — Sam Laurila was eligible for the NHL Draft last year.

The defenseman from Moorhead watched it on television but did not see his name pop up on the screen.

“I wasn’t really expecting to go,” Laurila said. “I didn’t have a very good year, honestly. I wasn’t watching with too much expectation. I was more watching to see all my buddies go. You’re excited for those guys.”

While many of his teammates from the U.S. National Team Development Program were selected last season and made the jump to college hockey, Laurila opted to spend a year with the Fargo Force in the United States Hockey League.

That year transformed the way NHL scouts looked at him.

They felt the 6-foot, 184-pound left-hander was a sturdy defender a year ago without much offense. Laurila had 11 points in 61 games for the U.S. Under-18 Team in 2023-24.

But playing in Fargo under coach Brett Skinner, an All-American defenseman at Denver, Laurila’s offense popped.

Laurila tallied 41 points in 57 games and was one of three finalists for the USHL’s Defenseman of the Year award. He was two points shy of leading the USHL in defenseman points per game.

“We knew it was there,” Skinner said. “He really developed a strong base of defending at the Program. But we put him in situations where not only was he allowed to be creative and showcase his offensive talent, he was encouraged and pushed to do so. It’s one thing to want someone to do it. It’s another thing to encourage them to explore the offensive side.”

As the offense emerged, scouts began re-thinking their evaluations of him.

Laurila rose up NHL Draft boards (he’s still eligible to be picked for two more years).

He began doing interviews with NHL teams — 18 of them in all.

He was one of 90 players invited to participate in

the NHL Combine

in Buffalo, N.Y.

“He’s an interesting one based on the fact that he played a completely different style than he did at the Program,” an NHL scout told the Herald. “I think he’s going to have to find a balance between the two when he gets to North Dakota and when he turns pro. But I think you got to see what he’s got in his toolkit a little more this year.

“You got to see him use his legs, use his skill and some offensive things came out of him in doing that. He’s still learning the risk-reward side, but I think he was encouraged to take chances. I think it paid off in his growth and development. He’s still learning and developing, but his game grew a lot and there’s a nice player in there.”

This weekend, Laurila is likely to be selected in the NHL Draft.

The first round is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday on ESPN and streaming on ESPN Plus.

The second through seventh rounds — where Laurila is expected to go — will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday on NHL Network and ESPN Plus.

The draft is being held at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, but Laurila will not attend. He’ll be with family members at their lake home.

“I’m excited,” he said. “The draft doesn’t mean a whole lot, I would say. Getting drafted is really cool, but it’s just another step on the road toward the end goal.”

04042025-073.jpg

Defenseman Sam Laurila skates in a game for the Fargo Force during the 2024-25 season.

Marissa Shiock / Fargo Force

Laurila averaged 25 minutes, 19 seconds of ice time last season — most of any player in the USHL.

“I was put into a really good situation,” Laurila said. “I got to play top-line minutes. I was put in a role to be successful, running a power play and killing penalties. Coach Skinner really helped me a lot. He pushed the offensive side of my game more, too, which really helped me.”

Laurila was an offensive defenseman growing up in Moorhead.

But when he went to the National Team Development Program, he was behind other offensive players and didn’t get the opportunity. Although the offense re-emerged with the Force, that’s not necessarily where he’ll impact games at UND.

“His base is defending,” Skinner said. “It would take me years to teach a lot of defensemen to defend how he does as far as closing and ending plays. Offensively, he has the ability to move the puck quickly, and if needed, he can transport it and lug it end-to-end and make entries.”

Laurila committed to UND two years ago when Brad Berry was the head coach. Athletic director Bill Chaves made a coaching change in March, firing Berry after the Fighting Hawks missed the NCAA tournament.

Chaves hired longtime assistant Dane Jackson as the next head coach. Jackson filled out his staff with associate head coach Matt Smaby, assistant coach Dillon Simpson and general manager Bryn Chyzyk.

Smaby and Simpson are both former UND captains and defensemen who reached the NHL.

“It was definitely eye-opening,” Laurila said of the coaching change. “It makes you wonder, ‘OK, what if they bring in someone you don’t know?’ I was really excited when I saw Dane got hired and he called me. I’m really excited for the staff we have. I think we’ll have a really good group. It should be a really good year.”

Laurila will be part of a loaded defensive corps that also features All-American Jake Livanavage, Bennett Zmolek, New York Rangers first-rounder E.J. Emery, Vegas Golden Knights seventh-rounder Abram Wiebe, potential 2026 first-rounder Keaton Verhoeff, Columbus Blue Jackets fourth-rounder Andrew Strathmann and Jayden Jubenvill.

“We think Sam is going to be able to battle for some good ice time,” Jackson said. “We have a lot of respect for how Sam looked at his development. That’s one thing we took into account when we originally recruited him.”

Jackson said Laurila didn’t hesitate to push back his college arrival and play a year in Fargo.

“He said, ‘Yep, that’s what I want to do, there are a lot of areas I can grow before coming to school,'” Jackson said. “He embraced it. The year he had in Fargo — we knew he had it in him — his offensive game flourished. We think he’s a strong two-way player. He defends well. He has good defensive instincts. And he has a lot of poise and good vision to be able to add offense.”

Laurila said he doesn’t have any expectations for where he’ll be picked Saturday during Day 2 of the NHL Draft.

“It’s all up in the air,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens. It’s another part of my journey.”

Where: Peacock Theater, Los Angeles.
First round: 6 p.m. Friday, ESPN and ESPN Plus.
Second-seventh rounds: 11 a.m. Saturday, NHL Network and ESPN Plus.

04042025-147.jpg

Defenseman Sam Laurila stands on the bench during a game for the Fargo Force in the 2024-25 season.

Marissa Shiock / Fargo Force





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