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. […]
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.”
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.
Marissa Shiock / Fargo Force
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on July 24 that attempts to create a national standard for NCAA name, image and likeness programs. The order is Trump’s latest entry into a debate that has embroiled the NCAA since NIL rules went into effect in 2021, ushering in a wild-west era of college sports that […]
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on July 24 that attempts to create a national standard for NCAA name, image and likeness programs.
The order is Trump’s latest entry into a debate that has embroiled the NCAA since NIL rules went into effect in 2021, ushering in a wild-west era of college sports that has come under increasing scrutiny by local and national legislators.
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Broadly focused on efforts to “save college athletics,” the order also seeks to preserve and support “expansion of opportunities for scholarships and collegiate athletic competition in women’s and non-revenue sports.” Most of the NIL money is given to athletes in football and men’s and women’s basketball.
The settlement in the long-running House v. NCAA case went into effect July 1 and allowed schools to directly pay college athletes through a revenue-sharing model.
In May, Trump appeared poised to create a commission co-chaired by former Alabama coach Nick Saban and influential Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell with a directive to explore and address major issues facing college sports. But there have been no announcements regarding that directive.
This week, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at restructuring rules around the administration of college athletics passed two committees and is expected to move to the House floor when the summer recess is over in September.
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Speaking at a National Press Club event in Washington earlier in the day, before the order was signed, NCAA President Charlie Baker was asked about possible executive order on college sports. He said he was open to ideas, but “our focus needs to be on the legislative process.”
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who along with many in college sports has been advocating for federal intervention, told USA TODAY Sports last week, “The President is going to do what he wants to do.”
“I’ve read things on social media, but I also read that there would be a presidential commission,” Sankey added. “So the question with an executive order is if (Trump) does, and then what it is, and then we’ll go from there.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump issues college sports executive order for NIL
Story Links COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Yale men’s hockey assistant coach Joe Howe has been selected to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team. The team will hold training camp from July 28-August 3 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. Following camp, 23 players will […]
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Yale men’s hockey assistant coach Joe Howe has been selected to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team.
The team will hold training camp from July 28-August 3 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. Following camp, 23 players will be chosen to compete in the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, held August 11–16 in Brno, Czechia and Trencín, Slovakia.
This marks Howe’s second consecutive summer with USA Hockey. In 2024, he served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-17 team at the Five Nations Tournament in Pieštany, Slovakia.
Howe joined the Yale staff in July 2021 after three seasons at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He previously spent three years at the University of Denver as a volunteer assistant coach and director of hockey operations. During his tenure, the Pioneers captured the 2017 NCAA Division I National Championship and an NCHC regular-season title, while making two Frozen Four appearances and qualifying for three NCAA Tournaments.
A native of Plymouth, Mass., Howe was a four-year standout at Colorado College, where he appeared in 119 games and posted a 54-50-10 record, a 2.97 goals-against average, and a .905 save percentage. He ranked third all-time in career saves. After college, Howe played professionally in the ECHL, CHL, and AHL.
Read the full announcement from USA Hockey here.
Hudson Catholic’s Benett Shelly (#57) goes down after being hit by Bayonne’s Dave Bodson (#13 left) in the NJSIAA/New Jersey Devils Tournament of Champions final hockey game at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford.SL NJ Advance Media’s HS sports department is using some of its time over the summer to republish semi-recent postseason honors […]
NJ Advance Media’s HS sports department is using some of its time over the summer to republish semi-recent postseason honors that, for a variety of reasons, had become largely inaccessible, even to us.
Please enjoy a look back at all the Star-Ledger’s boys ice hockey postseason honors as well as final rankings from 1990-2000.
Brian Bobal may be reached at bbobal@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @BrianBobal.
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Photo courtesy of the Italian Gymnastics Federation. Italy’s Lorenzo Bonicelli was seriously injured after a fall on his rings dismount while competing at the 2025 FISU World University Games on Wednesday. As of publishing, he is reportedly in a medically-induced coma and the rest of the Italian team withdrew from the competition. The Italian Gymnastics […]
Photo courtesy of the Italian Gymnastics Federation.
Italy’s Lorenzo Bonicelli was seriously injured after a fall on his rings dismount while competing at the 2025 FISU World University Games on Wednesday. As of publishing, he is reportedly in a medically-induced coma and the rest of the Italian team withdrew from the competition.
The Italian Gymnastics Federation published a statement Wednesday. The translated version reads, “During the men’s artistic gymnastics team competition at the 32nd Summer Universiadiade in Essen, the blue Lorenzo Bonicelli came out badly from his exercise at the rings, in the third rotation, incurring an injury on the extent of which investigations are still underway. Immediately rescued by the medical team of the German organization and by the health managers of FISU and CUSI, the twenty-three-year-old from Lecco of the Ghislanzoni GAL was transported to the nearby university polyclinic. The technical staff following the GAM mission in Germany, given the understandable emotional involvement of the rest of the team, preferred to withdraw the team from the competition. While waiting for the official medical bulletins, the FGI is all tight to Lorenzo, wishing him a speedy recovery. Come on Bonni!”
Steve Butcher, a member of the International Gymnastics Federation’s Men’s Technical Committee, shared an additional update on Facebook on Thursday, stating, “Please keep Italian gymnast Lorenzo Bonicelli (age 23) in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers from a significant neck injury suffered on his Rings dismount at the World University Games. Several of you have asked me about his condition after seeing me judging as the Apparatus Supervisor on the Rings. Sorry I could not respond sooner without confirmation. Lorenzo is in a medically induced coma after surgery last night. It will take 10 or more days to know his condition. The entire gymnastics family is pulling for Lorenzo’s full recovery!” (via Kensley Behel/Neutral Deductions)
Bonicelli reportedly fell on his neck when attempting his triple back dismount off rings. He was carried off the field of play on a stretcher and transported to a nearby hospital.
Please join us in sending Lorenzo, his family, and the Italian Gymnastics Federation our thoughts and prayers during this time. We will update this story with any further details as they are released.
By Frank Pingue (Reuters) -Five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior ice hockey team have been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room that year, a judge said on Thursday. The charges against Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Cal Foote stemmed from an encounter in […]
By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) -Five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior ice hockey team have been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room that year, a judge said on Thursday.
The charges against Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Cal Foote stemmed from an encounter in a hotel room in the Canadian city of London after a Hockey Canada gala to celebrate their world junior championship victory.
All five former National Hockey League players faced one count of sexual assault while McLeod faced an additional count of being a party to an offence. They all pleaded not guilty.
McLeod was also found not guilty of the additional charge.
According to CBC News, Justice Maria Carroccia told the courtroom that she did not find the complainant’s evidence to be “credible or reliable” and that the Crown failed to prove she did not consent to the sexual activity.
“Justice Carroccia’s carefully reasoned decision represents a resounding vindication for Mr. McLeod and for his co-defendants,” said McLeod’s lawyer, David Humphrey.
“Justice Carroccia found that the complainant’s testimony was uncredible and was unreliable.”
Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham told reporters they would “carefully review” Carroccia’s decision but did not have further comments as the case is still within the appeal period.
Hockey Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict.
When the charges were announced in January 2024, McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Dube was with the Calgary Flames, Hart was with the Philadelphia Flyers while Formenton was playing in Switzerland.
The trial, which began in April and garnered national attention, faced many disruptions including a mistrial and two dismissed juries before Carroccia and the lawyers decided to proceed with a judge-alone trial.
A police investigation into the alleged incident was closed without charges in February 2019, but investigators reopened it in July 2022 in response to public outrage over reports that Hockey Canada used players’ registration fees to pay an undisclosed settlement to the woman who made the accusations.
The scandal prompted the Canadian federal government to freeze Hockey Canada’s funding for 10 months while a number of major companies either paused or canceled their sponsorships with the national governing body.
Amid the scandal, Hockey Canada said it would no longer use the fund financed by player registration fees to settle sexual assault claims, and the organization’s CEO and board of directors stepped down.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Nia Williams and Caroline Stauffer)
The 2025 Here’s to You Kid winners have been announced, meaning that two young people in our region will be receiving monetary support in recognition of their commitment to their community. In the past year, both students have been featured in a “Here’s to You Kid” segment on WBRE/WYOU, a media partner of the […]
The 2025 Here’s to You Kid winners have been announced, meaning that two young people in our region will be receiving monetary support in recognition of their commitment to their community. In the past year, both students have been featured in a “Here’s to You Kid” segment on WBRE/WYOU, a media partner of the Times Leader.
This year’s winners are:
• Aaron Girvan, an 18-year-old student at Wyoming Valley West High School, will receive a scholarship of $1,000 to a higher education or trade school.
• Nolan Wurster, a 13-year-old student at C.E. McCall Middle School in Montoursville, will receive a $500 gift card for the purchase of books.
Mapping the ‘Old Yard’
In 2021, Aaron Girvan set out to become an Eagle Scout by properly mapping out the oldest section of Forty Fort Cemetery, aptly called the “Old Yard.” In old mapping records of the cemetery, the 1,096 gravesites that make up the Old Yard were indistinguishable from one another, making it a particularly difficult section to navigate.
Three years after beginning his project, Girvan’s work was completed. From the oldest graves — some dating back to the late 18th century — Girvan was able to salvage a clearer picture of Forty Forty Cemetery’s abundant history.
“I think it’s better that the cemetery get this type of attention,” Girvan said of the Here’s to You Kid recognition. “It’s a very interesting, very historic place in the area, and it really deserves community support and the respect that it should have as a historic site and an interesting place all around.”
Girvan can look back now on his role in mapping the Old Yard and see its future utility.
“My part was acting as a preserver of history, making sure that as much information about that cemetery is recorded in the now and can be used later on,” he said.
Aiding the firefighters
Nolan Wurster has been interested in firefighting since he was three years old. His parents initially thought the interest was a passing phase, but Nolan stayed intrigued by the intricacies of being a firefighter. As he got older, he began hanging out at the Montoursville Fire Department station and learning more.
In 2020, Nolan decided he wanted to donate his allowance and birthday money to the fire department. That began a tradition that continues to this day, in which Nolan and his family do a yearly fundraiser to help out those at the station.
“He doesn’t do this for [the attention],” Erica Wurster, Nolan’s mother, said of her son. “He had an idea and ran with it, and it stuck. It’s something that he loves to do.”
Over the years, Nolan has raised thousands of dollars for the Montoursville Fire Department through dinners, raffles and even an Easter egg hunt.
“He’s a very humble kid. He does good genuinely,” said Erica. “That is what he’s passionate about in life. He wants to be a firefighter.”
has always dreamed in Mercurial. Now his initials are on the boots.
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