Chicago Young Americans

Over the past several years, CYA has had tremendous success in moving its seniors into the DI and DIII college hockey ranks and this year is no exception. Three Young Americans will play Division I, with Jessica Puig lacing up her skates as a new Bobcat for the ECAC’s Quinnipiac University, while Audrey Stapleton will become an Engineer at ECAC rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Defenseman Carli Pridmore will be skating for Hockey East’s University of Connecticut Huskies. Two players will be suiting up for the ECAC at the Division III level with Carley King packing her bags for upstate New York to tend goal as a Tiger for the Rochester Institute of Technology in the ECAC West, and fellow senior Sam Zitzer will head off to Newport, Rhode Island where she will skate for the Salve Regina University Seahawks in the ECAC East. Three players will be heading west as new members of the MIAC Division III conference. Defenseman Jeanna Dudley and forward Nicole Gorr will continue to play together as members of the Augsburg College Auggies, while forward Mary Carr becomes the newest Blazer at the College of St. Benedict. Devan Lesch will help lead the Marian University Tigers into their inaugural season of DIII competition in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA). Two other seniors, Chelsea Bilyk and Jess Hoelzer, have chosen to remain as teammates and play ACHA DI club hockey for the Michigan State University Spartans. Senior goaltender Natalie Richards has decided to pursue her studies at the University of Wisconsin – Superior and Jess Reibel has yet to render a college decision. CYA Hockey Director Dave Maciuk states “The CYA hockey organization takes pride in striving to not only make every young athlete a much more skilled hockey player, but also to provide a platform that maximizes a player’s exposure and recruitment opportunities to the college coaching and scouting community.” As an organization, we should also help educate our membership, which is why we created a College Placement and Mentor program last season. This initiative is a work in progress with the ultimate goal of helping parents and players gather enough of the right information to make a good decision on their daughter’s future. As an organization, we would like to congratulate the following CYA seniors who will be continuing their education and hockey careers in college.

Jessica Puig: Quinnipiac University (DI ECAC)
Audrey Stapleton: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (DI ECAC)
Carli Pridmore: University of Connecticut (DI Hockey East)
Carley King: Rochester Institute of Technology (DIII ECAC West)
Sam Zitzer: Salve Regina University (DIII ECAC East)
Jeanna Dudley: Augsburg College (DIII MIAC)
Nicole Gorr: Augsburg College (DIII MIAC)
Mary Carr: College of St. Benedict (DIII MIAC)
Devan Lesch: Marian University (DIII NCHA)
Chelsea Bilyk: Michigan State University (ACHA DI)
Jess Hoelzer: Michigan State University (ACHA DI)

Looking ahead – With the focus and passion of next season’s 19U coaching staff and the national college placement expertise of Coach John Burke, we will assure each player that no program will continue to work harder at finding exceptional college hockey opportunities for every determined CYA player. Our unique advanced training program, playing in the top tournaments for exposure and vast college contacts will give our players as good of a platform to reach their goals as any in the country.

To learn more about the 19U plans through next fall season, please feel free to email rjordan@heparks.org or call Randy Jordan 847 285 5501 with any questions. University Commitments for Chicago Young Americans Girls 19U Players