University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Announce Incoming Freshmen Class
8/11/2020 12:40:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
STORRS, Conn. - UConn men's hockey head coach Mike Cavanaugh announced the addition of six student-athletes to the program for the 2020-21 season. UConn will add five forwards and a defenseman to their roster for the upcoming season.
The Huskies have a pair of incoming freshmen coming to Storrs that are staying home, from the state of Connecticut. UConn will add another student-athlete from overseas, coming from Russia, a pair from north of the boarder in western Canada, and another from the state of New Jersey. Let's meet the full incoming freshmen class:
Cassidy Bowes - Forward -Â Sturgeon County, Alberta / Whitecourt Wolverines (AJHL) - 6-0/185 - Shot: Left
Prior to UConn: Played in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) in 2019-20, appearing in 45 games for the Whitecourt Wolverines…Was named an Alternate Captain and led his team to a 32-17-9 record…Finished the season scoring 23 goals with 23 assists, leading his team in goals scored and was third overall in points…Played two seasons for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL where he scored 57 points in 97 games…Named an alternate captain of the 2018-19 team and had 24 points in 46 games, scoring seven goals with 17 assists…During the 2017-18 season, he posted 33 points on 16 goals and 17 assists in 33 total games…Joined the Vees at the end of the 2016-17 season, playing two regular season games then helping the team to the 2017 BCHL Championship…Scored two goals with three assists in eight playoff games…Graduated from George Elliot High School in Lake Country, British Columbia where he was a Principles List student all four years…Also wore the "A" on his jersey for Pursuit of Excellence Prep in 2015-16 and at Okanagan Hockey Academy Red Prep in 2016-17.
Nick Capone - Forward - East Haven, Conn. / Tri-City Storm (USHL) - 6-2/205 - Shot: Right
Before UConn: Signed an NLI to join the Huskies back in November (2019)… Eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and in the final NHL Central Scouting ranking he was 126th on the North American Skater list…Played the 2019-20 season with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL where he helped the team to a 24-17-5 record before seeing the season cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic…In 34 games, he totaled 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists. He had three power play goals and six power play assists…He was named to the 2020 BioSteel All-American Game…Prior to joining Tri-City, he played two seasons at The Salisbury School…In 2018-19, he had 47 points in 30 gams for The Sailsbury School, scoring 20 goals with 27 assists…In 2017-18, Capone posted 29 points in 27 games played, scoring 13 goals with 16 assists…Graduated from Kearney High School in Kearney, Neb.
Gavin Puskar - Forward - Farmington, Conn. / The Hotchkiss School (Prep) - 6-2/185 - Shot: Left
Before UConn: Had three seasons at The Hotchkiss School playing for head coach Mike Traggio...During his time there, he appeared in 75 games, totaling 65 points on 31 goals and 34 assists...Had his best season in 2019-20, scoring 18 goals with 18 assists in 26 games. Was named an All-NEPSAC first team honorable mention...Had 15 points on eight goals and seven assists in 2018-19...During his first season at Hotchkiss, he posted 14 points in 25 games, scoring five goals with nine assists...Graduate from The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.
Hudson Schandor - Forward - North Vancouver, British Columbia / Surrey Eagles (BCHL) - 5-9/165 - Shot: Left
Before UConn: Comes to UConn after three seasons in the BCHL where he played in 147 total games with 114 points…Last year he played with the Surrey Eagles, appearing in 56 games and totaling 61 points and was named Captain of the team…He scored 25 goals and added 36 assists in 2019-20…He was second on his team in scoring and ranked eighth in the league…Led his team in power play points, scoring six goals with 15 assists…The previous two seasons, he played with the Salmon Arm Sliverbacks…In 2018-19 he posted 31 points in 41 games, scoring 15 goals with 16 assists…During 2017-18, he had 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists in 50 games played…In each of his three seasons in the BCHL he helped lead his team to the playoffs…In 16 games of postseason experience where he scored six goals with nine assists…Graduated from Argyle Secondary school in North Vancouver where he was an honor roll student.
Artem Shlaine - Forward - Moscow, Russia / Shattuck St. Mary's (Prep) - 6-1/175 - Shot: Left
Before UConn: Attended Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Faribault, Minnesota… Eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft – Ranked 93rd on the North American Skater list in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings…Saw action in six games with Muskegon of the USHL in 2019-20 and had two goals and an assist…Played for head coach Ben Umhoefer at Shattuck-St. Mary's and in 2019-20, helped lead the team to a 35-8-3 record in a season cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic…Helped lead the team to the 2020 McPherson Cup tournament championship…Was the team's leading scorer, posting 78 points in 46 games…He Scored 26 goals and passed out a team-best 52 assists…In 2018-19, played in 56 games for Shattuck-St. Mary's, posting 90 points on 34 goals and 56 assists…His team won the 2018 CCM NIT Championship…Graduated in the spring of 2020 where he earned the Marthena DryBread Spanish Prize academic award.
John Spetz - Defenseman - Oak Ridge, N.J. / Chicago Steel (USHL) - 5-10/190 - Shot: Right
Before UConn: Finished his third season playing with the Chicago Steel of the USHL in 2019-20…Was named an Alternate Captain this past season, helping the team to a 41-7-1 record before the season was cut short due to the pandemic…The Steel were in first place in the Eastern Conference and won the 2020 Anderson Cup…Was second among the club's defensemen in with 33 points, but led all USHL blueliners with 14 goals…He added in 19 assists and finished third among USHL defensemen in scoring (33 pts)…During the 2018-19 season, he finished with 35 points on eight goals and 27 assists…During his career in the USHL, he appeared in 164 games with 78 points on 24 goals and 54 assists…He holds the Chicago Steel record for points by a defenseman…He had six game-winning goals and five power play goals and was +26 overall. In his 18 career playoff games, he scored three goals with two assists…Graduated from Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, N.J…Played one season for coach Ryan Brown and was an All-State pick and team captain in 2017.
