11/16/2011 - MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Bemidji State inks one during early signing period

Print Email RSS Share

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- The Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey program today announced the signing of defenseman Graeme McCormack (Thunder Bay, Ontario) to a National Letter of Intent during the NCAA’s early signing period (Nov. 9-16).

McCormack will join the Beaver hockey program for the 2012-13 campaign.

McCormack, a six-foot, one-inch blueliner for the British Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL) Nanaimo Clippers is a proven defensive scorer and continues a recent trend of adding size to the BSU back line.

“Graeme is a very exciting prospect for us,” said Bemidji State Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Ted Belisle. “He brings an offensive game and potential to produce on the power play as a defenseman. He has great hands, his intellectual game is high end and he is a threat on the ice whenever he has the puck.  He makes assertive plays and gets a lot of pucks to the net and that is where he generates a lot of his points.  He has a history of producing offensively, but has also become a very good defender.

“We are excited to have him as a part of our program.”

* Graeme McCormack (D, 6-1, 190; 4/22/1991; Thunder Bay, Ontario) is in his second season with Nanaimo and through 19 games, he has netted five goals, with three coming on the power play, and 19 assists for 24 points to lead all BCHL defensemen and sits tied for second on the Clippers in scoring. 

A true offensive threat from the blue line, McCormack has recorded at least a point in 13 of 19 games with the Clippers this season, which includes eight multi-point nights. He has 2-9=11 points in the Clippers’ last eight games, including a season-best three-assist night Oct. 30.  

At 10-6-0-3, the Clippers currently sit fourth in the BCHL’s Coastal Conference Division but are just three points off the pace set by first-place Cowichan Valley.

In his first season with Nanaimo, McCormack put up 10-31=41 points playing in 56 games, which included two game-winning goals and eight power-play tallies. He was selected to the BCHL Coastal League’s All-Star team as a defenseman.

McCormack began his junior hockey career in 2008-09 with the Thunder Bay Bearcats of the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) where he collected 13-33=46 points in 49 games to rank among the top 20 in the league in scoring.  In 2009-10 he made the transition to the BCHL and recorded 9-19=28 points in 41 games with the Victoria Grizzlies.  
    
McCormack is the 21st early-period signee at Bemidji State since the program made the jump to Division I in 1999. That group includes senior Darcy Findlay (F., Bristol, Quebec), juniors Jordan George (F, Madison, Wis.), Matt Hartmann (F, Hugo, Minn.) and Aaron McLeod (F, Ottawa, Ontario), sophomores Radoslav Illo (F, Bystrica, Slovakia) and Jeff Jubinville (F, Edmonton, Alberta) and freshmen Matt Prapavessis (D, Oakville, Ontario) and Sam Windle (D, Maple Grove, Minn.)

The Beavers (4-7-1; 2-5-1 WCHA) continue Western Collegiate Hockey Association play this weekend as they host University of North Dakota for a rare Saturday/Sunday series. The two-game set will begin Saturday at 7:07 p.m.  with the finale scheduled for an 5:07 p.m. opening face off Sunday.

--bsu--