USPHL Premier 2023-24 Florida Division Players Of The Month: October 2023

All games from September and October taken into statistical account

Summaries by Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com

Forward: Noah Trathen, Florida Eels

With an outstanding start to his season that’s seen a 1.87 points per game output (28 points in 15 games), Trathen has pushed his career points per game over the 1.00 mark. In two and a quarter seasons, he has 75 points in 71 games. He is also the Eels’ plus-minus leader at +20. 

Forward: Jared Salminen, Florida Eels

The assists leader for the division-leading Eels, Salminen (‘03/Port Charlotte, Fla.) is continuing to be an extremely valuable veteran presence. Joining Trathen as a sixth-year USPHL veteran in his fourth year of Premier hockey, Salminen has posted 16 assists as well as nine goals for 25 points in 15 games, good for a 1.67 points per game average. Salminen is also a close second to Trathen in plus-minus with a +18 rating. 

Forward: Kelton Bradshaw, Bold City Battalion 

Bradshaw (‘05/Fort Collins, Colo.) started on fire out of the gate with a five-game scoring streak and also enters November on a four-game run of points. He has been a big contributor to the expansion Battalion standing at second in the division off the bat. He has posted six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 12 games. He is just one point from equaling his 30-game output from last year with the former Northern Colorado Eagles. 

Defense: Eoin Reager, Atlanta MadHatters

Reager (‘03/Foxborough, Mass.) continues to impress as a third-year USPHL veteran and a former Elite All-Star. On the blue line, he has posted three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 15 games and he’s been a +2 for the fourth-place MadHatters. Reager is already at the halfway mark of his full-season total of 29 points last year, his first with the MadHatters. 

Defense: Hugo Rova, Bold City Battalion 

Rova (‘03/Sweden) is playing like this is anything but his first North American season. He has been a Mr. Everything as the Battalion set down roots in the Florida Division and make their name well known early on. Along with the 14 points he has posted offensively (off a 7-7-14 line), he is also the Battalion’s clear ice time leader at 27:01 per game. He leads the Battalion in blocked shots with 15 and hits with 13. 

Goaltender: Aiden Winslow, Bold City Battalion 

Another contributor the the Battalion’s massive early success as a first-year organization is their main man in net, the ‘03 from Jacksonville (aka “Bold City”). A former Florida Alliance AAA standout, Winslow has been able to put up a 5-2-0-0 record with a 1.87 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. He has notched two of the Battalion’s first three shutouts, including a 36-save gem against Richmond at the USPHL Southeast Showcase on Oct. 8. Six days later, he stopped a season-high 43 of 45 shots against Atlanta. 

Method of selection: The USPHL Media Team shares a first set of nominees from among statistical leaders with division coaches and accepts alternate nominations from coaches, where applicable. From these, the USPHL Media Team selects the final “starting lineup.” 

Top Performers Of The Week (Oct. 24-Oct. 31) 

Forward: Brett Strick, Bold City Battalion – A hat trick en route to winning The Dan K Show Military Cup was just part of a four-goal, two assist weekend for six points in two games against the Columbia Infantry. 

Defense: Mark Phillips, Florida Eels – The fourth-year USPHL veteran helped the Eels to a three-point weekend against the Tampa Bay Juniors, by putting up a goal and two assists for the series. 

Goaltender: Sam Edmands, Atlanta MadHatters – The ‘03 is on a three-game winning streak and his most recent was the best, a 36-save shutout of the Palm Beach Typhoon on Oct. 28.