Danbury, CT | Patrick Frenette
The Danbury Hat Tricks are one step closer to hockey season with the completion of the 2024 NAHL Draft.
Danbury added more offensive power in six forwards, in addition to the three defensemen they chose with their nine picks.
Before the draft, our General Manager, Bob Thornton added, “We have a great list of kids, and we are trying to get more offensive this year.” Thornton stated, “Tenders, returners, and draftees will make main camp very competitive this year.”
Round 1, Pick 6: Max McGuire – With the Hat Tricks first pick of the 2024 NAHL Draft, Danbury selected Lewiston, NY native, Max McGuire. McGuire is coming off a season with the Buffalo Jr Sabres 16U AAA, where the forward put up six points in 16 regular season games played. Along with four playoff games played, with two points through those games.
Round 3, Pick 76: Jack Harney – 70 picks after our first initial pick, Danbury selected 18-year-old defenseman, Jack Harney. The 6′ 9″ d-man played his most recent season with St. Sebastian’s School, where he put up one goal and four assists through 28 games played.
Round 4, Pick 111: Ben Dempster – The fourth round had three total picks for the Hat Tricks. In their first selection of said round, Danbury selected forward, Ben Dempster. The Oakland, Michigan native played 73 games for Victory Honda 18U AAA, where he boasted 75 points (36G, 39A) on the season.
Round 4, Pick 124: Alex LoGuerico – In the first of two consecutive picks to end the fourth round for Danbury, the Hat Tricks selected 19-year-old forward, Alex LoGuerico. Loguerico most recently played for the Frederick Gunn School, notching 49 points (31G, 18A) in 31 games played.
Round 4, Pick 125: Michael Sciabarra – In the final pick of the fourth round for the Hat Tricks, Danbury selected defenseman, Michael Sciabarra. Michael played most recently with the Westchester Express 18U AAA, where he tallied 18 points in 16 games played, along with 32 penalty minutes.
Round 5, Pick 165: Sam Esposito – 40 picks later, the Hat Tricks returned to being on the clock. In this selection, Danbury added Long Island Gulls 18U AAA forward, Sam Esposito. Sam put up two goals in eight games played with the Gulls this season.
Round 8, Pick 251: Jared Rothman – After a few rounds passed, the Hat Tricks were back on the board with the 251st overall pick. Danbury selected forward, Jared Rothman, from Salisbury School. At Salisbury this past season, the Chappaqua, NY native posted 23 points in 27 games played.
Round 9, Pick 286: Niko Tournas – In the second to last round for Danbury, the Hat Tricks selected 18-year-old forward, Niko Tournas. Tournas is coming off a season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL, in which he netted five points in 41 games played.
Round 10, Pick 321: Paul Triggiani – In the Hat Tricks final pick of the 2024 NAHL Draft, Danbury selected Paul Triggiani, who most recently played with the New Jersey Titans 15U AAA. The 15-year-old defenseman posted seven points in 14 games played and 10 penalty minutes.
Following the draft, we spoke once again with General Manager, Bob Thornton and Head Coach, Lenny Caglianone.
“The way we planned our draft was more specific for the future. We want to have a runway for getting this team to allow guys to perform well, to have guys compete to be on the roster. We got three players on the list to be potentially rated by the NHL Central Scouting Prospects next season.” Thornton also added, “We felt very prepared from our standpoint going into this draft, we’re looking forward to a competitive main camp.”
Bob also mentioned our U16 and U18 programs in this statement, “U16 and U18 will be a part of main camp as well, as we want to give everyone a chance in our program from top to bottom. Both teams are going to be closely affiliated with the NAHL team.”
Lenny then stated, “I’m very excited about the incoming pool of players. I think we got who we wanted and what we wanted. We have ushered in a new precedent of how the Hat Tricks organization evaluates talent.”
The Hat Tricks are now preparing to host their main camp from July 29-31 at the Danbury Ice Arena. If you are interested in participating, you can contact our General Manager, Bob Thornton (bobt@danburyhattricks.com) or Head Coach, Lenny Caglianone (lenny@danburyhattricks.com).