NAHL announces rosters for next month's Top Prospects Tournament

The North American Hockey League announced its rosters for the 2023 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

The event, which takes place Feb. 6-7 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa., showcases the NAHL’s top talent and uncommitted players.

"We are thrilled to be returning to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex for the 2023 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament," NAHL Commissioner and President Mark Frankenfeld said in a statement. "We had a great experience and scout turnout last season, and we look forward to showcasing some of the best uncommitted players and NHL prospects that the NAHL has to offer."

Players at the tournament will be split into four teams, one from each of the four NAHL divisions - Central, East, Midwest and South. Each roster will include 22 players (13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies) and each team will play two games.

Minnesota Duluth commit Adam Gajan highlights the Team Midwest roster and is one of 10 players on the initial roster with a college logo by his name.

Gajan, who has played four games with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers this season, starred for Slovakia at the World Junior Championships earlier this month. He's 8-7-1 with a .920 save percentage this season with the Chippewa Steel.

Ryan Schelling (Central, Providence), Cameron Korpi (East, Western Michigan), Hunter Ramos (East, Lake Superior State), Reid Daavettila (Midwest, Michigan Tech), Shawn Ramsey (Midwest, Wisconsin), Arthur Smith (South, Princeton), Charlie Lieberman (South, RPI), Owen Thomas (South, Providence) and Thomas Kiesewetter (South, Princeton) round out the list of college commits.

In order to play in the game, players must be uncommitted unless they have been identified as a 2023 NHL Draft prospect by NHL Central Scouting. All 10 listed above fit the latter.

Gajan was the fourth-highest rated North American goalie on Central Scouting's midterm rankings.

"The NAHL Top Prospects Tournament is the most unique event we host because its sole purpose is to provide those players that are still uncommitted a great opportunity to play in front of hundreds of NCAA and NHL scouts for a chance to make a great impression and earn an NCAA commitment or get drafted into the NHL,” Frankenfeld said.

Over 200 scouts attended last year’s event from both the NHL and NCAA level.

The NAHL, which is in its 48th season, is USA Hockey’s only sanctioned Tier II junior league. The league is made up of 29 teams and includes three teams in both Minnesota and the Dakotas. The tournament rosters also include 16 Minnesota natives.

Full rosters are listed here: South (Black) | Central (White) | Midwest (Red) | East (Blue)

Monday, Feb. 6

1 p.m. South vs. Midwest

4 p.m. East vs. Central

Tuesday, Feb. 7

11 a.m. Central vs. South

2 p.m. Midwest vs. East