Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), are pleased to announce that forwards Michael Valdez and Isaac Novak have been added to the rosters for Team Selects and Team Midwest at the 2022 Top Prospects Tournament (TPT)!
Valdez, a native of Westminster, CO, is in his first junior hockey season and has already committed to play collegiate hockey for Colorado College. In 35 games this season he has recorded 5 goals and 8 assists and ranks in the top ten in scoring on the team. Mikey played for the Colorado Thunderbirds organization prior to his time here in Springfield and capped off his youth hockey career by recording 28 goals and 38 assists last season for their 16U AAA team. Valdez will skate with Team Selects at TPT, they play Monday Feb. 7th at 1:30 pm against the USNTDP U17 team and on Tuesday Feb. 8th at 9 am against Team Midwest.
Novak, a native of Waukesha, WI, joined the Jr. Blues after the Thanksgiving break and has been an offensive force since arriving in Springfield. In 12 games for the Jr. Blues he has 8 goals and 4 assists, including a Hat Trick against Fairbanks in January. This is his fourth season of junior hockey as he has seen time in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers as well as time with the Janesville Jets, Northeast Generals, Minnesota Magicians, and Bismarck Bobcats in the NAHL. Novak will skate with Team Midwest at TPT, they play Monday at 4 pm against Team Central and then at 9 am on Tuesday will play Team Selects.
Valdez and Novak will join Leo Bacallao, James Callahan, Carson Jones, and Ethan Roberts for the NAHL’s annual prospect event, held this year in Pittsburgh, PA. Alongside these six players, our Head Coach Tyler Rennette will be at the helm of Team Midwest, his first time coaching the divisional roster at Top Prospects. All games at the event can be seen exclusively on HockeyTV, and we will update our social media pages with game updates from both Team Selects and Team Midwest.
We want to congratulate Mikey and Isaac for being selected to represent the Jr. Blues at the Top Prospects Tournament! We can’t wait to see what these young men are able to accomplish next week and the rest of this season!
