John Laurito of Johnston has verbally committed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
A speedy 5-foot-8, 160-pound forward who scored 31 points as a junior at the St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire last season, Laurito will play his senior year in prep school and then a season of junior hockey before enrolling at Army in 2016.
“I was mostly talking to (Division III schools such as) Bowdoin, Middlebury and Trinity. I had some interest but no offers from D-I schools,” Laurito said. That changed after the Beantown Spring Classic in March.
“It happened quick. Coach [Army assistant Eric] Lang saw me play at the Beantown and shot me an email. I went to visit at the beginning of May. I just fell in love with [West Point]. It’s a beautiful place and there’s so much history there. I knew it would be an honor to both serve my country and play [Division I] hockey for Army,” Laurito said.
Laurito, 18, will work out four times a week with trainer Rodney Millette at the West Warwick rink this summer and play in some tournaments and showcases.
“It’s a lot more relaxing knowing that I have somewhere to play in college. This should be a fun year. Now I can just focus on playing hockey and on school. I don’t have to worry about the college part of things,” he said.
Interest from the north
Two players from Rhode Island, Jamie Armstrong of Warwick and Jonathan Alsfeld of Cranston, were chosen in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft on Saturday.
The 1998-born Armstrong, an All-State winger at Hendricken last season, was taken in the sixth round by Acadie-Bathurst. Alsfeld, a 1997 birth date who played for the Junior B Cranston Reds last winter, was selected in the 13th round by Moncton.
Alsfeld, a junior at Cranston West, will attend Moncton’s rookie/prospects camp later this month. “I’m pretty excited about it. It’s a great opportunity,” he said.
If he is not in Moncton’s plans for the 2014-15 season, Alsfeld said that he probably will play for either the New Jersey Junior Titans or the East Coast Wizards. Both teams are members of the Eastern Hockey League.
A forward, the 5-foot-9, 145-pound Alsfeld is working out after school with Paul Kenny at Northeast Sports Training in an attempt to add muscle.
Armstrong, who is headed to the Avon Old Farms School in the fall, said that he will attend camp with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League. Muskegon selected Armstrong in the second round of the USHL futures draft in May. At present, he has no plans to go to Acadie-Bathurst’s camp this summer.
Busy summer
Brown University’s Matt Lorito, who will share the team captaincy with linemate Mark Naclerio next season, will attend New Jersey Devils rookie camp next month. The third member of the line, assistant captain Nick Lappin, will go to Pittsburgh’s rookie camp.
Tyler Bird, who will be a freshman at Brown in the fall, was one of 119 NHL draft prospects invited to the recent NHL Scouting Combine in Toronto. Bird, who played at Kimball Union last winter, said that he had interviews with seven NHL teams, including the Boston Bruins.
A Premier player
Brandon Borges of Providence, who recently finished his junior year at the Williston Northampton School, will play for the Junior Bruins of the United States Premier Hockey League next season. At Williston last season, the 18-year-old Borges centered a line with ex-Mount St. Charles teammate Tyler Scroggins and Max Willman, who will play for Brown this season.
Plenty of connections
The two teams in the Stanley Cup finals have a few Providence ties.
Providence native Jack Ferreira — an All-State goalie at La Salle Academy and an All-American at Boston University in 1965 — is the special assistant to Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi.
Justin Williams, who scored the overtime winner for the Kings in Game One, is the grandnephew of former Providence Reds great Zellio Toppazzini.
Davis Payne, a Providence Bruin from 1995 to 1998, is an assistant coach with L.A. Andrew Bodnarchuk, who played for the P-Bruins from 2008 to 2012, is an extra defenseman with the Kings.
Rangers goalie David LeNeveu, who was Henrik Lundquist’s backup in Game One, played one game for Providence in January before signing with New York. New York assistant coach Dan Lacroix scored 15 goals and recorded 266 penalty minutes in 40 games with the P-Bruins in 1994-95.
Mahoney-Wilson joins Army staff
Brian Mahoney-Wilson, the son of former Providence College star Randy Wilson and a former netminder at Lake Superior State, has joined the Army coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Mahoney-Wilson was the goalie coach for the South Shore Kings last season.
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