USPHL Premier 2024-25 Division Previews: Atlantic Division

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com

Season Opener: Sept. 20 at P.A.L. Jr. Islanders

The West Chester Wolves are deeply saddened by the recent passing of Matt Gaudreau and his brother Johnny on Aug. 29. Matt was poised to join the team as the assistant coach of the Premier squad and was widely respected in the hockey community.

“His passion for the game was unmistakable to everyone who knew him,” said Head Coach Brian Leonard. “The organization will honor Matt’s memory throughout the season, and his influence will be felt by the team both on and off the ice.”

Moving forward with heavy hearts, the Wolves are looking to establish themselves quickly in the Atlantic Division. It will be a challenge, but one for which the new organization is more than ready.

“We are really excited to get the season started here soon. The Atlantic Division is going to be a really strong and competitive division this year and we feel as though we have a really strong group that is ready to compete right away in Year 1,” said Head Coach Brian Leonard. “Our staff has worked incredibly hard to put together a talented group with a great mix of veteran and young players.”

The Wolves have signed several junior-experienced players to give them a solid base from which to grow.

“Being a first-year program, we will be leaning on our veteran players heavily to help lead the way throughout the season,” said Leonard.

When they say veterans, they’re talking about a group that totals 17 combined USPHL seasons, and 12 of those in the Premier. Andrew Farley is entering his fifth season, Zachary Zammiello and Aidan Urie are going into their fourth, Nate Lavallee is entering his third USPHL season, and both Alex Couture and Brayden Webster are entering their second Premier season. Aaron Shanks joins the Wolves from the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

“Farley and Urie bring a strong physical presence, scoring touch and leadership. Lavallee balances our lineup with his steady defensive play as one of the best centers in the league,” said Leonard. “Zammiello has top-level scoring ability and looks to build on past seasons. Webster is a shifty defenseman that sees the ice well. Shanks is a heavy power forward with a heavy shot. Alex is a young defensemen who had a great Premier rookie season.”

The Wolves also have several strong newcomers to the organization who Leonard expects will have a great impact on the Premier team. Elijah Wiltshire (’05) is from the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers AAA squad, Titus Keyes is an ’06 from the Northstar Christian Academy AAA team, John Feeley and Finn McGolrick (’05) both join from the Twin City Ice Mavericks.

“Keyes is a really good skating forward that comes from a top level AAA program and we are looking forward to him making the next step. McGolrick is a steady defensemen that can play a lockdown role. I believe that both Feeley and Wiltshire are top goalies that have good size and will provide a great tandem,” added Leonard.

The Wolves never stopped working on building both their NCDC and Premier teams.

“The summer was incredibly busy as a lot goes into starting up a program. The biggest thing for us was we want to be a great place for development and getting better day in and day out. With that, he had to have a top notch facility and environment for our players to utilize,” said Leonard. “Our ownership and staff have spent countless hours on our facility to make sure we have everything that we need to be successful. We wanted to make sure that we laid a solid foundation for our inaugural season to build off of for years to come and we feel as though we did exactly that. We are excited to show everyone that we are a first rate program for players to develop both on and off the ice.”