Photo Credit:Ricky Bassman

Right now, Gavin Abric is having a great start to his starting career for Army West Point. The Heyward, Wisconsin native is the reigning National Goaltender of the month from October. In addition, he was named Atlantic Hockey’s Goaltender of the week for his stellar play in securing the Black Knights four of six points on the weekend against Niagara. Hear more from Associate Head Coach Zach McKelvie on how the team went to the New Jersey Hitmen to find Gavin, why they went there, and more about the support of Army Hockey that Abric has now. Note that Gav is his nickname on the team.

How many offers did Gav have?

“I’m not sure, we weren’t really concerned who he was being recruited by. At the time we felt like he had a tremendous amount of potential and really like him as a person so we went after him.”

What was his biggest contribution to your 20-21 group?

“He has a relentless work ethic, a great attitude, genuinely loves hockey, and most importantly a great teammate and person. He is such a positive influence on everyone and brings out the best in people.”

What is the goaltending coaching infrastructure around him at West Point ?

“Bobby Leiser is our goalie coach and he does a tremendous job developing our goalies. He does video and on ice work with them every week, so all three of the guys are getting position specific attention each week. Bobby has a really good feel for the game and what a goalie’s role is on the team and he’s able to communicate it in a way that everyone in the organization understands. The three goalies and Bobby have a great relationships. We have been extremely fortunate to have great coaching for this position throughout the years which has helped produce some great goalies here at Army.”

Who on the Hitmen do you credit most for helping him earn your offer ?

“The Hitmen have a great staff. Toby Harris and Jim Hunt have created one of the best junior organizations in all of North America, everything they do is first class and professionally done with development of their players as the priority for everything the do. The numbers speak for themselves when you talk about the Hitmen and their ability to develop players. So we give those two a ton of credit for continuing to produce great players but also knowing what our program is all about and who would fit us best.”

Which goalie that you played against at any level does he remind you of?

“I never played against this guy but Gavin reminds me most of Parker Gahagen.”

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