Logan Neaton has committed to UMass-Lowell and set to be a Riverhawk for the 2019-2020 season. NZ scouts have noted Logan for his controlled hands and patience. He is good sized and now how to use that to his advantage.
Hockey was a family affair for the Neaton household:
“I started playing hockey in Michigan growing up as a kid and was on skates just about as soon as I was on my feet. We’ve always been a hockey family and I grew up watching my dad and older brother play. They are both people I look up to a lot and anything that they were doing I wanted to be apart of, so hockey was something that I knew I loved from a young age.”
Logan played for his local high school team in Brighton, MI and was a captain his senior year:
“My experience playing high school hockey was phenomenal and something that was huge for my development. Playing for an organization that had a culture surrounding it like Brighton gave me a very fresh perspective compared to what I was used to playing AAA hockey growing up. Having the ability to represent something bigger than yourself and play for your school, classmates, and community is something I’ll remember and cherish for the rest of my life.”
He takes us through his NCAA recruiting process:
“I think being patient and waiting for the offer that felt right helped me a lot through the recruiting process, there was a good amount of schools interested in the beginning of the year; we had a strong start to our year, which really helped with exposure. I took unofficial visits to Brown and Michigan before this year and an in season visit to the Air Force Academy.”
On his final decision to go to UMass-Lowell:
“UMass-Lowell was a perfect fit for me and is somewhere that gives me the opportunity to grow both as a hockey player as well as a student, all under a perfect scholarship opportunity. They are a program with a rich hockey history that competes in one of the best conferences in the nation every night, and a school that can also provide me with a phenomenal degree. My family and I were also very drawn to the culture surrounding the program and an amazing coaching staff with a great goalie coach that has a track record for developing goalies.”
Logan stated his Junior career in the NAHL with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs:
“Playing my first year of juniors in Fairbanks was a great experience with an organization that I have nothing but the most respect for from the top to bottom. The Fairbanks community had unbelievable support for the team up there and was one of the best environments I’ve ever played in. The jump from high school to the NAHL was pretty big but something that helped pushed me a lot and helped me develop as the level of play around me got better.”
He played his second season of Juniors in the BCHL for the Prince George Spruce Kings, and tells us about the transition:
“The overall speed and creativity of the game increased transitioning from the NAHL to the BCHL this season. Plays develop a lot faster and the speed of play is much quicker, which I think helped push my development a lot. There was definitely a transition phase early on in the year and I owe a lot to my goalie coach, Alex Evin. Our team has been able to find and will continue to find a lot of success this year and I think that it all spurs from the culture put in place. The emphasis is put on development here from the GM to the coaching staff right through the locker room.”
Logan is headed to UMass Lowell for next season, he tells us how he plans to prepare for the next level:
“I plan to focus on continuing to grow and develop on the details of my game every time I’m on the ice and just focus on getting better everyday. I think it helps having goalie coaches who have gone through college or high level hockey and understand the difference of play and what it takes to be successful at the next level whether it’s here in Prince George, back in Michigan, or next year at Lowell.”
For life after hockey:
“I plan on studying business at UMass Lowell, they have a phenomenal, newly renovated business program. I think that it will afford me a great degree in something that I can see myself being successful in for the future.”
Logan capped off regular season with a .914 save percentage and playing in 47 games. He had a .940 playoff save percentage and lead his team to a win at the Doyle Cup.
Photo credit: Hickling Images