Leading up to the regular season, this series of articles will introduce the Generals’ roster to the fanbase.
Written by: Rory McGouran
It’s now officially less than 24 hours before the Northeast Generals will embark on their first road trip to commence the beginning of the 2025-26 NAHL season. With a strong showing of depth provided by veteran presence, the Generals will still need to rely on a promising rookie group poised to prove to the NAHL that they belong.
“Our staff does an amazing job. This was a big off season for us. We knew we were losing some big guns and to improve the roster we need to hit on some rookies. We haven’t played a game yet so impact is a tough thing to gauge, but they bring excitement and intensity to the rink everyday and they have been competing,” said Head Coach and GM Bryan Erikson.
The Generals enter the regular season with 11 rookies. The majority of them will play in their first career NAHL game when they get the nod. However, three, albeit still listed as rookies, had a small taste of that action last season.
“Eric Wells (Director of Scouting) and Shawn Conner (Head Scout) did a great job last year of starting the process very early. It allowed us to get some guys here for extended periods of time so they could get better acclimated to the league and we could see them in the NAHL environment. Based on camp you can see how that has benefited those guys, Braydon Hudtloff, Alejandro Blum and Trey Janssen. All three look much more polished coming in because they had spent so much time around the guy’s last year. They have all looked impressive and they should all make impacts,” Erikson added.
Alejandro Blum logged the most games with the Generals last season. The 2007-born forward from Malvern, PA dressed for seven games in the 2024-25 season picking up three assists. Listed at 5’8 he’ll need to use his speed and creativity to his advantage while matching up against larger opponents. He rounded out his season last year with the Philadelphia Jr Flyers U18 AAA program where he added 20 points (7g-13a) in 31 games.
Brayden Hudtloff wasted no time introducing himself last year with three points in three games, and then picked up where he left off in the Generals’ two recent preseason games. He found the back of the net in the opening win paired with an 80% faceoff percentage, and then provided the shootout winner in the encore victory. While with the USHS-Prep circuit with Northfield Mount Hermon, the Leesburg, VA native was fourth in team scoring with 28 points (10g-18a) in 29 games.
Janssen is a bit of on outlier among the three. As mentioned by Erikson, he spent a good amount of time with the organization absorbing the intricacies of junior hockey, but never suited up for a game. Janssen is a high motor, first-in-the-corner type player who never shies away from the physical side of the game. He’ll need to prove if his offensive ability translates to the NAHL level, but he carries a solid track record after leading his St. Louis Park high school team in points and goals last year with 45 points and 21 goals in 26 games.
The next chapter are the pure rookies. Eight players in total spread all over the ice including four forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie.
“We have a veteran team but we also have eight other guys that are looking to play in their first ever junior hockey game. So, it’s a big hump to get over, but we are excited by the depth and grit of our rookie class and think they will have huge role in our success this season,” said Erikson.
The forwards include Americans Logan Poulin, Eli Shulman, and Larry Graziano, along with Czech import Dennis Horsky.
Locating offense is no difficult task when looking at Logan Poulin. If even a quarter of his production with Nauset High (USHS-MA) last year translates to the junior level, the Generals will have found a gem. In just 25 games as the captain, he scored 53 goals and 85 points leading all players within his division. Early signs point to that being a possibility for the North Truro, MA product, with a pair of goals in the preseason opener against Maine.
Shulman, from Tucson, AZ, comes to the Generals with another impressive offensive season in his final year of U18 AAA hockey with the Lincoln Stars. 71 points including 27 goals in 61 games stood for third on his team in both categories. His 2007-birth year joins Blum and Janssen as the youngest players on the team.
Larry Graziano brings solid size for a rookie. At 6’3, 210lbs, the 2006-born forward from Braintree, MA has a knack for disruption. Suiting up in the second preseason game against New Hampshire, it was his defensive game on display. Utilizing timely pressure on multiple neutral-zone gaps along with his active stick and physicality, Graziano was forcing turnovers all over the ice.
The Generals selected Horsky with the 209th pick in this year’s NAHL Entry Draft. From Zatec, CZE, Horsky plays a fast game but he might think it faster with his biggest asset most likely being his Hockey IQ. The 19-year-old winger has the chess-like ability to read the play well ahead of his opponents. Skating for the Nordic Hockey Academy in Austria’s U20 circuit last season, Horsky picked up 26 points (8g, 18a) in 38 games.
The blueline features three fresh faces. Robert Savaglio, Stephen Fabiano, and Talen McBride, all born in 2006.
Savaglio was the captain for the Canterbury School prep team last year. The Gens have another big body along the blue line with the Huntington, NY product, listed at 6’2, 198lbs. Although he only played seven games, picking up six points last season, he logged 46 the year prior and brings another level of depth on the defensive unit.
Fabiano and McBride have multiple similarities as they join the Generals. The both grew through USHS-Prep programs, and both add to the list of 2025 NAHL Entry Draft Prospects that have cracked the opening day roster. McBride was drafted with the 91st overall selection while Fabiano a little later at 246th overall. They both possess a good deal of size with Fabiano listed at 6’1 and McBride at a towering 6’5. Finally, they both project to excel in more of a defensive-defensemen role for time being as their offensive side continues to grow. McBride found three assists in 33 games for the Fredrick Gunn School while Fabiano added seven points in 32 games with Belmont Hill.
The final pure rookie will co-man the crease for the Generals. Four goalies in training camp were narrowed down to the final two, and most likely to get the start in the latter half of the back-to-back season opening set in New Hampshire this weekend is Keagin Wilson. Wilson was teammates with Fabiano last year at Belmont Hill where he played 32 games maintaining a .913 SV%. He also suited up for eight games with the Cape Cod Whalers U18 AAA Program picking up a 5-2-1 record and a 2.38 GAA.
Ryan Solari rounds out our meet the Generals series, but people in the organization have known and loved his game for years. Technically not a rookie with 79 games played in the NA3HL for Northeast. He was brought up through the Generals program and will remain with NAHL Generals assistant coach Darryl Locke who head-coached Solari the last two years in the NA3HL. The 20-year-old is a bruising defenseman who the Generals selected with their 379th overall pick in the 2025 Entry Draft. The Rockland, MA native has 43 career NA3HL points to go along with 217 penalty minutes.
“Being a rookie is tough. As another coach told me 10 years ago, the only way to be good in the NAHL is to have played in the NAHL. Nothing beats experience. So, there is a little bit of tough love as they come to training camp. We as a staff do a lot of video work with our guys during the season so nothing should be too foreign for anyone and as a staff, we have to be confident they can execute. The expectations are high. Come in knowing the systems. Come in the best shape of your life and be accountable to yourself and your teammates. The way the rookies become invaluable is by working hard all the time. The easy thing to forget is these young men were all the best or among the best players on their previous team. In a lot of cases, they are going to have to play different roles, less minutes, maybe less games. They need to embrace the journey. It is easy to get down. The game is hard. We need young men that are mentally tough. And I think Eric, Shawn and the entire scouting staff have done an amazing job helping us get young men that are mentally resilient. They are tough and they are excited to get going,” Erikson concluded.
The Northeast Generals would like to express our gratitude on the work ethic that everyone featured in these articles provided. Obviously, the landscape of junior hockey means rosters can change at a frantic pace and if a player is no longer on the team, following the publication, the Generals organization wish them nothing but success in the future and thank them for their time and commitment to the city and culture of the team.
The puck drops on the season opener at 6:00pm on Saturday, September 13th.