The UMass hockey team’s recruiting line change filled in Monday.
Ryan Ufko, a defenseman from the Chicago Steel, will become the 10th new player to join the roster for the 2021-22 season, the school announced Monday.
The Steel won the 2021 USHL Clark Cup championship last season. He’s ranked 43rd among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s 2021 NHL draft list.
“Ryan is a highly skilled right-shot defenseman who thinks the game exceptionally well and will remind our fans of Zac Jones,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said in a release. “He is an offensive-minded defenseman who will help add to our offense but will also defend well in his own end. We expect Ryan to be drafted in this summer’s NHL Draft and will add to our extensive list of NHL defensemen and prospects.”
Ufko was also named All-USHL first-team. He was third among the league’s defensemen scoring 39 points in 53 games. Twenty of those 39 points came on the power play.