Yellowjacket Recruit: Drew Strandberg
 
The Yellowjacket coaching staff has announced that they have received a commitment from Drew Strandberg to join the team beginning in the fall of 2010.  Strandberg, a goaltender from Thunder Bay, Ontario, is expected to immediately challenge for the starting job in the Yellowjacket net.

"We targeted Drew from the very beginning as a goaltender that we wanted to be in our program," said Yellowjacket Head Coach Dan Stauber.  "It's no secret that we struggled in goal last season and we feel that by adding a player like Drew to our team we have gone a long way in solidifying our goalie play."

Strandberg, 5-11 and 170, spent 2009-10 with the Traverse City North Stars of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and ranked among the league leaders in most goaltending categories.  In 40 games, he posted a record of 24-10-0 with a 2.38 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and four shutouts.  His 24 wins were tied for the league lead and his four shutouts were tied for second in the league, one behind the league leader. 

But as good as his regular season numbers were, Strandberg dialed his game up a notch in the post-season.  He appeared in nine games in the playoffs, going 7-1 with a 1.58 goals against average, a .941 save percentage and two more shutouts, helping the North Stars reach the NAHL's Robertson Cup finals.

Strandberg had previous junior hockey stops with the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and the Thunder Bay Bearcats of the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL)

"He had such a strong regular season.  That was enough to make us want to add him to our roster.  But then seeing what he was doing in the playoffs, we knew that this was the goaltender that we wanted," Stauber said.  "He was big reason, if not the biggest reason, that Traverse City got all the way to the national tournament.

"Drew played so well during the playoff run that we thought he wouldn't be available for us.  We thought for sure that a Division I school would pick him up.  But fortunately for us he was still available and he wants to come to Superior and make our team better.  We're very excited about that."