MONTREAL – Three current and future members of the Vermont men's hockey team were selected in the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal Friday. Alex Bump was selected 133rd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers, Eli Barnett was chosen 195th overall by the San Jose Sharks and sophomore forward Joel Määttä was taken 222nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers.
 
"It is with tremendous honor that we are able to celebrate three of our UVM players being selected in this year's NHL Draft," said Head Coach Todd Woodcroft. "Joel, along with Eli and Alex, have bright futures ahead of them. We are thrilled that they will all wear the green and gold."
 
Bump was the captain of his Prior Lake High team in Minnesota this past year. He scored 48 goals and had 83 points in just 31 games. Bump was named Minnesota AP Boys Hockey Player of the Year after his fantastic campaign. Past winners have included NHLers – Casey Mittelstadt, Kyle Rau, Nick Bjugstad, Brian Lee, Paul Martin, Johnny Pohl and Matt Cullen.
Bump finished the season with the USHL's Omaha Lancers, where he will play year as well. In 27 games, he had 11 goals and 17 points for the Lancers.
 
Coach Woodcroft on Bump
"Alex Bump is a prized recruit from the great state of Minnesota.  He is a big, rangy, high scoring forward in the mold of Alex Killorn.  There is an underlying element of toughness to him which is synonymous with the team that drafted him. The Philadelphia Flyers and their great scouting staff lead by Brent Flahr got a steal in Alex."
 
A 2023-24 commit, Eli Barnett is from Riverview, New Brunswick but currently plays for the Victoria Grizzlies in the BCHL. The 6-foot-5 225-pound defenseman played in 53 of the Grizzlies 54 regular season games this past season collecting three goals and ten assists for 13 points.
 
Coach Woodcroft on Barnett
"Eli Barnett was originally recruited by Kevin Sneddon's staff and their foresight proved correct. Eli is a very big, very mobile defenseman who has blossomed into a great player in the BCHL. Doug Wilson Jr and the San Jose Sharks scouting staff will be getting a version of Tucker Poolman who currently plays in Vancouver."
 
Määttä was one of just seven returning collegians to be drafted across college hockey this week in Montreal. Määttä played in 32 games for the Catamounts registering three goals and three assists for six points. Five of his six points came in the final 10 games of the season. He also represented Finland at the abbreviated 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships in Alberta. In two games Määttä had a goal and two assists for Finland including the game-winner on December 26 against Germany and his UVM teammate Luca Münzenberger. He was third in the tournament in faceoff percentage winning 74.2 percent of his draws.
 
Oilers Director of Amateur Scouting Tyler Wright described their pick of Määttä, "He's another 6-foot-2 body, who is good on face-offs and penalty kill. He goes to the net, we're happy with him for sure."
 
Coach Woodcroft on Määttä
"Joel Määttä played his first season at UVM this year where he won the inaugural Torrey Mitchell award given to the Catamounts' top two-way player. Our staff anticipates Joel taking an even bigger role this year. He is an elite 200-foot player who is very hard to play against - his game is reminiscent of another ex-Oiler, Matt Hendricks."
 
With the addition of Wisconsin transfer Ryder Donovan and Määttä's selection the Catamounts will enter the 2022-23 campaign with a program-record seven draft picks on the roster.
 
Fans interested in becoming new season ticket holders for the 2022-23 season can place their deposit today at go.uvm.edu/seasontickets or by calling (802) 656-4410. Deposits are just $75 per seat for men's hockey and that amount will be applied as a credit towards the total cost of season tickets, which will be determined after the schedule is finalized. Fans placing a deposit for season tickets will be contacted to select their seat location.
 
The presenting sponsor of the men's hockey program is Handy Toyota