Announcing the 2023 NCDC All-Stars: Young Guns Team National Forwards

By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com

The National Collegiate Development Conference congratulates its selections for the 2023 NCDC All-Star “Young Guns” Game, set to kick off at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Foxboro Sports Center in Foxboro, Mass. We are announcing each team this week in two sets – forwards in one set and defensemen and goaltenders in another.

Every one of these players was voted on by the NCDC’s coaches, and every player is greatly deserving of the honor to be named as an All-Star and to wear the All-Star jersey on Feb. 21.

Rosters, while being announced this week, are subject to change due to injuries or illnesses. 

Team National (Red Jerseys, Away Team) 

Forwards

Jimmy Fallon

C • New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs • 3/19/2004 • 5-10/181 • L • Milton, Mass.

Fallon burst onto the scene for the Jr. Monarchs by putting up 10 points in his first 11 games of the season. An injury sidelined him in November, but he’s excited to come back and show NCAA Division I and NHL scouts what he has to offer. 

Matty Gilmore 

F • Lovell Academy (Boston Advantage) • 10/1/2006 • 5-9/146 • R • Syracuse, NY

Gilmore had his first taste of USPHL hockey last year when he took part in the USPHL Midget Championships with the Lovell Hockey-affiliated New England Knights. The promising ‘06 has 21 points in 37 games with the Lovell Academy Lions 16U AAA program this season. 

J.J. Alger 

RW • Boston Advantage 18U AAA • 6/11/2004 • 6-0/179 • Brewster, Mass. 

A USPHL player since 2019-20 at the 16U level, Alger is in his first season with the Advantage program and has seen time with their 18U team, and their USPHL Premier team. He has scored 11 points in 18 Premier games this season for the Advantage. 

Nate Stachowiak

RW • South Shore Kings • 2/24/2004 • 5-8/163 • R • Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Stachowiak has been particularly productive for the Kings by posting 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 37 games, and he also has a 4-3-7 line on the power play. 

Joey Melo

C • South Shore Kings • 6/21/2005 • 5-8/175 • L • Georgetown, Ont. 

Melo has more than proven his worth as the youngest member of the Kings (and one of only two ‘05’s), putting up six goals and six assists for 12 points this season. Melo was the Kings’ second round NCDC Entry Draft selection in May 2022. 

Owen Drury 

F • South Shore Kings • 4/26/2005 • 6-3/205 • R • Winnetka, Ill.

OMAHA LANCERS (USHL) 2022 Draft Pick 

Drury joins Melo as the other ‘05 on the Kings’ NCDC roster this year, and he has posted a 2-6-8 line in 30 games this year. The Omaha Lancers USHL draft pick comes from an illustrious hockey family. His father Ted enjoyed an eight-year NHL career, and his uncle Chris played in over 1,000 NHL games and is the GM and President of Hockey Operations for the New York Rangers. 

Jackson Delleo 

F • Boston Junior Bruins 16U AAA • 1/13/2006 • 5-10.5/175 • R • Franklin, Mass.

Delleo is in his second season with the Junior Bruins’ 16U program, coached by former Junior Bruin Topher Bevis, and he has put up 13 goals and 20 points in 14 games in Tier 1 Hockey Federation play. He has also played in eight NCDC games this year, showing great future promise. 

Shane Baker

C • Boston Junior Bruins • 4/21/2004 • 5-10/188 • R • Grafton, Mass. 

OMAHA LANCERS (USHL) 2020 Draft Pick

The longtime Junior Bruin has risen through the ranks from two years with the 16U to now in his second year with the NCDC squad. After an already impressive rookie year in 2021-22, with 25 points, he has passed that with 30 points in 40 games. Baker had previously played in the 16U All-Star Game in 2019-20, the year that the USHL’s Omaha Lancers drafted him. 

Braxton Powers

F • Islanders Hockey Club • 11/22/2004 • 5-9/143 • L • Raleigh, N.C. 

Powers joined the Islanders in 2021-22, playing mostly at the USPHL 18U level, but also saw his first six NCDC games. An NCDC regular this year, Powers has posted a 7-13-20 line in 35 games, and he is the only IHC player with two shootout goals this year. Powers was selected by the IHC in the 2020 NCDC Futures Draft. 

Brayton Frick 

C • Islanders Hockey Club • 11/26/2005 • 5-7/197 • L • Lancaster, Pa. 

The Number 1 overall pick in the 2022 NCDC Entry Draft didn’t waste any time in making his mark, posting his first point (an assist) in his second game in September. He now has 15 points in 33 games, and he just posted his first two-goal game on Jan. 26. 

Ben Portner 

C • Twin City Thunder • 3/19/2004 • 5-9/164 • L • Lakeville, Minn. 

Portner is a product of years of strong Minnesota High School hockey with Lakeville South. Making the jump to the Tier II junior NCDC this year, he’s fared well as a junior rookie with 16 points in 29 games, ranking fifth in scoring for the Thunder. 

Nolan Leonard

RW • Twin City Thunder • 5/12/2004 • 5-7/167 • R • Braintree, Mass.

Talk about leadership. Leonard jumped from playing public high school in his hometown of Braintree, where he captained the team last year, to being named an Alternate Captain as a rookie junior player with the Thunder. Leonard has posted a 3-10-13 line for the Thunder in 34 games.