FORT McMURRAY, AB (December 9, 2014) – The Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are proud to announce that team captain Jetlan Houcher (Paradise Valley, AB) has committed to attend and play for the University of Alabama-Huntsville, beginning in the 2015-16 season.
The UAH Chargers play in the NCAA Division I Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) under head coach Mike Corbett. Houcher will become the third former Oil Baron to play for the Chargers, joining current Charger Brennan Saulnier (Halifax, NS), and Adam Wilcox (Alpharetta, GA).
Houcher, 20, is in his second year as captain of the Oil Barons, and third season with the franchise. He is the leading goal scorer in the AJHL with 22 goals in 35 games, and his 41 points rank him third in the entire province. Last season, Houcher was the Oil Barons’ leading goal scorer with 31 on the season, ranking sixth in Alberta, while his 64 points ranked him eighth province-wide.
The 6’1”, 193 lb forward was acquired in a trade with the West Kelowna Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League in January of 2013, making an immediate impact with 18 points in 17 games played in his rookie junior A season. Prior to playing 35 games with West Kelowna, Houcher played 12 games for the Spruce Grove Saints of the AJHL, split between the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Prior to his junior A career, Houcher served as captain of the Midget AAA Lloydminster Bobcats, where he recorded 61 points (41 goals, 20 assists) in 32 games in his final season of minor hockey, where he was awarded the Trevor Linden Trophy as Top Forward of the entire Alberta AAA Midget Hockey League (AMHL), as well as the Harry Allen Memorial Trophy as the AMHL’s Top Scorer. Houcher also won the AMHL’s Bob Johnson Memorial Trophy for Sportsmanship in the 2009-10 season, his first season of midget hockey.
Houcher is the third player on the current Oil Barons roster who is committed to a postsecondary institution, joining forwards Mitch Vanderlaan and Luc Lalor, both of whom are committed to Cornell University.
The Oil Barons organization would like to congratulate Jetlan and his family on this spectacular accomplishment, and wish him the best of luck in what is sure to be a fruitful NCAA career.