Eight Sun Devils Head for NHL Development Camps

TEMPE, Ariz. — Eight Sun Devils will be heading to seven different NHL development camps beginning today after receiving invites from the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks. 

Sophomore forward Demetrios Koumontzis, after being drafted by the Flames in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, returns to Calgary for his second development camp after a 20-point season for the Sun Devils. He finished tied for the most points by an ASU freshman in 2018-19.

The NCAA leading goal scorer in the regular season, junior Johnny Walker, returns to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second-straight year after a 23-goal season. Among the long list of accomplishments and records set by Walker, his four-goal performance against Omaha and six multi-goal performances contributed to his breakout season in the Maroon & Gold.

The Pasichnuk brothers, Brinson and Steenn, will team up in San Jose this week, as Brinson makes his third NHL camp appearance and Steenn makes his first. In the past two summers, Brinson has been a part of the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes camps. Brinson continued to elevate his game in year three for the Sun Devils, becoming the first defenseman in program history to reach 30 points (13g, 17a) while sitting among the best in the country in plus-minus (+25). Steenn carved out a role as part of coach Powers' kryptonite against opponent's top lines throughout the season, along with ample penalty-killing time. Despite the odds, the fourth-line bruiser finished as a plus-2 with two goals and six assists.

For the fourth-straight season, Pennyslvania-native Austin Lemieux treks to his home state for Pittsburgh Penguins' camp. After redshirting the 2017-18 season, Lemieux totaled four goals and nine assists in his first NCAA season.

Making his first-ever NHL development camp appearance, junior forward Filips Buncis will attend Colorado Avalanche camp this week. The Latvian forward took big strides in his sophomore season, totaling five goals and five assists with time spent on the first, second and third lines. He missed just two games all season. 

Sophomore defenseman Josh Maniscalco is the second of three making their first NHL camp appearance, as he was invited to camp by the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins. Teh two-way defenseman played the entire season opposite Brinson as ASU's top defensive pairing, and finished second to him in scoring by a blue liner with four goals and 16 assists during his freshman campaign. 

Incoming freshman forward Carson Brière also joins his first NHL camp with the Philadelphia Flyers. In his final year with the Johnstown Tomahawks of the NAHL, Brière finished second in the league in points (89) and goals (44).

Follow the players on their camp journeys on Instagram at @SunDevilHockey.