PARADISE, Nevada – Two Northstar Christian Academy alumni were recently selected in the seventh round of the 2024 NHL Draft on June 29 in Paradise, Nevada.
The Philadelphia Flyers selected Austin Molline with the 205th pick, while the Edmonton Oilers selected Bauer Berry 218th overall.
Berry played for the Knights from 2021-23 and was an integral part of the program’s success in recent seasons.
“Having Bauer just a year removed from Northstar and having been drafted in the NHL is a testament to his potential and how much he not only grew in his two years here but in his last season with Muskegon,” Northstar 18U Prep Head Coach Rylan Galiardi said in a news release.
Berry played for both the Northstar 16U and 18U teams during his time with Northstar.
Playing for Northstar 16U in the 2021-22 season, Berry had nine goals and 24 assists in 51 games. For the 18U team in the 2022-23 season, Berry had nine goals and 29 assists in 52 games. In the 2022-23 season, he led the Knights in power play assists with 12.
“Bauer has immense hockey sense, and if you look at Stanley Cup winners, they’re doing it year after year with big smart defense,” Galiardi said. “He has a lot more skill than he showed last year in his rookie year in the United States Hockey League, and expect him to show that more this season.”
“I’m looking forward to getting to Edmonton this week and seeing how they run their organization and just meeting other guys apart of the organization,” Berry said in a news release. “I’d like to thank all my past Coaches for helping me get to this point and my teammates for making me better every day, and everyone else who supported me along the way.”
Berry, a Grand Forks, North Dakota native, played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League last season. He’s going to play college hockey at St. Thomas University.
Moline is a defenseman that is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada, who played for the Northstar 16U team in the 2020-21 season. In the 2020-21 season, Moline appeared in 28 games and finished with 18 points (four goals and 14 assists).
“It is really fun to see a young man with so much potential when he was here getting recognized as an NHL prospect. He was a skinny forward when he was here, and now he’s a big, strong offensive defensive man getting drafted in the NHL,” Galiardi said about Moline. “More importantly, our program is more interested in these players growing in their faith and character. We’re excited to see these young men impact their dressing rooms, communities, and the hockey world.”
Moline played for Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault this past season.
Moline is committed to play college hockey at Northern Michigan University and has signed a tender to play for the Brooks Bandits of the British Columbia Hockey League next year.
Austin Moline
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Sam Stuve covers a variety of sports in the Douglas County area. He also is assigned to do some news stories as well.