As a second-year player this season with the NAHL’s Shreveport Mudbugs, Liam Fleet has been improving his overall game on a daily basis.

For the 2025-26 season, the Denver native and Mudbugs captain will start his NCAA Division I career with the Alaska Nanooks.

“It’s something that just happened over time as they had been watching during the season,” Fleet said. “I got the opportunity through my hard work and with the help of my coaches, teammates, and family.”

Fleet said there is a lot of appeal to going to the Fairbanks-based school.

“They are an independent program and play some of the best teams in the nation, which was a big aspect,” said Fleet. “They are only focused on winning, and that is all I want to do. On the academic side, they are one of the top research schools. Being located in Alaska, it allows for a variety of different majors regarding nature. I haven’t decided yet, but Climate Change Engineering is something that piques my interest.”

When making a decision like this, Fleet said it was hardly a one-person journey.

“I’d start by thanking my family for the constant support, my coaches for developing me as a person and player, my teammates for pushing me to be better, myself for not giving up, and UAF for providing this opportunity,” said Fleet.

Fleet added that he will be finishing this season with the Mudbugs, returning for another season in 2024-25, then going to UAF.

During his youth hockey days, Fleet skated for the Krivo School of Hockey Elite and the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders and also attended TPH Academy Denver.

Photo/Shreveport Mudbugs

— Matt Mackinder

(December 21, 2023)