Three players from Colorado have been named USPHL Premier Players of the Month for October.

In the Midwest East Division, the MJDP’s Robert Grasso was named a Forward of the Month.

A 2004-born rookie from Broomfield, Grasso is tied for the team scoring lead with 17 points off 10 goals and seven assists in 11 games.

He is the only ‘04 on the team to have played in at least three games so far this season, so his willingness to grab the bull by the horns even as a (very recently) 17-year-old hints at great leadership potential for the future. He will be a player to watch all season long and beyond. 

Growing up in Colorado, Grasso skated for the Boulder Hockey Club and for Monarch High School.

Over in the New England Division, the Northern Cyclones’ Jackson Tillinghast is the Forward of the Month.

Tillinghast, a 2001 birth year from Louisville, continues to be among the top players ever to wear the Cyclones crest for their Premier team. A playmaker of the highest order, he posted 29 assists and 45 points in 39 contests last year, and this year, he leads his team with 14 assists and 19 points in 10 games played.

Tillinghast simply delights in giving his teammates celly opportunities, as his 14 assists have applied to goals scored by five different players. He is also tied for the team lead in plus minus (plus-13, one of the top 20 in the league). 

During his youth hockey career, Tillinghast played for the Boulder Bison and Rocky Mountain RoughRiders.

Out in the Pacific Division, Luke Stevens takes home Defenseman of the Month honors.

The 2002-born Boulder native is the leading scorer among defensemen in the USPHL Premier, with a lead of four points over the Metro Jets’ Braydin Lewis.

Currently, Stevens has 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points in 12 games. He is tied with fellow Lake Tahoe Lakers blueliner Bryden Hewko with a plus-8 to lead the Lakers’ defensemen, and he has blocked nine shots this year. 

Back home, Stevens played for the Colorado Evolution.

In addition, Chicago Cougars goalie Ian Young is the Midwest East Goaltender of the Week.

Playing all of his youth hockey with the Foothills Flyers, the Lakewood native has previous junior experience with the Steamboat Wranglers in the WSHL back in 2018-19 and also played for Columbine High School.

Grasso photo/Jilleen Hays

(November 5, 2021)