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It is with a heavy heart that we wish farewell to our good friend and his family. Mitch has been the Eels Elite head coach for the past 3 seasons where he took his team to 2 Divisional titles and 2 USPHL National appearances. He also served alongside Coach Frankie Scarpaci as assistant coach of the Florida Eels Premier team.

We all have some great memories over the last 3 seasons, with Mitch getting married to Kayla last year and this season with the birth of his beautiful daughter, Brielle. We will always cherish the smiles Brielle brought to his face. What a ride it has been and Coach Mitch will always be a part of our Eels family.

Coach Mitch will be moving on to pursue other business ventures and will be missed.  He will continue to work behind the scenes with Coach Frank, Coach Frankie and our staff  to make the transition smooth and seamless.  No doubt Coach Mitch will also be involved in our continued recruiting efforts for the seasons to come.   We wish Mitch and his family the very best…

Florida Eels are excited to announce the college commitment of Elite Forward, Marc Ghafari to Middle Tennessee State University for the 2024-2025 season. Two year USPHL Florida Eels veteran Ghafari played in 32 games, scored 5 goals, had 5 assists, and a total of 10 points. Ghafari will make his college debut next season at MTSU.

Ghafari states that while playing for the Eels he honed his competitive nature, “the eels are a competitive environment, where the standards are high. We expect nothing but the best.” He plans to use this completive nature and drive to help propel him in his collegiate hockey career and in his academic studies.  Ghafari plans on using these learned skills to help him excel in his academics and future hockey career.

Marc Ghafari, Canadian native is excited to attend college in Tennessee. As the University allows him to pursue the his dreams of becoming an airline pilot, as it offers a strong aviation program. Ghafari attributes his abilities and success to the support of his family. As he states he “would not be where I am today without my family’s support. They allowed me to go after my junior dreams and now college.”

The Florida Eels wish Marc great success at Middle Tennessee State University.

Florida Eels are excited to announce the college commitment of Elite Forward, Fynn O’Neill to Purdue University Northwest for the 2024-2025 season. O’Neill a veteran of the USPHL Florida Eels Elite team, played in 43 games, scored 23 goals, 28 assists and a total of 51 points. O’Neill will continue to be a dominating forward at Purdue University Northwest next season.

O’Neill states that he has many wonderful memories and experiences playing for the Florida Eels over the course of the year, but his most memorable moment for him was “scoring the game winning goal for the Eels (Elite) during an Eels playoff game.” Playing for the Eels, O’Neill was able to “meet some great characters on the team and make lasting friendships.” Learning from the Eels discipline, work ethic and task management O’Neill will foredge his way into the new collegiate world of academics and hockey.

Attending Purdue University Northwest, Fynn plans to study Biological Sciences. It is the University’s dedication to bettering people on and off the ice is what drew O’Neill to the school. O’Neill represented the Eels with high quality character and will continue to demonstrate this as he attends University in the Fall.

O’Neill states that it is with his family’s support that he was able to achieve his goals of playing junior hockey, and head off to college in the fall. “My family has always been my rock. They have always supported me throughout my career, and will always be my number one fans!” It is with their support O’Neill knows he will able to continue to reach his career goals.

The Florida Eels wish Fynn O’Neill great success in his collegiate career and know he will continue to represent the Eels proudly. O’Neill will be joined by fellow alum JJ Diaz as they pave the way at Purdue University Northwest this fall.

Florida Eels are excited to announce the college commitment of Elite defenseman and Captain JJ Diaz to Purdue University Northwest for the 2024-2025 season. Diaz a four-year veteran of the USPHL began his junior hockey career with the Bridgewater Bandits in 2020, before joining the Florida Eels in 2021. Diaz spent the next three seasons playing for the Florida Eels Elite team, where he became Captain and front runner of the team. Over the course of his tenure at the USPHL Diaz played in 120 games, scored 7 goals, had 42 assists and a total of 49 points.

Diaz will head to the Purdue University Northwest in the fall of 2024 where he plans to study Business Management and Business Financing. Diaz states that he chose Purdue, “because of the education, campus, class size, coaching staff and team.” He looks forward to becoming an active member of the Purdue campus and hockey team.

California native, JJ Diaz moved away from home a young age of 16 to play for the Bridgewater Bandits, before transferring over to the Florida Eels in 2021. Diaz attributes his success to his time with the Florida Eels, “I’ll remember most of my four years of Junior Hockey with the Florida Eels. The Eels signed me and it changed me into a better player both on and off the ice. The different cultures and nationalities of my teammates allowed me to learn a lot and was fun to learn about my teammates and try to speak their languages.” Diaz’s hard work and leadership ability did not go unnoticed, and he was named Captain of the 2023-2024 Elite team. To Diaz, each teammate and member of the Eels staff became extended family, “I loved my billet families, and the overall scene of Fort Myers. Everyone was joyful and happy which was very comforting” Diaz stated.

Moving away from home at young age, allowed Diaz to grow and develop into a young man of character. Diaz’s family continued to support him both near and from far, “they have been my number one support cast.” Diaz’s parents continued to attend showcases and games when they could, while his grandmother drove down from the Orlando area to watch every home game-ready to cheer him on.

Work Ethic a key ingredient of the Florida Eels according to Diaz, we all had “passion to win. We pushed each other to pour limits and wanted success for each other.” It is with this undeniable work ethic, that Diaz will succeed at Purdue University Northwest both academically and at his hockey career. Diaz will continue to represent the Eels as an Alumni, at Purdue University Northwest, along with other Eels alum Fynn O’Neill. The Eels wish him much success and luck with his new collegiate hockey career.

Florida Eels are excited to announce the college commitment of Premier Forward Noah Trathen, to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for the 2024-2025 season. Trathen a three-year USPHL veteran, joined the Florida Eels in 2021 and over the course of his tenure played in 100 games, scored 56 goals, had 64 assists, and a total of 120 points.

Florida Native, Noah Trathen will head to the Northeast, attend the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the fall, where he plans to study business-finance. Trathen is excited to attend the University and be in the greater Boston area. Trathen states he has, “heard great things about the school and hockey program. I am just glad I get to be apart of it.” Noah will join fellow alumni Collin Patterson, and Brayden Goddard at the University this fall.

Noah is grateful for time with the Florida Eels, and their ability to “push the players to their potential.” Noah was a leading forward for the Eels, dominating the ice, and finding the back of the net. Regardless of Noah’s ability to find the back of  the net, and his talent to create skilled plays along with this teammates, “the coneheads”; Jared Salminen and Devin Shepherd, Trathen remained humble about his talents. Noah was never one to boast or brag about his skills, and continued to work hard both on and off the ice to develop further as a player.

Fort Myers Native, had the rare ability to continue to reside with his family during his tenure with the Florida Eels. Noah credits his family’s “support and understanding” in allowing him to train and pursue his passion for hockey, leading him to his overall success. Noah states he, “wouldn’t be where (he) is today without them.”

The Florida Eels are extremely excited for Noah as he embarks on his new journey at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and wish him great success. Noah will continue to represent the Eels organization with impeccable character as he starts his college hockey career.

Florida Eels are excited to announce the college commitment of Premier Defensemen Brayden Goddard to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for the 2024-2025 season. Goddard a three-year USPHL veteran began his junior career with the Midwest Blackbirds in 2021, before joining the Florida Eels in 2022. As a powerhouse defenseman for the Eels Goddard earned the title of Assistant Captain for the 2023-2024 season. Goddard played in in 110 games, secured 22 goals, 55 assists and a total of 77 points during his junior career, and now moves onto start his college hockey journey.

The Vancouver, Washington native plans to make the journey to the east coast this fall to attend the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where he plans to study business. Goddard states, “I have always been very keen of UMass Dartmouth. They have a very beautiful school, a very impressive level of education. It also has a very promising hockey program, with a great coaching staff.” Goddard is excited to join the university and help lead the hockey program to future successes like he has done for the Eels. Goddard will join fellow Alumni, Collin Patterson at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Goddard has loved living in sunny Florida and is very thankful for his time with the Florida Eels program, “I loved everything about the Eels, the support system is unbelievable, the coaching staff is so smart and make it easy to learn something new everyday, and they teach us a lot about being better people and improving as individuals both on and off the ice.” Leader of the Eels Goddard, took pride in participating in community events, such a fan meet and greets and helping the local community after the devastating impact of Hurricane Ian. Goddard, new to the area of Florida, embraced the local community as his own and wanted to help. It was this type of thing that helped Goddard thrive as a leader for the Premier team.

Brayden attributes his ability to grow and develop as a player, and his successes to the support he received from his family. Goddard states, “without the support of my parents, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to explore different parts of the country, meet the amazing people I’ve met, and have the ability to get in contact with colleges and coaches. They’ve been supportive of every decision I’ve made and are truly the main reason I am where I am.” Goddard’s strong family support has been a driving force in his hockey career and will continue to guide him as he heads to the east coast for college.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is gaining a strong leader and character player to their school and hockey organization. The Florida Eels are extremely proud of Brayden and all his achievements, and know he will continue to represent the organization as a proud Eels Alumni.

The Florida Eels Advance to Semi Finals, at the USPHL Nationals in Utica New York. The Florida Eels are currently in the number one seed, and will face off against the Islanders Hockey Club, number four seed, in the Semi Final Game, Monday March 25th at 6:00 PM.

The Florida Eels have battled hard throughout the four games played in Nationals, defeating the Patomic Patriots in a 6-5 over time win, the Metro Jets Development Program in a 5-1 win in the Seeding Round. They continued to power through as they defeated the Ontartio Jr. Reign 5-3 in Round 16, and the Fort Wayne Spacemen 4-2 in the Quarter Finals last night.

Regarless of battle, and win, the Florida Eels motto remains simply “Win the Day”. They continue to focus on one game at a time, as they strive to reach the Championship Round on Tuesday, March 26th. Tune in tonight 6:00pm as the play IHC in the Semi Finals to earn this spot. Lets Go Eels…

The Florida Eels Premier team entered this year’s USPHL Nationals as the 2^nd seed out of the Florida Division. A pretty unfamiliar position for the Eels who have been the perineal leaders for most of a decade in the powerful Florida Division. Moreover, the Eels  have done extremely well at the USPHL Nationals finishing in the semi-finals and finals year in and year out. This season, the Eels have faced adversity and had to overcome injuries and other obstacles that positioned them in the 2^nd spot in the regular season standings. But the Eels coaches, GM and players offer no excuses. They know their mission, their job and goals.  They never let these or anything else derail them. We will do the final analysis “on the ice”.

Some say they come in “mad”. No….they rely on what they have been taught as early as in  August and for some 2 or 3 years. No other team undergoes 3-4 weeks of training camp 7 hours per day…No other team trains 4-5 hours per day 5 days per week…..No other team has the unwavering determination, dedication and commitment as these boys. They not only have the developed skill set they have the emotional maturity to be the best. Indeed,  college coaches come visit our teams regularly and watch them even more on Flohockey. The constant and consistent remarks from the college coaches is that our guys play the right way. It is not all about “winning and cheating for offense” It is about teaching them to play the right way. To play as future college players. That is what you will find with each and everyone of our players. Each line is built the same way. Each player has it engrained in their inner fiber.

Folks at the Nationals witness it first hand at the end of each game. The college coaches are lined up at the Eels lockerroom to talk and recruit our Eels players. GM Scarpaci says now that sys it all. In the hallways around the rink, in the scouting booths, the buzz words are Eels culture and their systematic style of play. They never quit…. Never count them out. GM Scarpaci says the heart and soul of his team comes from what his son,  Frankie Scarpaci as head coach and his coaching staff of Jonathan Carlson, Bryan Miller, Mitch Hill and Cale Cookenmaster do with these guys. They are relentless in their preparation. As much as the boys do daily, these guys add countless ours dissecting every aspect of the game from helping our players to dissecting each opponent.

The Eels have done quite well in the seeding round. They defeated the Potomac Patriots in game one in OT.  The Patriots  were  ranked 3^rd over all in the regular season and was the top seed in the tough Southeast Division. When folks had us as the underdog in that game, it  proved to be a catalyst for the boys to drive even harder. And that is exactly what we did coming back from a 2-goal deficit to gain the win in OT.

In game two of the seeding round, we defeated the MJDP who were the top program in the Midwest East finishing the season in 1^st place. In fact the MJDP was ranked # 9 overall compared to the Eels who were ranked 21^st in the USPHL regular season. Again the Eels disregarded the regular season standings. It was all about the 60 minutes of hockey before them. This team is built to win. From every player. We focus on the shift in front of them. Win your shift. Then win the next. Then win your period and the next. If we get scored on we don’t panic. If we get a penalty, we don’t panic. This is what real life is about. Handle the situation. Trust yourselves and your teammates.

Today we face the Ontario Jr Reign. They were ranked # 8 in the regular season. They play in the Pacific Division. In the seeding round they are 13^th. Well, our guys will be ready for action in tonight’s game. 5 pm start. Go Eels…..

The Florida Eels have had an extraordinary regular season. Despite various adversities and injuries early in the season, the Eels continued to show up and prove time and time again they were not to be taken lightly: they in fact were the team to beat. As an Eel it is the very fiber of our being, whether you are a coach or a player, to face these obstacles with integrity, to want to face the absolute toughest opponents and to never back down or shy away from the best competition.  It is from these experiences that our players build fortitude and resolve to go the distance. The Florida Eels have advanced to playoffs for over 15 straight seasons, 7 seasons since joining the USPHL, and the Eels were determined to participate once again.

After facing a tough regular season line up both in the Florida Division and in Showcase play both Eels teams advanced to the USPHL Florida Divisional Playoffs, Eels Premier taking the second-place entry slot and Eels Elite taking the second-place entry slot. The Eels Premier were to match up against the third-place entry Tampa Bay Juniors and the Eels Elite against third- place entry the Atlanta Mad Hatters.

In true Eels fashion the Eels Elite battled hard, showing determination, strength and passion, as they took Atlanta Mad Hatters through a three game series. The Eels never gave up and battled to the last minute of play, as they bowed to the Mad Hatters who took the play off victory. Although disappointed that the season was now at its end, and the team would not be advancing to nationals, there was no disappointment in the teams’ overall success and accomplishments this season. For it is not about the wins and losses on the ice, it is about player development, and player character that are the true mark of accomplishment. With that the Eels Elite team are true champions: as they advance an unprecedented 10 PLAYERS to college hockey this season. This is a remarkable achievement, unheard of by other Elite and Premier teams, and one that the Eels community is truly proud of.

Additionally, Under Coach Frankie Scarpaci’s leadership and advisement, an additional 18 Premier PLAYERS, along with the 10 PLAYERS from Elite, will advance to the College Hockey level. Coaches from NCAA Division II and Division III, ACHA Division I and Division II take notice of these well trained, and conditioned athletes developed by Scarpaci. The player and character development speaks for itself. As a total of 18 players from the Eels organization move forward in their hockey careers to the college level. It is a clear demonstration of why the Eels continue to be a premovement junior program across the USA, Canada and Europe.

The Florida Eels Premier, under the leadership of Coach Frankie Scarpaci, claimed the victory of the three game playoff series against the Tampa Bay Juniors. Premier entered each game with grit, strength, passion and fortitude. The battles were fierce but the Eels Premier were ready and had a fire in their blood. They would not lose; they would not quit. After two games, the Eels lit the lamp claiming game three and the playoffs with a  5-0 win over the Tampa Bay Juniors. The Eels Premier will head to Nationals, for their 7^th straight USPHL National appearance, 13 appearances over all.

Eels Premier head to Utica, New York for the USPHL Nationals on Tuesday, March 19^th, 2024. Although, the Eels have been preparing for this moment since they hit the ice in August 2023, they will have an additional practice March 20^th, 2024 in Utica before they hit the ice for game play March 21^st. The Eels will look forward to playing the USPHL’s best in this fierce competition as they work to bring home the championship and cup to Fort Myers, Florida. Eels Premier will take on the Potomac Patriots and the MJDP for their first two games of the seeding round March 21^st and March 22^nd, where they will then be reseeded for further play (future opponents to be announced). We know they will represent the Eels Organization and Community well, and wish all players, coaches and staff a safe journey and abundance of success at this years’ National Championship.

The Florida Eels want to take a moment to thank all of our parents and players who trusted us over their tenure with us. Having you as a part of our program and Eels family has been a tremendously rewarding gift. We are forever grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of your lives, your development and your successes. The Eels organization doesn’t just look for talented athletes but high character individuals to be a part of our program. Watching our players take part in the community, with the local youth is something we are very proud of. Gentleman, we are very proud of you! To the Eels billet families who graciously took players into your homes and families we thank you! You are a big part of our Eels family, and we truly express our gratitude for providing our players the safe space and family comforts of your home. To our fans who have supported us over the past two decades, thank you! The Florida Eels fans are remarkable and stem across the whole world, local and global. We are truly so lucky to have such a supportive fan base and support network for our players.

The Eels administration wants to congratulate all our players on their regular season! Good Luck Eels Premier…bring it home boys!

Defense: Reid Wilson, Florida Eels

In his second Elite season, Wilson (‘04/Lacombe, Alb.) put up 17 points in 41 games after registering eight points as a rookie in 2022-23. He hopes to be able to return to the USPHL Nationals, after playing there last year. The Eels are moving on to play the Atlanta MadHatters this weekend. Wilson put up six assists in seven games, and was second on the Eels in hits in February with six.