Walk-on forward Huygen adds size, speed, depth to DI Flames roster

Seth Huygen Liberty Hockey — Huygen skates the puck through the neutral zone in a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League game last season.

The fourth line for Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team this season could emerge as an intimidating force for opponents, as well as one that has a surprising knack for scoring.

That is due in part to the addition of two 6-foot-4 forwards who weigh in excess of 200 pounds — senior Aidan Carney, who transferred in from NCAA Division I University of Maine after playing the past three years with that program, and Seth Huygen, a freshman from Ontario who is one of at least three players to be added to the Flames' roster during last month's tryouts.

They will work with sophomore Brad Barker, a sophomore from Ontario who stands 6-2, 201, making him the most diminutive of the bruising trio.

"Our fourth line is going to be a very big, solid, physical line, with the guys we've brought in plus the guys we had," said Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy, whose team is preparing for Friday's 7 p.m. exhibition opener against the West Chester (Pa.)_Wolves at the LaHaye Ice Center. "We're going to see some really good depth there that maybe we haven't had as far as our size."

That goes for the defensive side of the puck as well, with the additions of players such as senior Connor Diem (6-3, 190) and Michael Fischer (6-2, 194), also from Ontario.

"We've picked up some nice size, some guys on the back end that can really help us out," Handy said. "We're excited to get going."

Being enforcers on the ice is not the only production Handy expects out of the combination of Barker, Carney, and Huygen.

"The fourth line can score as much as the other lines; they've just got to do it in a different way," he said.

Last season, Huygen scored 16 goals and distributed 16 assists in a total of 48 games divided between two Canadian Juniors programs — the Komoka Kings (29 games, 6 goals, 8 assists) and Cambridge Redhawks (19 games, 10G, 8A) — both of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Besides being designated an alternate captain for the Redhawks, Huygen contributed regularly on their power play. He hopes to maximize his playing time and work his way onto that unit for the Flames but realizes his first-year status on the front lines.

"I just want to be a productive player, and be the best teammate I can to help our team win," Huygen said. "I have to use my size to my advantage to help the team," he said. "That'll be my role this year — to forecheck hard, and hit bodies, and make it hard for the other team to break pucks out."

Huygen, who has Dutch heritage but is from Mitchell, Ontario, just north of London, Canada, has improved his skating skills in recent offseasons.

"My speed has become a strength, definitely over the past three years," he said. "I worked out over the summers to do legs three times a week, so that's definitely getting a lot better."

Seth Huygen wrist shot — Huygen lifts a wrist shot for the Redhawks while skating into the circle.

Handy said he was impressed with Huygen's work ethic demonstrated in tryouts and has seen it continue in practices so far.

"He's a guy who's going to compete every day in practice," he said. "That's what we're looking for, guys who compete."

He also has noticed Huygen's two-way game after first seeing him at a Liberty Select Camp in 2022 and again this past spring.

"He's physical, and he's got a good shot," Handy said. "He has been down to camp a few times before, so we have seen him over the years to develop and grow and become a physical force out there on the ice."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Walk-on forward Huygen adds size, speed, depth to DI Flames roster

Players Mentioned

Brad Barker

Aidan Carney

Connor Diem

Michael Fischer

Seth Huygen

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