Shortly after the reveal of the full roster for the 2025-26 season and the 2025 NHL Draft, BGSU Hockey announced the players attending various National Hockey League development camps over the summer of 2025.
Eight Falcons have announced camp attendance, a week of professional coaching and evaluation by top NHL franchises.
Three returning Falcons are attending development camps. Forward Brody Waters and defenseman Gustav Stjernberg will participate in the Los Angeles Kings’ camp, and goaltender Cole Moore in the Winnipeg Jets’ camp.
Both Waters and Stjenberg will skate in their first camp, Moore in his second (Boston Bruins, 2024). All three players are juniors for the Falcons.
All three players were highly impactful for BG in 2024-25. Waters was the team’s goal leader with massive netfront and powerplay presence, scoring 16 goals on the season, fourth most in the CCHA.
Stjernberg is a large, smooth-skating but powerful defender, cracking off innumerable hits and notable defensive plays, the team’s second-highest scoring defenseman last season, despite missing six games.
Moore had a down season in 2024-25, but was a rookie phenom in 2023-24, being named to the CCHA All-Rookie team and stashing a save percentage of .918.
The other five camp attendees are new faces to Falcon Fans. The only non-freshman is D-man Rihards Simanovics, a junior transfer from Miami (OH). The Latvia native will skate with the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, and, like Stjernberg, is a large and effective defender on the blue line.
The four freshmen include forward Noah Morneau (L.A. Kings), defensemen Mazden Leslie (Las Vegas Golden Knights) and Ty Higgins (Las Vegas Golden Knights), and goalie Jacob Steinman (St. Louis Blues). All are highly anticipated recruits for Bowling Green with fantastic junior careers in the CHL.
All teams hosting a Falcon on their development roster are from the Western Conference of the NHL. Las Vegas and Colorado have each won the Stanley Cup within the last five seasons, all made the playoffs in 2024-25, and combined for a record of 247-128-35 (529 points).
A theme for the players attending camps is defense, four defensemen and two goalies among the eight. This expands on the Falcons’ play from the first year of head coach Dennis Williams, when BG was one of the best defensive teams in the conference, finishing third in goals allowed and goal differential.
The Falcons play their first scheduled CCHA game of the upcoming season on Oct. 24 against Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
