Steinbach Pistons defenceman Sam Court has officially signed his letter of intent to begin his postsecondary education at the University of New Hampshire, where he will also suit up for the Division I Wildcats.
“I am proud and honoured to announce my commitment to play D-1 hockey at the University of New Hampshire,” Court said. “I want to thank my family, friends, teammates, coaches and everyone who has helped me along the way.”
At just 17 years old, Court is currently in his first year with the Avon Old Farms prep school team in Avon, Connecticut, while also playing with the U-18 Neponset Valley River Rats, where he has one goal and 10 points in 17 games. He chose to head south following the shortened 2020-21 season to which he spent with the Manitoba Junior Hockey Leagues’ Steinbach Pistons.
Court suited up in seven games with Steinbach last year as a 16-year-old, collecting five assists while contributing on special teams. A strong skater and quick thinker, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound blueliner actually finished tied for third in points by defencemen league-wide as a rookie.
“We are thrilled to see Sammy commit to UNH as he has put in a lot of work to reach this goal,” said Paul Dyck, Pistons head coach and general manager. “He has tremendous passion for the game and we look forward to watching his career progress.”
Court has been drafted to four different leagues over the past three seasons, including:
- 2021, 9 #129 overall by Fargo Force in the USHL Entry Draft
- 2020, 10 #139 overall by Chicago Steel in the USHL Futures Draft
- 2019, 1 #9 overall by Steinbach Pistons in the MJHL Draft
- 2019, 3 #46 overall by Swift Current Broncos in the WHL Bantam Draft
Situated in Durham, New Hampshire, the Wildcats play out of the NCAA’s Hockey East Conference. The team went 15-15-4 in 2019-20, finishing in ninth place prior to the COVID-19 league-wide shutdown. New Hampshire is currently 2-0-0 through two games of the 2021-22 season.
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