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Washington, Conn -- When word spread last week of The Gunnery junior forward Ryan Dmowski's commitment to play college hockey at UMass Lowell, one couldn't help but think that Norm Bazin was getting another player that would fit really well into his system.
Dmowski, an East Lyme, Conn. native, was one of the top sophomores in prep hockey last season with 18 goals, but his stock his risen even further since then. The six-foot-one '97 was invited to the US National Development Program evaluation camp last spring and participated in the USA Hockey Select 16 Festival over the summer. He registered a goal and three assists in five games for the White team at the festival.
"Ryan is an elite level power forward for the 1997 birth year. His size, strength, and the ability to score allow him to impact all situations, as well as turn the momentum of a game in various ways," said his prep school coach, Chris Baudo.
Dmowski, Gunnery's leading goal scorer this season with 11, has strong hockey awareness and seems to have a knack for finding the puck in the slot. He was heavily recruited by several Hockey East and ECAC schools, including Providence, Northeastern, Vermont and Merrimack, according to a prep school source.
The one knock against him has been his skating ability, but the balance in his game and the ability to excel in all offensive situations has allowed him to overcome that.
Dmowski is slated to arrive at UMass Lowell for the 2015-16 season, but could be pushed back a season to play a year of junior hockey. Dmowski, drafted by the Des Moines Buccaneers in the 2013 USHL Draft, is a prospective student-athlete who will impress UMass Lowell fans on and off the ice, according to his prep school coach.
"He is a high character young man whose values of hard work and respect are displayed on and off of the ice," said Baudo, a former player at Division III Hamilton College.
Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.