NEWS

North York Rangers product Austin Brimmer (photo by Amy Deroche / OJHL Images) has confirmed his commitment to play for the Long Island University Sharks in Brookville, NY beginning with the 2021-22 season.

He joins Mississauga Chargers rookie Daniel Baldassarra in committing to Long Island this fall.

Long Island is playing its first season of intercollegiate hockey in 2020-21 after announcing the founding of the team April 30.

Former OJHL players on this season’s inaugural LIU roster include Max Balinson (Burlington), Robert McCollum (Brantford), Jordan Di Cicco (Cobourg), Brett Humberstone (Wellington) and Christian Rajic (Oakville).

 “I decided to accept LIU for many reasons. One being all the coaching staff are young, great and experienced who believe in a family culture and more importantly believe in my game and how well it will fit into their program,” Brimmer explained. “Another reason why I committed was because since it is a new program there is lots of opportunity for playing and establishing myself in division 1 hockey there. Long Island is also 30 minutes away from New York City and 40 minutes away from Long Island beach, so it's in a great location.”

The Markham native joined the Rangers in the fall of 2018 after a stellar season with the Toronto Nationals in the GTHL’s U18 AAA division. He played three games as an AP call-up for the Jr. A Rangers during that 2017-18 season. Brimmer earned the coaching staff's trust right away playing on the penalty kill and chipping in offensively as well on a very stacked team that posted a franchise-high 40 wins.

The former Windsor Spitfire pick recorded eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 52 regular-season games as a rookie. He took a step in the playoffs chipping in with 3 goals and 4 assists for seven points in 16 games, while playing on the bottom six. 

The following season, he truly made himself known in the Ontario Junior Hockey League as a dominant player at both ends of the ice. With more responsibility and more playing time, the 6-foot-3 forward had 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points in 49 games in the regular season. He also made an impact off the ice, being named an assistant caption to help lead a very young Rangers squad throughout the season.

In the playoffs, he was a part of a line that was responsible for shutting down the Toronto Junior Canadiens top line. The Rangers went on to upset the top-seeded Junior Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs.

 “NYR has helped me as it was the first junior team I have played for and they showed me the ropes of how to be a junior hockey player,” he stated. “I was also surrounded by great coaches and teammates who preached great culture. NYR I was able to see the importance of family culture and play alongside teammates that will be my friends forever.”

Fifth-year North York head coach Geoff Schomogyi saw the growth.

“We are very excited and happy for Austin with his commitment to a Division 1 program. We have seen Austin develop into a good leader and great hockey player,” the coach stated. “His game has evolved so much. He has started to understand how to use his big body as assist and combine that with his great work ethic and skill sets he possesses.”

Brimmer becomes the 31st Ranger to commit to either an NCAA or U SPORTS program since 2016.

With files from the North York Rangers