Alex Pelletier’s near-historic season with the Lincoln Stars earned him the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award

When Alex Pelletier entered his senior year with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, he wanted to be as productive as possible.

Mission accomplished.

Pelletier led the league this season with 48 goals and 85 points in 59 games. In the playoffs, the West Hartford, Connecticut native recorded eight points in eight games to help Lincoln reach the Western Conference semifinals.

His performance throughout the season earned Pelletier USA Hockey’s Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award. Established in 2000, the award is presented annually to the most outstanding American-born player in junior hockey and is named in honor of Dave Tyler, who served on the USA Hockey Board of Directors for 32 years and was instrumental in the development and growth of junior hockey in the United States.

Pelletier will be honored at the USA Hockey President’s Awards Dinner on June 5 in Denver.

“It was obviously a great honor,” said Pelletier. “It means a lot to me. I couldn’t have done it without the help of a lot of great linemates and teammates and a great coaching staff in Lincoln.

“Friends and family have supported me all year round, so I couldn’t have done it without the whole community supporting me, but that’s definitely a great honor and privilege.”

Pelletier came into this season with high expectations for himself and felt like he met most of those expectations. He led the league with 1.44 points per game on 270 shots. With 48 goals this season, Pelletier had the second-most goals in a single USHL season, trailing only Kevin Roy’s 54-goal season in 2011-12.

“I have a pretty high opinion of myself as a player. I think everyone should have that confidence in themselves,” Pelletier said. “If you’re a competitive person like me, you try to shoot for the stars. I did that this year and I got pretty close. So I thought the year went well.”

Pelletier said he wanted to take on a leadership role in his second year with the team. As an assistant captain, he worked to set a good example for the younger Stars players on and off the ice.

“That’s why a lot of kids go back for the extra year of juniors, and that’s what I did, and it paid off really well for me,” he said. “I also saw many other children who follow the same path in their play.”

Initially, it didn’t seem like this season would be a success for the Stars as they lost their first six games. However, they were able to overcome the slow start and make the playoffs. Pelletier said he loved the team this year and was proud of the run the Stars made together.

Individually, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder worked to become faster and more explosive. Pelletier acknowledged that he is a bit undersized.

“I’m not the biggest kid,” he said. “So I just want to work on my strength, be as strong as I can in my frame. Explosion and speed are obviously things I’ll continue to work on. The game is so fast and very skilled … that you want to be as smart as possible on the ice.”

Lincoln Stars general manager Nick Fabrizio was impressed with what Pelletier has accomplished this season.

“Alex has had an exceptional year and he is incredibly deserving of this award,” said Fabrizio. “The Stars were fortunate to have him for two seasons and be a part of his junior hockey career. We couldn’t be more proud of him and look forward to seeing his continued success.”

The opportunity for that success will come at Boston College, where Pelletier is already training for the upcoming 2026-2027 campaign.

“This past year was great to give me that final leap into college hockey,” he said. “You know what you get when you go to a school like BC. You get top competition every day and you play in Hockey East, one of the best leagues in college hockey. I’m going to try to be one of the hardest workers every day, and I’ll see where that takes.” [me] this year.”

Story of Red Line Editorial, Inc.