Miami releases 2023-24 roster

Transfers dominate Miami’s incoming class, with six of its nine newest members having played for another NCAA team.

That’s according to the RedHawks’ recently-posted 2023-24 roster, which includes just three freshmen, a graduate senior, a true senior, two juniors and three sophomores, all of which are slated to debut for MU this fall.

Miami kept 30 players on its 2022-23 roster but has just 27 on its current one. Twelve players have left last season’s team – eight forwards, three defensemen and a goalie – and the team is adding six skaters up front, two blueliners and one netminder.

Miami will need to add another flag at Cady Arena, as three of its newcomers are Latvian. The RedHawks will again boast four Swedes, as Albin Nilsson joins the team months after goalie Ludvig Persson transferred.

The Miami coaching staff refused comment for this story.

VFTG will take a more in-depth look at MU’s incoming class later this summer, but here is a glance at the newest RedHawks:

FORWARDS

Tanyon Bajzer (Odessa, NAHL) – The first Clevelander to join the RedHawks since Carter Camper in the late 2000s, Bajzer (pronounced BAY-zure) has scored 39 goals and recorded 77 points in two NAHL seasons. He was also an alternate captain with Odessa this past season. His leadership and two-way play should help him compete for a lineup spot each night.

Teddy Lagerback (Arizona State, NCAA) – After a 25-goal, 49-point season with BCHL Trail, Lagerback joined the Sun Devils for his freshman season and scored five goals and added a pair of assists in 30 games. He has played parts of three seasons in the USHL and was originally a Minnesota high school product a la Taylor Richart. He has plenty of experience and held his own as an NCAA rookie. Fun fact: He’s a dual citizen of the U.S. and Sweden.

Brayden Morrison (Wisconsin, NCAA) – He played just 19 games in a season and a half with the Badgers and did not record a point, and after leaving school last winter and returning to juniors, he went 7-4-11 in 36 games with Dubuque. At 21, the Calgary native is still young for a skater entering his third collegiate season, so hopefully his best college years will come with Miami.

Albin Nilsson (Providence/Niagara, NCAA) – Nilsson, a graduate senior joining his third college team, scored the game-winning goal in the final minute in the Purple Eagles’ 5-4 win at Miami on New Year’s Eve, and the RedHawks won one game the balance of the season. He brings his talents to the forces of good this fall after his best collegiate season by far in terms of points, as he went 10-14-24. He should compete for a top-six spot.

Ryan Sullivan (Massachusetts, NCAA) – Leadership is something Miami has not had in abundance in recent years, and Sullivan could certainly help in that category. He was the captain at USHL Sioux Falls in 2019-20 and has logged 90 games in three seasons with the Minutemen. Sullivan only has 11 points in three NCAA seasons but could be more of a Monte Graham-type, thriving in every aspect of the game except the scoresheet. 

Raimonds Vitolins (Vermont, NCAA) – Vitolins (pronounced vih-TAHL-ins) spent two seasons with the Catamounts and recorded just nine points in 44 games, but upon returning to juniors, he notched 22 goals and a team-best 49 points for Green Bay, where Jimmy Spratt is an assistant. He should be an instant contributor. The threesome of Vitolins, G Bruno Bruveris and D Rihards Simanovics will be the first Latvian class in Miami history.

DEFENSEMEN

Spencer Cox (Long Island, NCAA) – Cox originally committed to Miami but ultimately joined the Lions for his first two collegiate seasons. He played at Cady Arena two years ago, going 0-1-1 with four blocks as the teams split the weekend series. He finished his LIU career with eight goals and 25 assists, and the RedHawks obviously need another puck-moving defenseman on the power play.

Rihards Simanovics (Amarillo, NAHL) – Simanovics (pronounced sim-uh-NO-vitch) finished third on the Wrangers in goals as well as points per game, going 16-29-45 in his first season in North America. And he’s a defenseman. Like Cox, hopefully he develops into a sorely-needed power play weapon on the back end. He has played on Latvian World Juniors teams five straight seasons.

GOALTENDER

Bruno Bruveris (Cedar Rapids, USHL) – With Persson transferring to North Dakota, Bruveris appears to be in line to at the very least split time between the pipes right away. This was his second season in North America and both were with the RoughRiders. The Latvian-born netminder’s numbers weren’t good in 2021-22 but he posted a .925 save percentage in his final 10 games this season and he was solid in Cedar Rapids’ short playoff season. He was a fan favorite in central Iowa because of his aggressive and energetic play (think Jay Williams).