North Iowa forward Daly makes NCAA commitment

February 10, 2020

The North Iowa Bulls, proud members of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), are excited to announce that forward Justin Daly has committed to play NCAA Division III hockey for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, an NCAA Division III program and member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).

 

Daly is the eighth North Iowa Bulls player to announce a college commitment this season, and third in just a month. Jordan Roo announced his commitment to the Pointers in early January, followed by defenseman Harrison Stewart two weeks later. Daly will begin his academic and athletic career at UWSP next season.

 

"Justin Daly has been a difference-maker for our team since his arrival," said North Iowa head coach Todd Sanden. "He will be an important piece to our playoff success, and we are looking for him to elevate his presence in the coming weeks."

 

The Delano, Minnesota native played three seasons of varsity high school hockey, leading his squad to the fourth-place spot in the 2017 Minnesota state tournament and serving as a team captain during his senior year. Daly spent all of last season in the North American Hockey League with the Kenai River Brown Bears, and began this year with the Brown Bears as well. He tallied 14 points in 53 games for Kenai River last season, but played in only two games this year before joining the Bulls in mid-November.

 

He didn't even wait a game before making his presence known - in his North Iowa debut on November 16, he piled up three assists to go along with a third-period goal in a 12-2 win over the Willmar WarHawks.

 

Since then, he's racked up nearly a point-and-a-half per game, with 13 goals and 15 assists in just 19 games with the Bulls. He'll appear for the West Division in the NA3HL's Top Prospects event later this month in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and also played in the NAPHL for the Minnesota Magicians' 16-and-under team and the Minnesota Elite Prep Development League's South 18-and-under squad.

 

"We were aware of him from last year at Kenai, and then followed him here (to North Iowa)," said Pointers head coach Tyler Krueger. "He has an offensive skill set that’s elite, and it’s elite at our level. He's gotten to develop his strengths for a winning team, and he’s one of the hidden gems in the NA3HL who can be a real difference-maker at the next level."

 

UWSP is having another outstanding season after winning an unbeaten national title last season, carrying an 11-game unbeaten streak out of a weekend series at Wisconsin-Stout. Seven of the Bulls' eight college commitments for next year will be attending one of those two schools.

 

More than 140 players have moved on to play college hockey after appearing for the Bulls, including more than 70 who made their commitments while on the North Iowa roster.