By Warren Kozireski —
Clarkson and Cornell will add NHL logos on the line sheet for three incoming freshmen selected on day two of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Dallas drafted left wing Ayrton Martino from Omaha in the United States Hockey League in the third round 73rd overall.
Martino registered 56 points in 38 games during the 2020-21 season as the 5’11”, 160 lb. left shot finished the season tied for fifth on the club in assists (38), while ranking eighth in points.
Previously Martino spent two seasons with the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League (OJHL) and posted 121 points in 92 regular-season contests. He also appeared in 15 postseason games with St. Michaels, registering 16 points.
Cornell had two players chosen this year in freshman forward Justin Ertel and freshman defenseman Hank Kempf.
Ertel was selected by the Dallas Stars also in the third round 79th overall and Kempf was picked by the New York Rangers in the seventh round 208th overall.
A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Ertel is the latest power forwards to find their way to The Hill from St. Andrew’s College. He will become the fourth St. Andrew’s product to join the Big Red over the last five seasons.
Ertel racked up 120 points on 51 goals and 69 assists in 68 games at St. Andrew’s after coming up through the Mississauga Senators and Toronto Red Wings AAA programs. With the 2020-21 season for the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ertel accrued 28 points in 18 games with the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League.
Kempf, was a 6’2”, 200 lb. shutdown defender in his two full seasons with Muskegon in the United States Hockey League, and was selected to the second all-star team following the truncated 2020-21 season. He sported a plus-21 rating with four goals and 24 assists for 28 points over 81 career USHL games.
Kempf was selected to compete in the 2021 BioSteel All-American Game and also has international experience with USA Hockey. He also has bloodlines tied to the Big Red, as he is the cousin of Stephen Bâby ’03—a Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and All-American who scored 115 points over his Big Red career.
The Rangers are no strangers to Cornell, as Kempf’s selection marks the sixth time the Blueshirts have drafted a Cornellian — the most of any NHL team.
