HOUGHTON, Mich. – Eight former Michigan Tech hockey players are at NHL Training Camps that began this week. The NHL regular season starts on October 7.
Carson Bantle – Detroit Red Wings
Carson Bantle (Onalaska, Wisconsin) is in the second year of a two-year AHL contract with Grand Rapids and is an invitee to Red Wings Training Camp. He played 23 AHL games for the Griffins last season and 39 ECHL games for Toledo where he had 29 points on 21 goals and eight assists.
Bantle skated in 19 games for the Huskies during the 2020-21 season, tallying three points with two goals and an assist. He was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020 NHL Draft—a few weeks before his NCAA career started. Bantle went on to play three seasons at Wisconsin, appearing in 101 games for the Badgers with 49 points.
Pheonix Copley – LA Kings
Pheonix Copley (North Pole, Alaska) re-signed with the Los Angeles Kings in the offseason and begins his 12th professional season. He played one game for the Kings last season and 42 for the Ontario Reign in the AHL. In his career, Copley has appeared in 77 NHL games for St. Louis, Washington, and LA with a 44-16-8 record and a 2.84 goals-against average and .898 save percentage. He raised the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018. Copley has also appeared in 279 AHL games.
Copley played two seasons for Michigan Tech from 2012-14, winning 18 games with four shutouts. He was twice named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week in 2013-14 and in 2012-13 was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week twice, the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week once, and the MVP of the Great Lakes Invitational after a pair of shutouts to lift the Huskies to their first GLI title in 32 years.
Brian Halonen – New Jersey Devils
Halonen (Delano, Minnesota) begins his fourth full season of professional hockey and is in the second season of a two-year NHL contract. He skated in two NHL games in each of the last two seasons and has played 166 career AHL games, tallying 102 points (66 goals, 36 assists).
Halonen played 139 games for the Huskies from 2018-22 and is 59th in career points with 105. He was named a Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist, a Second Team All-American, and to the All-CCHA First Team after he tallied a career-high 44 points in 37 games during the 2021-22 season. He was on the All-WCHA Rookie Team in 2018-19.
Michael Karow – Dallas Stars
Michael Karow (Green Bay, Wisconsin) is attending Dallas Stars Training Camp as an invitee. He re-signed with the Texas Stars in the AHL over the summer. Karow has played 188 AHL games over the past four seasons for Texas, tallying 43 points with six goals and 37 assists. He has also skated in three games for the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL.
Karow transferred to Michigan Tech to play a fifth season and skated in all 37 games for the Huskies in 2021-22. He tallied a career-high 10 points with two goals and eight assists and was +13. Karow helped anchor a Tech defense that ranked third in the nation in penalty-killing percentage and fourth in scoring defense. He played four seasons at Boston College before coming to Houghton.
Jake Lucchini – Nashville Predators
Jake Lucchini (Trail, British Columbia) is in the second season of a two-year, two-way NHL contact with Nashville. Lucchini played in three games for the Predators last season, and has appeared in 54 career NHL games with Minnesota, Ottawa, and Nashville. Entering his seventh pro season, Lucchini has also played 337 AHL games with 205 points (91 goals, 114 assists).
Lucchini never missed a game in his Tech career, skating in 164 contests. He led all active college players in the category and finished one game short of tying a Tech record. Lucchini was the 66th player in Tech history to reach 100 career points, finishing with 104 points on 45 goals and 59 assists. As a senior, he co-captained the Huskies and led the team in points with 26 on 11 goals and 15 assists. Lucchini was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team as a freshman.
Ryland Mosley – Columbus Blue Jackets
Ryland Mosley (Arnprior, Ontario) signed an AHL contract with Cleveland over the summer and is an invitee to the Columbus Blue Jackets Training Camp. He played four games for the Monsters last season after his NCAA career wrapped up.
Mosley skated in 128 games for the Huskies from 2020-24 and tallied 36 goals and 43 assists. He was named to the 2024 All-CCHA First Team and helped lead the Huskies to a CCHA Mason Cup Championship in 2024 and a GLI title earlier that season. Mosley transferred to Wisconsin for a fifth season and tallied 37 points in 37 games.
Chase Pietila (Howell, Michigan) signed a three-year NHL contract with Pittsburgh in March 2025. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft with the 111th pick. Pietila played three AHL games for Wilkes-Barre Scranton and nine games for Wheeling in the ECHL last season. He was on the Penguins Prospects Challenge roster last week.
Pietila skated in 76 games over two seasons for the Huskies from 2023-25. He was named the 2025 CCHA Defensive Defenseman of the Year and to the 2025 All-CCHA First Team. Pietila tallied 44 NCAA points with 10 goals and 34 assists and led the CCHA in penalty minutes both seasons.
Matt Roy – Washington Capitals
Matt Roy (Canton, Michigan) is in the second year of a six-year NHL contract with Washington. Entering his ninth pro season, Roy has played in 438 NHL games with the LA Kings and Capitals and has 27 goals and 103 assists. Roy was drafted by the Kings in the 2015 NHL Draft after his freshman season at Tech.
Roy played 115 games over three seasons (2014-17) with the Huskies, recording 55 points on 12 goals and 43 assists before signing after his junior season on March 27, 2017. Roy was Tech's team leader in assists with 21 as a junior and had the assist on the game-winning goal six times. He was a two-time All-WCHA selection.
