It turns out your average Joe on Air Force’s 2019-20 hockey roster is … Joe, senior Joe Tyran.
At a listed 6-foot, 180 pounds, the forward is a close match for the average height (5-11 7/8) and weight (184) in The Flight Path’s breakdown of the Falcons’ roster. With 49 career games played – thanks in part to a knee injury that wiped out his freshman season – Tyran also resides in the Falcons’ most populous tier of NCAA experience. Five players have between 25 and 49 career games.
What isn’t average about Tyran is his skating, which is exceptional, or his compete level, which is off the charts. The team averages for height and weight were within a fraction of being identical to last season’s.
Our annual analysis of the roster unearthed some other interest data:
- This is a young team in terms of game experience. Just one player has more than 100 games of NCAA experience (senior center Brady Tomlak, one of the Falcons’ recently named assistant captains), and only three others have played 75 or more games. Last season, the Falcons had three players were north of 100 games and four more were at 75 or more.
- While the birth years are well distributed, the classes are a bit unbalanced (most glaringly 12 freshmen and five sophomores).
- And the paths to the Academy seem quite clear. Eighteen of the 31 Falcons played junior hockey in the NAHL, and a team-high 11 are from Minnesota. Colorado has the next most players with five.
All statistics are via the school’s website and collegehockeynews.com.
Falcons by class
Senior: 6
Junior: 8
Sophomore: 5
Freshmen: 12
Total: 31
Falcons by birth year
1996: 9
1997: 9
1998: 9
1999: 4
Falcons by position
Goaltenders: 4
Defensemen: 9
Forwards: 18
Total: 31
Falcons by NCAA games played
100-plus (1): Brady Tomlak (109)
75-100 (3): Zach Mirageas, Pierce Pluemer, Trevor Stone (99)
50-74 (3): Marshall Bowery, Erich Jaeger, Jake Levin, Alex Mehnert, Matt Pulver
25-49 (5): Kieran Durgan, Carter Ekberg, Shawn Knowlton, Keegan Mantaro, Joe Tyran
0-24: Other 17 players
Falcons by height
6-foot-3 and taller: 3 (Pluemer is the tallest at 6-4)
6-0 to 6-2: 12
5-11 and shorter: 16 (Shawn Knowlton at 5-8 is the shortest)
Average: 5-11 7/8
By position
Goaltenders: 6-0 1/4
Defense: 5-11 1/2
Forward: 6-0
Falcons by weight
200 pounds and heavier: 5
199 pound and lighter: 26
Average: 184
By position
Goaltender: 186.25
Defense: 184.5
Forward: 183.3
Falcons by state
Colorado: 5
Idaho: 1
Illinois: 2
Massachusetts: 1
Michigan: 4
Minnesota: 11
New Jersey: 1
New York: 1
Pennsylvania: 1
Rhode Island: 1
Washington: 1
Wisconsin: 2
Junior path
BCHL: 5
NAHL: 18
NCDC: 1
RMJHL: 1
USHL: 6
Next: Air Force’s emerging players
First Line Editorial 2019
