The Norfolk Admirals have announced that Justin Young will return to the team for the 2024-25 ECHL season after a short stint playing for Herner EV 2007 in Oberliga, which is Germanyโs third-tier professional league. The 26-year-old spent the first 23 games of last season with the Admirals, where he tallied five goals and six assists. He notched three goals on the powerplay while with the Admirals and was a solid two-way forward, having a +5 goal differential.
After seemingly struggling in the points production department during his three-season ECHL career, Young elected to go overseas for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. During his time with Herner EV 2007, Young played 14 games, notching six goals and 11 assists during the regular season. Through their playoff run, Young dressed in five games, posting one goal and one assist.
Prior to turning pro, Young played four seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) for the Whitecourt Wolverines. He began with the Wolverines towards the end of the 2013-14 season when he was done playing his final 18U AAA season with the Leduc Oil Kings in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL). He played three games to end the Wolverinesโ season and notched an assist. He returned to the Wolverines the following season, collecting 14 goals and 13 assists in 52 games to start his junior hockey career. In four games of Whitecourtโs playoff run, Young tallied one goal. His point production would increase drastically over his final two seasons as he put up 60 points on 26 goals and 24 assists in 56 games during the 2015-16 season. In his final season, the Leduc, AB, CAN native put up insane numbers during the regular season and playoffs. In 56 regular season games, Young tallied 69 points on 26 goals and 43 assists. He carried that incredible play into the postseason, where he notched 22 points on 13 goals and nine assists in 20 games.
His stellar final two seasons with Whitecourt landed him a commitment and roster spot with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. His freshman season with the Nanooks went how some would have expected. He dressed in 32 games for his freshman season, tallying two goals and five assists. His point production went down his sophomore year, as he tallied just five points in 33 games played. In his junior year and final year with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, he had a breakout year, tallying 21 points on nine goals and 12 assists in 36 games. It was the first season of his college career that he finished as a plus player having gone +4 on the season.
Young transferred to American International College for his senior season to finish his college career with his senior and graduate seasons coming up. Young was on course to have his best college year, had a full season been played out during the 2020-21 season, having notched four points and a +3 rating through six games. He was determined to come back and showcase his talents during his graduate season and did just that. Young dressed in 36 games in his final college season, putting up 12 goals and 19 assists while keeping a +18 goal differential. Young finished his college career having won the NCAA AHA Regular Season title and NCAA AHA Championship in back-to-back seasons.
โI loved my time in Norfolk and playing in-front of the fans at the Scope in the electric atmosphere,โ said Young. โI am very excited to build off of the finish the team had last year. I canโt wait to get started once again.โ
-Young on returning to Norfolk (Via Norfolk Admirals Press Release)
After his college tenure, Young put pen to paper on a contract with the Allen Americans to begin his pro career. He played seven games to end the regular season, notching one assist and a +2 rating. He earned a spot on the Americans for the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs. He played five games, tallying one assist and a +1 rating. His first full season with Allen during the 2022-23 season was not kind to him. He played 51 games, collecting one goal and six assists during the regular season. He stepped things up a bit during the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs, notching one goal and two assists in 10 games played.
After gaining confidence in Germany and coming back to a team he played with just a season ago, Young is bound to have a breakout year. He brings a ton of speed to the team and has the ability to drive wide and create difficult shots for a goaltender to stop at bad angles.
