The Wisconsin Muskies are proud to announce that Forward and Assistant Captain Kyle Klatt (Cloquet, Minn.) and Defenseman and Captain Mitch El-Wailli (New Prague, Minn.) have committed to play NCAA hockey this coming fall.

Klatt will attend Milwaukee School of Engineering and El-Wailli will attend Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.

“Both of these young men are going to have outstanding NCAA careers and will be assets to their respective programs. Each performed at an extremely high level this season and asserted themselves as excellent recruits. They used the USPHL development model to their advantage and I extremely proud of them” said Muskies President and Head Coach Dennis Canfield.

Klatt finished the season second in the nation in points with 93 and played two less games than the top scorer.

He led all players in the Premier league in assists with 59. Most impressive was his ability to maintain such a high scoring pace despite the club’s slow start and his contribution on special teams.

Centering their top line, he was averaging 35 plus minutes per game. Known as someone who isn’t afraid to play physical, he is best described as a difference maker and game changer who shows up in big games at big moments.

In high school Klatt was a five-sport athlete and honor student who scored a 28 on his ACT and had multiple college offers.

He chose MSOE because he wants to be an engineer and their hockey program is nationally recognized. Klatt will be expected to add a scoring punch to the Raiders under long time esteemed Coach Mark Ostapina.

“Kyle took his time in finding the right program and MSOE is one of the best destinations for not only hockey but also a degree in NCAA Div III hockey. Coach Ostapina is well known throughout the hockey world as an outstanding coach and when Kyle took his visit it was a perfect match,” said Canfield.

Mitch El-Wailli is expected to be the biggest player in the NCAA this fall, towering in at 6-feet-8-inches, 225 pounds, with a big shot from the blue line.

He likes to play a physical defensive game with his long reach. In addition to his size and skating ability, offensively he is extremely dangerous especially on the power play, finishing second in the nation with 11 power play goals and 20 in total.

Those 20 goals placed him second on the team behind Kyle Klatt as a defensemen. He was often a target on the ice, which he welcomed and shouldered but his off ice value in the locker room was immeasurable.

“The guys looked up to him and respected him and he took it upon himself to be a selfless leader both on and off the ice,” said Canfield.

El-Wailli will join a Fitchburg club that won the MASCAC Championship this season and were led by Rookie of the Year and USCHO All Rookie Team member Sasha Figi who played under Dennis Canfield the previous season.

After winning their conference title, they earned a birth in the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons are coached by Dean Fuller, who enters his 35th season behind the bench along with Coach Canfield’s longtime friend Tom Patty.

Coach Fuller and Coach Patty came and watched Mitch during the USPHL Winter Showcase in January, liked what they saw and then invited him to visit in February. El-Wailli stayed with Figi and Boomer Miller and after a tour of the incredible state of the art facilities and talking with the current players he knew Fitchburg was the place for him.

“I drove Mitch out to Fitchburg and was truly impressed with the culture they are building and of course the universities commitment to its student athletes. Given their recent success and the work Coach Fuller and Coach Patty have put into the incoming recruiting class I’m very excited for Mitch to be a Falcon this coming fall.”

About the USPHL

Founded in 2012, the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is comprised of 170 teams.  Our teams are geographically diverse, ranging from North to South to the Midwest and Pacific.

The USPHL fields teams in a variety of divisions from Junior to High Performance Youth Divisions. 

Our Junior Divisions consists of - The National Collegiate Development Conference, (NCDC) which is a unique, tuition-free, Junior hockey division geared toward Division I collegiate development placement and beyond and our Premier and Elite Divisions.

Our Midget and Youth Divisions consists of 18U, 16U, 16U Futures and High Performance Youth.

In 2018, the USPHL merged with the Eastern Hockey Federation to become the Nation's Largest Amateur Hockey Organization.