Phantoms’ Saad brothers have sticks, will travel

By John Kovach

The Pennsylvanians are one of the few brother combinations in the North American Hockey League.

YOUNGSTOWN — Have hockey sticks, will travel.

That very well could be the motto of the Saad brothers — Brandon (16) and George (18) — of Gibsonia, Pa., who are playing for the Mahoning Valley Phantoms. They are one of the few brother combinations in the North American Hockey League.

The Saads, sophomore and senior, respectively, at Gibsonia Pine-Richland High, have been playing hockey since they were little boys, and commute daily to the Ice Zone in Boardman to practice and play for the Phantoms.

“It’s 50 minutes from Ice Zone,” said George of the drive from Gibsonia, which is 15 miles east of Cranberry. “We commute back and forth every day. I drive. He doesn’t have his license.”

The brothers, who appear to have promising futures in hockey, will be in the Phantoms’ lineup Friday night — although playing on different lines — when the team opens a three-game series against the Traverse City North Stars. Game time at the Chevrolet Centre at 7:15 p.m.

Friday’s game will be called “United Way Night” as the Phantoms partner with United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley for a promotion.

United Way is selling tickets to the game and will keep 50 percent of all sales receipts to benefit the programs funded by the organization’s local chapter, keeping the money right here in the Valley.

The Phantoms, coming off a weekend off after a sweep of Detroit’s Motor City Machine, also will play the North Stars Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Chevrolet Centre.

The Phantoms (33-12-5, 71 points) lead the NAHL North Division by seven points over Team USA (30-14-4, 64). They are the only team in the division to clinch a berth in the playoffs. Traverse City (28-16-6, 62) holds third place.

The Saad brothers, sons of George and Sandy Saad, are a rare combination in the NAHL.

“We know of a couple brothers playing for Marquette. Once in awhile you run across brothers playing for the same team, but there are not too many brother combinations,” said Brandon, who although two years younger than George has been attracting more notoriety mainly because he tends to score more goals.

Brandon Saad leads the Phantoms in goals scored (25) and shares the team scoring lead with Jordy Trottier, each with 42 points. They are followed by Stefan Salituro (41), who recently committed to play hockey for Robert Morris College, Nick Shkreli (39) and Nick Kenney (31).

George Saad, who would like to get a college scholarship for next year but may have to spend another season with the Phantoms, said that he and Brandon are different players on the ice.

“He is kind of a goal goal scorer and I’m a hustler. I can score a good bit but I’m kind of a playmaker,” said George, who has 16 points on 10 goals and six assists. “I have a lot of physical presence on the ice and I can put the puck into the net, but he has more goals than I do.”

Brandon is considered one of the top 16-year-old players in America, said Paul Teeple, director of broadcasting and media relations for the Phantoms.

“I’ve seen unofficial posts on blogs that have him ranked somewhere in the top 5 [of 1992 birth year] but nothing official,” Teeple said.

“He was invited to the Team USA U-17 camp last summer, an honor that usually goes to the top 40 players in a particular birth year,” Teeple said. “He was also selected to the Team USA squad for the World Under-17 Challenge, where he was named first-team all-tournament [also known as the] Top 6 that week out of the best 200 16 year old players in the world).”

Brandon, who has been drafted by Saginaw in the Ontario Hockey League, must decide if he wants to to turn pro next year in the OHL or remain with the Phantoms and try to earn a college scholarship.

He will have up two or three more years with the Phantoms.

“I got drafted last year. So I will play there [in the OHL] next year if I decide go,” Brandon said. “It’s a step up from this league. It is semi-pro and I actually get paid. I’m not sure if I’m going to do that.

“I have been talking to a couple of colleges. That will be an important decision I will have to make next year.”

George is hoping to land a college scholarship for next year.

“I’m not sure if I will get a scholarship or not next year. I’m looking at a couple of schools like Harvard and a couple of Boston schools,” said George, who has played on several teams with Brandon growing up, including the Butler Valley Dogs and Pittsburgh Tigers.

“Last year, we played together for the [Pittsburgh] Hornets and our high school team [Pine-Richland]. We work pretty well together.”

George said he may need another year with the Phantoms to get ready for college hockey.

“But From what I hear, I might have to stay another year with the Phantoms and keep improving,” he said.

kovach@vindy.com