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Ex-Phantom Anas still picking up assists
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Sam Anas, the Phantoms all-time leading scorer, credits his decision to play for Youngstown as life-changing. And, his impact is still being felt although he is 500 miles away at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
By Kevin Connelly
It’s been more than six months since Sam Anas registered a point for the Youngstown Phantoms, but his impact continues to be felt nearly 500 miles away.
That’s what makes junior hockey so unique.
Anas’ story begins much earlier than his 2011 arrival in Youngstown, but the 20-year-old Quinnipiac freshman credits his decision to play for the Phantoms as a life-changing one.
He arrived, in his words, “a boy” and left two years later, “a man,” but it was the experiences and life-long friendships made in between that had Anas thankful for his stop in Youngstown.
“My game has changed so much since then,” said Anas, who is the Phantoms all-time leading goal scorer. “I’ve become a much stronger player on and off the ice.
“I think I really matured those two years in Youngstown. I’m really glad I made that decision.”
The decision came after his high school graduation in Potomac, Md., when the Quinnipiac coaching staff suggested he play junior hockey. Anas had already verbally committed to the Hamden, Conn., school, but coaches wanted him to play in the country’s most elite junior hockey league first.
His first year in Youngstown, he lived with veterans Mike Ambrosia and Dylan Margonari. Anas said they were instrumental in his transition to the USHL along with head coach Anthony Noreen and his staff.
“They were all just great guys and they genuinely cared for the individual development and not just the team,” Anas said. “They looked after me as a player, so I couldn’t be more thankful to them.”
When the 2012-13 season began and a new group of incoming players were added to the roster, Anas felt it was now his responsibility to return the favor.
“Of course for him to be a veteran, and me coming in as a rookie, he was a big reason why I [adjusted] to the team very quickly,” Phantoms captain Alfred Larsson said. “For sure, he did a really good job with that.”
Larsson, who came from Sweden, became roommates with Anas and goaltender Sean Romeo at their host family’s house (Rodney and Connie Black). It was there a special friendship was formed.
As a leader on and off the ice, Anas was somebody Larsson could look up to — just as Ambrosia and Margonari were to a young Anas.
“There’s a little bit of an extra bond between the roommates you’re staying with,” Larsson said. “With me, Sean and Sam — three guys staying in the same room — we had some ‘pillow talk’ once in a while and we practically told each other everything. We were like three brothers.”
Romeo echoed Larsson’s setiment and got a good laugh thinking back to some of the times they shared together.
“Sam’s awesome,” he said. “I still consider him one of my best friends. We got along really well last year and it was just a lot of fun living with those two.”
When Anas orginally committed to Quinnipiac, it was for the 2014-15 season. However, the forward displayed so much progress in his development after just two years with the Phantoms, the Bobcats coaching staff thought he was ready for college hockey.
The sample size is still small, but it appears they couldn’t have been more right.
Anas has been named Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week the past two weeks, thanks to seven goals and six assists in the fifth-ranked Bobcats’ first nine games.
“It’s pretty cool to be honored in such a prestigious league,” Anas said. “Got off to a great start and I’ve been playing with great players. It’s just been a lot of fun.”
His former roommates couldn’t be more excited for him.
“We’re happy for him that he’s doing well,” Romeo said. “Just goes to show you the development our coaches help us achieve here and shows what the Phantoms are all about.”
It’s also why junior hockey has become a popular gateway for some elite college hockey programs.
“A lot of parents have told me that they wish their kids would’ve gone to something similar, or taken a year off after high school,” Anas said. “Just because you go into your freshman year as a much more mature kid.”
Anas is just the latest success story.