"We are excited about the Huntsmen bringing a team to the EHL and extending their brand of management to our roster of programs at that level," said EHL commissioner Joe Bertagna. "They have already established themselves at our EHLP level in a short amount of time and that bodes well for their future success in the EHL.”

As Bertagna mentioned, the Huntsmen caught the league's attention right away this year, as they knocked off the New England Wolves in their season opener back at the September Showcase in Worcester, MA. The Wolves won the EHLP Championship back in 2019, and like the Huntsmen, are part of the group of eight teams throughout the division that has already accrued over 30 points so far this year.

"We entered the EHLP with the goal of adding an EHL team soon after," said Huntsmen president Jeff Grable and general manager Zach Overholtzer in a joint statement. "In year one we aimed to put on a professional product that set up all our players for success and put a competitive team on the ice. Top notch facilities, a very strong coaching staff and support staff have been a major factor in the EHLP teams’ performance. The Huntsmen team doctors, sports psychologists, and physical therapy staff have been great resources to our players over the course of this long junior hockey season. We attribute a group effort and buy in to our culture to the strong showing in the program's inaugural season."

The Huntsmen management staff went on talk about what it means add an EHL team to their franchise.

"The addition of an EHL team is very exciting for us. We now have the opportunity to advance some of our EHLP players to the next level while staying within our organization. Local players aspiring to play NCAA hockey traditionally had to leave our area to get exposure to schools and scouts. The wave of NCAA DIII hockey programs that have popped up in our area the last few years makes playing competitive collegiate hockey locally a reality. The EHL has a proven track record of placing players in NCAA hockey and we look forward to adding to the already great number of commitments. We have also gained quite a following of fans. The support of the hockey community at our rink and around the area has been astounding. People of all ages follow the team and attend home games religiously. The number of 'autographs' requested by our Mites-Bantams caught us off guard. It’s pretty special to see Huntsmen players interact with young players that look up to them. We can only imagine how much more excitement will fill the air from the announcement of this EHL PA Huntsmen team."

With the addition of the Huntsmen, plus the group of new franchises the league announced back in late October, the EHL will field its largest number of teams ever in the 2023-24 season.

Please join the EHL in welcoming the Huntsmen into the top level of the #EShow.