Rivermen sign goalie and Sacred Heart commit Brandon Milberg

With both Jonathan Mor and Braedon Fleming off to college next season, the Langley Rivermen were sitting without a goalie on their roster. However, on Saturday they announced that they have signed goaltender Brandon Milberg for the 2020-21 season.

The 6’1″, 180-pound goalie from Thornhill, Ontario joins the Rivermen after splitting last season between Neponset Valley River Rats U18 and the Lawrence Academy Prep team.

During his two seasons with Lawrence, Milberg had a 1.84 goals-against-average, a .932 save percentage and played 1142 minutes. Those numbers played a part in him earning a scholarship to Sacred Heart University for 2021-22.

“Right off the bat, from the first phone call, I felt super comfortable with the entire coaching staff. They were awesome throughout the entire process.” Milberg explained in an interview with BCHLNetwork.

Rivermen goalie coach Joey Ali seemed to play a big factor in Milberg signing with the team. “He reached out to me right away and had nothing but great things to say about Langley. Joey sounded like he was entirely invested in the process and cares about his players. That was definitely a huge reason why I picked Langley. I just felt really comfortable.”

Milberg describes himself as an extremely competitive player. “I’m a really hard-working goalie who is willing to do anything to win. Winning is my number one priority.”

With the signing of Milberg, it’s one less thing that Rivermen GM and head coach Bobby Henderson has to worry about in the off-season.

“I’d expect him to come in and take the reins right away. Obviously there is a bit of a transition coming to a new league. There will be an adjustment period, but with his experience in prep and the fact that he is an older guy coming in, it should be smooth for him,” Henderson said. “We look for him to really establish himself early, take the ball and run with it.”

It seems like Milberg will be the de facto number one goalie moving forward and it will be interesting to see what other moves Henderson makes during the off-season.

Typically, the Rivermen wait until after their spring prospects camp to announce new signings but due to COVID-19, the camp is cancelled. It is expected there are more announcements for next season to come in the next few weeks.