Former Red River standout Luc Bydal headed to Division-I Long Island next season

Dec. 22—GRAND FORKS — Luc Bydal was proactive with his recruiting.

He reached out to Division-I teams to let them know he was interested.

"I wanted schools to know who I was," the former Grand Forks Red River standout said.

Long Island University got back to Bydal and told him he was flying under the radar. They scheduled a phone call, a Zoom session and did a virtual tour.

Three days later, Bydal committed.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound forward is headed to play for Long Island next season.

Long Island University, located in New York's Nassau County, is in its sixth season as a Division-I team and first under head coach Brendan Riley. Riley's cousin, Brett Riley, coached the Sharks for the first five seasons. Brett left for Ferris State last offseason.

The Sharks play in the 2,500-seat Northwell Health Ice Center, the practice facility of the NHL's New York Islanders.

"The facilities are super nice," Bydal said. "It's in a fun, good spot. I really like the coaches. They're more younger coaches."

Bydal has 22 goals and 42 points in 29 games for the Anchorage Wolverines in the North American Hockey League this season. He's the fourth-leading scorer in the NAHL.

"It's been a good, fun season," Bydal said. "I like Anchorage a lot. The team is struggling a little bit right now. I'm hoping we can start winning more games after Christmas here."

Bydal won a state championship as a sophomore with Red River, then scored 27 goals and tallied 51 points in 27 games as a junior. He left high school to play for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Melville Millionaires during his senior season of 2023-24.

Last season, Bydal had stints in the NAHL and British Columbia Hockey League.

Bydal's game has grown since his days with the Roughriders.

"I think my skating, for sure, and my pace of play," he said. "In juniors, you have to be much faster and more proactive without the puck and be stronger. I think I've done a good job of improving my speed and strength. That's been a big one for me."

The Sharks are 7-10 this season, including a win over Minnesota at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Last season, they went 20-12-2, including a win at Notre Dame.

"They're an independent school, so they get to play against some big schools," Bydal said. "It will be a cool experience going against some big schools."