Dakota Mermis

History

2009-10: Dakota Mermis appeared in two USHL games with the Lincoln Stars and played for the St. Louis Blues U18 team in the Midwest Elite Hockey League. He had one assist in his brief stint with the Stars. In 48 games for the Blues he scored 11 goals with 26 assists and had 76 penalty minutes. Mermis committed to playing college hockey at the University of Denver in 2012-13.

2010-11: Mermis moved to the USA National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor; skating for the NDTP U17 team. In 55 games he scored 5 goals with 8 assists and had 63 penalty minutes. Mermis played for the USA in the 2011 U17 World Hockey Challenge and had 1 assist with 4 penalty minutes in six games. The USA won a silver medal, falling to Team Ontario in the championship game. Mermis was drafted by Green Bay in the first round (14th overall) of the 2011 USHL Entry Draft.

2011-12: Mermis was one of four defensemen to top the 25-point mark on a dominant Gamblers team that won a USHL-best 47 games. Mermis scored 5 goals with 22 assists and was plus-22 in 60 games. His 98 penalty minutes were the second-most for Green Bay behind only Sheldon Dries (126). Heading into the decisive fifth game against the Waterloo Black Hawks in the USHL playoff finals, Mermis had 1 assist and was plus-three with 11 penalty minutes in 11 playoff games. Mermis was ranked 84th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft.

2012-13: Mermis skated in 19 games for the University of Denver as a freshman before leaving college hockey in January to play for the OHL's London Knights. He scored 1 goal with 3 assists and was minus-one with 14 penalty minutes for the Pioneeers. Mermis had two assists in his first game with the Knights and finished the regular season with 2 goals and 9 assists in 26 games and was plus-17 with 30 penalty minutes. London had the OHL's best record and won the playoff title after trailing Barrie three games to one in the finals. Mermis had no points and was -2 with four penalty minutes in the first three games at the Memorial Cup.

 

Talent Analysis

Mermis is a somewhat undersized defender who plays much bigger than his smaller stature would suggest.  He can be aggressive, sometimes very, with the opposition.  He is a good skater who shows some signs of having a good offensive component to his game, but this part of his game is not well developed as yet.  Mermis is fairly sound defensively but could use some improvement in that area, as well.

 

Future

Mermis has begun the 2012-13 season playing for the University of Denver, but in January signed with the OHL's London Knights.