The Illinois State Redbirds welcome Anthony Salemi to the family! Anthony, a 5’10” 180 lb defenseman hails from Des Plaines, IL. He played 7 seasons of AAA hockey on many top 10 teams, including Team Illinois and Chicago Young Americans(CYA). Anthony currently plays for Maine High School and earned a spot on the All-State Team! Maine HS is in the midst of making a deep run in the AHAI Illinois State Playoffs.  They play their semi final game on Tuesday, March 12th at The Edge in Bensenville, IL. The finals are Friday, March 22nd at the United Center.

Salemi chose Illinois State University for the large but compact campus, the top quality education and hockey program, and proximity to “home”. He intends to major in Business Management the ISU.

One of Anthony’s favorite coaches was Jeff Green.  Salemi explains, “He always expected my best efforts and pushed me to the highest level possible, while being honest and fair to let me earn my ice time in all situations.”

Anthony has two siblings he’ll bring to the Redbird hockey fan club. His older sisters Alison(current ISU student) & Tara. “My entire family have been my biggest supporters and Alison has been my biggest fan, she hardly ever misses a game. I’m looking forward to representing Illinois State University on the ice, making new friends, and getting a top education” states Salemi.

Anthony’s fondest hockey memory was playing in the USA Nationals in Alaska with Team Illinois. They had a great team and made a run at being National Champions. His biggest goal was scoring the go ahead goal against #1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s, who was undefeated at the time, in front of a packed house at Notre Dame.

“I’m thrilled to have a player of Anthony’s character and skill coming to Illinois State. He is the type of player and person that is required to take our program to the next level. He addresses a serious need of the program on the ice, while also carrying the type of attitude necessary to play for our ACHA D1 team.” -Coach Bobby DiNardi.

The Redbirds are building to make a run at their first ACHA D1 conference title in 2019-2020, as they join the Midwest College Hockey conference. It is the first year of the conference with a handful of new teams to ACHA D1. For more information on the conference, click here.

If you are interested in playing for Illinois State, we encourage you to fill out our Recruit form on our website. If you are interested in visiting campus, you can sign up for our Prospect Camps this spring.