El Paso Forward DellaDonna makes NCAA Commitment

Photo Credit: Shea Herman

The El Paso Rhinos of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) are proud to announce that forward Andrew DellaDonna has committed to play NCAA hockey for Curry College in the CNE.

The 5’9 righty from Syracuse, New York, is heading to play with the Colonels in the fall. DellaDonna is a fourth-year veteran of the NAHL. This past season, the 21-year-old ended his year with the Rhinos after being acquired at the end of January. In El Paso, he hit the ice in 21 games, finding the back of the net nine times while notching three assists. Three of his goals were named the decider in contests, while three were scored on the man advantage.

Prior to his time down South, the ‘04 forward skated with the Elmira Aviators in 28 contests. DellaDonna tallied eight goals while making 10 assists. One of his goals was scored on the power play. DellaDonna was a member of the Northeast Generals at the start of the season before being acquired by Elmira. He scored a goal and made five assists during his short stint with the Generals this year.

Last year, DellaDonna hit the ice in 59 games for the Generals. He found the back of the net 11 times and made 22 assists for the organization. Three of his goals were scored on the man advantage, while three were named the decider in contests. DellaDonna’s history with Northeast spans back to his 2022-23 campaign, where he laced up in 61 games for the Generals. He found the back of the net 11 times and notched 17 assists for the East Division team. Two of his goals were scored on the power play, while two goals were the game-winning goals in contests.

In DellaDonna’s rookie season in the NAHL, he skated with the Chippewa Steel in 34 games. His four-year career had him hit the ice in a total of 208 games while spotlighting 97 career points. 

Head coach of the Rhinos, Mike Rivera, shares the impact of DellaDonna on the Rhinos program.

“We are really excited for Delly to commit to a top Division III program like Curry. We acquired Delly during the second half of the season and he was an immediate impact to our lineup. He has an elite offensive skill set combined with a high compete level that makes him effective night in and night out. There is no doubt in my mind that Delly will be successful at the NCAA level and I would expect to see big things from in the future. Our only regret with Delly is that we didn’t have him longer, he was meant to be a Rhino.” 

DellaDonna is one of 12 members of the El Paso Rhinos to make a college ice hockey commitment.

Click here for an updated NAHL to NCAA commitment list