2013 NHL Draft: Top 15 American Prospects (1-8)

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Chris Peters

The 2013 NHL Entry Draft is expected to be very exciting for a variety of reasons. The biggest, however, is that this draft class, particularly at the top, is as deep as we’ve seen in a decade. The quality of prospects coming up through the ranks this year is going to put a lot of teams in good position to pick up some quality players.

NHL_2013_Draft_PrimaryDespite such a deep first and second round, there’s a chance this year’s selections will be a little light on Americans towards the top. There of course is Seth Jones, one of the draft’s very best players, but there are only about three or four more players that have a legitimate shot at the first round out of the United States.

While this U.S.-born class might not have as much quality as we’ve become increasingly accustomed, there are some really intriguing talents that should be garnering a lot of attention once the picks start flying Sunday in Newark, N.J.

As I do every year, I put together a list of the 15 best American prospects for the NHL Draft, in my opinion. This list will closely mirror the top-50 I produced for CBSSports.com, but the reports are a little more in-depth here.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, USA Hockey | 1 Comment

Report: Dan Bylsma will lead U.S. Olympic Team as head coach

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Chris Peters

Dan Bylsma, head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, will serve in that same role for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, according to Kevin Allen of USA Today. David Poile, as expected, will serve as general manager of the team, while Ray Shero will be associate general manager and Brian Burke will serve on the staff as the director of player personnel. USA Hockey made the management team announcement Friday, while Bylsma is expected to be unveiled at a press conference Saturday in New York City.

Dan Bylsma (Photo: Penguins)

This is all contingent, of course, on the NHL and International Olympic Committee finalizing an agreement to allow NHL players to participate in Sochi. According to Gary Bettman, the two sides will meet Monday with hopes of coming to a resolution. It is believed all parties are close to an agreement.

None of these moves are particularly surprising as the rumblings haven’t been so quiet about the direction this staff was headed.

As far as team management, Poile seemed the likely general manager when it was revealed USA Hockey preferred a current NHL GM for the role, ruling out Burke. Poile was the assistant GM for the 2010 Olympic team and as such, seems like a natural fit.

Shero is well respected in USA Hockey and has earned his shot to be a major player in the formulation of this team. Coincidentally, Poile and Shero are the last two winners of the NHL’s general manager of the year award.

It is extremely smart to include Burke, the architect of the 2010 silver-medal squad, to play a prominent role once again. He may have the most time to get out and see players and fully evaluate the pool as a pro scout for Anaheim.

Bylsma, a native of Grand Haven, Mich., was certainly the trendy choice and is well deserving of his first shot at a national team. A Stanley Cup on his resume and familiarity with dealing with a star-studded team should really help him in preparing for the Olympics. He also employs a more wide-open style game that should do well on the big ice surface in Sochi.

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Posted in 2011 WJC, NHL, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey | 1 Comment

College Hockey Expansion: Nebraska has home if it wants hockey

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Chris Peters

The formulation of a hockey branch of the Big Ten has continually conjured up hopes of a path towards expansion of college hockey, particularly within the conference.

It’s easier said than done for a school to add a sport like hockey. The cost, and Title IX will always be very real barriers for any school, no matter how much sense it seems to make. That said, the window opened a little wider when Penn State added men’s and women’s Division I hockey programs triggering the Big Ten formation.

That’s why recent news out of Lincoln, Neb., is going to drum up some buzz around the University of Nebraska and its potential to add a hockey program.

The newly-constructed Pinnacle Bank Arena in downtown Lincoln will be home to concerts, other large events and Huskers basketball. The building was also constructed with some foresight. It has most of the basics necessary for a fully functional NHL-size ice arena.

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Posted in Grow the Game, NCAA | 7 Comments

Patrick Kane Becoming America’s Hockey Superstar

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Chris Peters
NHL: Stanley Cup Final-Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins

Patrick Kane became the third straight American Conn Smythe winner (USATSI)

The trophy may have a giant maple leaf on it, but the Conn Smythe has belonged to the stars and stripes of late.

Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks was named MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making him the third consecutive American to win the prestigious award and fourth overall. He joins Jonathan Quick (2012), Tim Thomas (2011) and Brian Leetch (1994) in that exclusive club.

Kane’s Smythe honor comes after the Blackhawks dispatched the Boston Bruins in a stunning come-from-behind Game 6 victory to claim the team’s second Stanley Cup in four years.

For Kane, the Conn Smythe win is another in a growing list of accomplishments pointing towards the Chicago winger as being one of the best American-born players in the game.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

2014 Olympics: With no agreement yet, concern mounts regarding NHL participation

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Chris Peters

It’s now 17 days since the month of May ended, with no end really in sight of the impasse among the NHL, NHLPA, International Olympic Committee and IIHF on NHL player participation at the Sochi Olympics. Rene Fasel, IIHF president, said long ago that May was the ideal month to reach a decision so Olympic camps could be organized and preparations for the hockey tournament could begin in earnest.

SochiEven as meeting after meeting was being held among the stakeholders, it always seemed like a deal would get done, but here we are in the middle of June with no agreement in place.

The hold up on the Olympics decision is also delaying the NHL’s finalizing of its 2013-14 regular-season schedule, the finalizing of national team camps and numerous announcements regarding team staff. As this drags on, Plan B is becoming tougher to organize for the hockey federations.

Should this delayed decision be cause for concern? Well, yes. It absolutely should be and is.

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Posted in 2014 Olympics, NHL | Comments Off on 2014 Olympics: With no agreement yet, concern mounts regarding NHL participation

Report: CHL will exclude European goalies from 2014 Import Draft

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Chris Peters

Recently on this blog, you may have read a post that asked, “Will the Canadian Hockey League ban European goaltenders?” Well, the answer apparently is yes.

According to Darren Millard of Sportsnet, the CHL will permit European goalies to be selected only in the first round of this year’s import draft and will exclude them from the draft entirely in 2014.

This move is raising eyebrows and tempers with good reason. This is a decision that is likely in concert with Hockey Canada, which has growing concerns that its native goaltenders are not developing at a desired level. So this is apparently part of the response. Millard alluded to more being done in the big picture, but if that’s the case, why do this?

Seeing as I already wrote about this at length recently, I’ll hit just a few additional points.

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Posted in Junior Hockey, NCAA, USA Hockey | 6 Comments

2014 WJC: USA Hockey Names Evaluation Camp Roster

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Chris Peters

USA Hockey named a portion of its roster for the 2013 National Junior Evaluation Camp to be held in Lake Placid, N.Y., August 3-10. The 40 players named Thursday will be competing for spots on the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team, which will be competing at the World Junior Championship in Malmo, Sweden in December, where the U.S. will seek to defend its gold medal.

Logo_USA_hockeyThe goaltenders will be named to the roster at a later date, but USA Hockey identified 16 defensemen and 24 forwards for its camp, which will include intersquad games, as well as exhibitions against Finland, Sweden and Canada. All three international opponents will also be using the Lake Placid camp as an evaluation for their own junior teams.

Keep in mind, the camp roster isn’t necessarily a final listing of who will be eligible for the team. Most years, a player who did not make the camp, ended up on the final roster. So this is just the first step towards picking Team USA.

The complete roster is here.

The U.S. roster is highlighted by two returnees so far with Patrick Sieloff and Riley Barber on the list. Ryan Hartman is also eligible to return, but will be unable to attend the camp while he rehabs an injury from this season. Also, expect Jon Gillies, who backed up John Gibson last year, to be named as one of the goaltenders for the roster when that is decided. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

NCHC Loses Commissioner Jim Scherr to European Games

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Chris Peters

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference is headed for its inaugural season this fall, but it will do so without its big-name commissioner. The conference announced Friday evening that Jim Scherr, former CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee and NCHC commissioner since January of 2012, is leaving his post to become the chief operating officer of the inaugural European Games.

Scherr

Jim Scherr (Photo: NCHC)

Scherr will oversee the international competition which will feature 49 nations in June of 2015.

“We knew when we hired Jim that there would come a time when there would be competing bids for his services,” said NCHC Chairman of the Board and University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Brian Faison in a statement released by the conference. “We are grateful for what Jim has done in his time with the NCHC and we are very happy that he has the opportunity to return to the Olympic sports world with the European Games in Baku. We know his expertise will greatly benefit their event.”

Landing Scherr was considered a coup when he was hired by the fledgling conference, which includes Nebraska Omaha, Colorado College, Denver, St. Cloud State, Western Michigan, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Miami. Having had a wealth of executive experience with the USOC and USA Wrestling, Scherr was a big get and one that somewhat legitimized the conference amid its controversial beginning.  Continue reading →

Posted in NCAA | 1 Comment

Peewee Body-Checking Ban: Why Hockey Canada, USA Hockey are Getting it Right

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Chris Peters

USAvsCANLast weekend, Hockey Canada announced its board of directors voted to eliminate body-checking from the peewee level nationwide. USA Hockey is headed into its third season with no checking in peewee after making a similar decision in 2010, while local governing bodies in Quebec have had no body checking in peewee since 1986. Hockey Alberta and Hockey Nova Scotia had also planned for peewee checking bans just prior to Hockey Canada’s announcement.

Like USA Hockey, Hockey Canada will deal with a healthy amount of backlash, and already has. However, when armed with their mountain of medical and cognitive research, it’s the absolute right move and the game will be better because of it.

Now each of the largest hockey governing bodies in the world have made the challenging, yet progressive decision to protect younger players. Similar measures have been enacted in Finland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. People whose sole jobs are to find ways to make the game better did not come to this decision lightly and without every possible angle reviewed. This is the way of the future. It sure took us long enough to get here. Continue reading →

Posted in Grow the Game, USA Hockey, Youth Hockey | Comments Off on Peewee Body-Checking Ban: Why Hockey Canada, USA Hockey are Getting it Right

Will the Canadian Hockey League ban European goalies?

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Chris Peters

There is an interesting debate about to take place in Canada and it revolves around goalies. Depending on who you ask up north, there is a Canadian crisis in goaltending, as in they’re not the best anymore.

This apparent crisis seems to be eliciting some reaction from the Canadian Hockey League. As CHL president David Branch told Damien Cox of the Toronto Star, the CHL is looking at putting a ban on European goalies across its three member leagues. Really.

“The CHL has had discussions in a broader sense with Hockey Canada,” said Branch. “One of the ideas put forward was eliminating goalies from the annual import draft to allow more focus on North American goalies.

Hockey Canada has a lot of say in what happens in the CHL. Right now, the Canadian goalie pool is a tad thin. It’s not bad. It’s just not as deep as the collective pool of European goalies, and probably not even the U.S. at this point.

From the NHL down, Canadian goalies are dwindling among the elite, but calling it a crisis is nothing short of hyperbolic. Could it be better? You bet. Why isn’t it? It’s not because Canadian goalies are bad, it’s because everyone is getting better and is now passing up the country of the sport’s origin.

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Posted in Junior Hockey | 8 Comments