College Hockey Roundup: More on CHLPA, DU’s Offensive Outburst, ECAC Powers

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Chris Peters

Another packed weekend is in the books. Every Division I team has now played a game after the Ivy Leaguers got underway. This past weekend may have been the best yet, with several interesting and revealing series in conference play and teams beginning to get their legs under them.

To start off, however, our attention turns to something off the ice. Saturday, I wrote about the NCAA rules that make the Canadian Hockey League professional. The Canadian Hockey League Players Association has been apparently on a quest to change that fact in order to give CHL players an opportunity to earn an NCAA scholarship.

Coming up after the jump, the latest on the CHLPA and NCAA, a look at Denver’s offensive outburst to start the year, and ECAC teams that could make some noise on the national stage this year.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA | 2 Comments

CHLPA’s Aim for NCAA Eligibility is Noble, Improbable

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Chris Peters

The Canadian Hockey League Players Association has gotten more attention in recent days as the fledgling organization sent a letter to Ontario Hockey League and Hockey Canada officials threatening legal action for what the CHLPA claims is disregard for working standards.

By potentially involving litigation, this is the most significant maneuver to date in the CHLPA’s young existence. Now it’s not just posturing and PR battles through the media. It is unclear just how far this is going to go and whether or not anything will actually come of it if this gets to court.

In this recent flurry of attention, Georges Laraque, the CHLPA’s executive director and Derek Clarke, chief spokesperson for the organization have repeatedly made comments in regards to finding a way to make CHL players eligible to receive NCAA scholarships and compete in college hockey in the U.S.

While it is not an outlandish goal, it still appears that the CHLPA doesn’t seem to understand what makes CHL players professional and which organization is the one that actually makes that professional designation.

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Posted in Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL | 5 Comments

Kerdiles to Play This Weekend… For the U.S. Under-18 Team

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Chris Peters

The NCAA told Nic Kerdiles he wasn’t allowed to play for the University of Wisconsin until Nov. 30. They never said anything about playing for someone else.

(UW Athletics)

United States of Hockey has learned that the suspended Wisconsin freshman will join the National Team Development Program’s U.S. National Under-18 Team for a pair of weekend games including a Friday night tilt against the University of Minnesota and a Saturday night game against Division III St. Thomas. Kerdiles is a former NTDP player.

According to a USA Hockey source, the NCAA was notified and cleared Kerdiles to play in the exhibition games. To my knowledge, this is an unprecedented situation.

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Posted in American Prospects, NCAA, NTDP, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 1 Comment

VIDEO: U.S. WJC Candidate Miller’s Unbelievable First Pro Goal

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Chris Peters

J.T. Miller is one of just three players eligible to return for the U.S. National Junior Team at this year’s World Junior Championship. He’s also the only U.S. WJC candidate currently playing professional hockey.

The New York Rangers first-rounder is currently skating with the Connecticut Whale in the American Hockey League and is off to a terrific start.

Wednesday night, he scored his first goal as a professional and was it ever fantastic.

That’s former fourth-overall pick Adam Larsson Miller undressed before making a mockery of goaltender Keith Kinkaid. Filthy.

The goal was Miller’s fourth point in five games this season. He also played in eight games during the Calder Cup Playoffs with the Whale last season, which likely helped get him ready for his first full pro campaign.

Miller is a lock for the World Juniors so long as the New York Rangers decide to let him play in the tournament. Though he’ll miss a few weeks of pro hockey, Miller’s participation at the WJC could be beneficial developmentally, considering the opportunity he’ll likely play a leadership role and be a go-to guy for Team USA in all situations.

With the incredibly strong field that could be available to other countries due to the NHL lockout, this World Junior Championship could be a terrific developmental opportunity for all players involved.

(h/t SNY Rangers Blog)

Posted in American Prospects, NHL, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 1 Comment

U.S. World Junior Watch: Locks, Likelies and Bubble Players for U.S. Roster

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Chris Peters

As hard as it may be to believe, what with the distraction of a lockout and our hockey body clocks completely out of whack, the World Junior Championship is just over two months away. Two months until the best hockey tournament this side of the Olympics. Can you feel it? CAN YOU!?

OK, well maybe you can’t just yet, but the WJC is coming up real quick and as a result, today marks the beginning of extensive lead-up coverage for the tournament and the U.S. National Junior Team.

While the NHL is dormant, junior leagues have been up and going for over a month, college teams are about to enter their third week of competition and the USA Hockey scouts have been out in full force.

With the National Junior Evaluation Camp shrinking in the distance, players are going to have to rely a lot more on what they’re doing right now to earn a spot on the U.S. National Junior Team. The performances from August will not be forgotten, but without a strong follow up in the first half of the season, it can leave a player on the sidelines.

Competition remains wide open for a lot of positions, and every game will count for a lot of these players.

With that in mind, the U.S. World Junior Watch will be closely tracking the top candidates for Team USA from here on out.

Coming up after the jump, a look at the few locks for Team USA, those likely to make the final roster at this point and those in the hunt, but on the bubble, as well as what my U.S. roster would look like if the tournament started tomorrow.

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Posted in Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 6 Comments

Kerdiles Announces He’s Staying at Wisconsin

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Chris Peters

A turbulent three-week span has reached its apparent conclusion as the University of Wisconsin’s suspended freshman forward Nicolas Kerdiles announced he will be staying in school at a press conference today. The talented Anaheim Ducks prospect will have to sit out games until Nov. 30 due to an amateurism violation and had the option of leaving to sign with the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets.

Nic Kerdiles (UW Athletics)

The announcement confirms the scoop that the Wisconsin State Journal’s Andy Baggot got Sunday from Anaheim’s senior vice president David McNab, who said that Kerdiles was staying in school with the full support of the Ducks organization.

Kerdiles, very composed and mature during his statement to the press, said there “was never a doubt” that he would return to Wisconsin. The native of Irvine, Calif., said he wants to be a role model for players from Southern California and show why they should consider playing college hockey.

The fact that Kerdiles is staying in the face of what appears to be a heavy-handed ruling from the NCAA is pretty huge for Wisconsin. Coming off an opening-weekend sweep at the hands of Northern Michigan, where offense was hard to come by, a player with real scoring talent will come in handy.

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Posted in American Prospects, NCAA | 2 Comments

College Hockey Round-Up: Early Season Sluggishness, SLU’s Dynamic Duo, Top College FAs

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Chris Peters

Oh, October. You beautiful, unpredictable month, you.

The 10th month on the calendar has claimed many a victim. It seems, compared to other college sports, hockey teams take a little longer to find their games, which makes for intriguing and surprising results in the early weeks of the year. That has certainly been the case to start this season.

Each of the teams that were ranked among the top four in the preseason have already lost a game, all to teams you wouldn’t expect them to lose to. Parity exists in college hockey, yes, but the top teams are supposed to be the top teams and therefore are deserving of higher expectations.

Boston College and Michigan were each felled in their opening games this season. Minnesota seemed to solidify itself as the No. 1 team with a convincing Week 1 sweep over Michigan State, but then was thoroughly outplayed in the front end of a weekend series with Michigan Tech on the road. Then it was No. 2 North Dakota, playing moderately shorthanded due to team-enforced suspensions and injuries, which only managed one goal against Alaska in a 2-1 loss.

So who’s No. 1 now? Miami is undefeated still, earning shootout and overtime wins over the weekend against Providence, but I don’t know if the record will guarantee them the No. 1 spot.

Do we give those other four a pass? Chalk it up to early-season inconsistency or a lack of rhythm? Maybe they’re all still trying to get that chemistry flowing with new teammates. Is it just a case of that annual early-season sluggishness that seems to dog many a college team?

It’s probably the latter and there’s a pretty clear cause of this sluggishness.

Coming up after the jump, a further examination of why October hockey is pretty bad, the eye-popping start for St. Lawrence’s Kyle Flanagan and some notes on a pair of the top free agents available in college hockey.

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VIDEO: Michigan Tech’s Alex Petan Dazzles With From-the-Knees Goal

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Chris Peters

Michigan Tech pulled a big upset by virtually steamrolling Minnesota, skating away with a 5-3 win. The Huskies got off to the best possible start after freshman forward Alex Petan dazzled the crowd with this goal to make it 1-0.

(H/T C.J. Fogler)

The athleticism and skill Petan used to bury that one is really something. With Minnesota defenseman Mike Reilly attacking the puck, Jujhar Khaira sent the pass just a touch too far for Petan. Knowing how wide-open he was, Petan lunged for the puck and before he could get to his feet wired a shot that would make Steven Stamkos jealous.

It’s just the second goal of the former Coquitlam Express forward’s brief college career. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to the home fans.

The goal helped the Huskies grab the momentum early and they never trailed in the game, knocking off the consensus No. 1 team in the land with some authority.

The goal also got some love from John Buccigross on SportsCenter, climbing the charts to No. 3 on Top 10 plays. College hockey, you guys.

Posted in NCAA | 2 Comments

Kerdiles Suspension Reduced to 30 Percent of Season [Updated]

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Chris Peters

As first reported by Andy Johnson of Bucky’s 5th Quarter, the NCAA’s suspension to Nic Kerdiles for an amateurism violation has been reduced from one year to 30 percent of the season. Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal later tweeted that the suspension is down to 10 games, including time served, meaning Kerdiles only has eight games left to sit.

Reported first on United States of Hockey Thursday, the violation stems from Kerdiles apparently staying in a hotel room that was paid for with the credit card of family advisor and certified NHL player agent Ian Pulver. The NCAA ruled that as an improper benefit, considering it a loan to the Kerdiles family. The investigation was sparked by photos on Twitter of Kerdiles appearing with members of the Pulver Sports Agency and other tweets.

Wisconsin’s appeal was heard Thursday at 1:30 p.m. CT and the decision was not delivered to the university’s athletic department until late Friday afternoon.

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New Details Emerge in Kerdiles Eligibility Situation

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Chris Peters

The NCAA is currently hearing the University of Wisconsin’s appeal of a one-year suspension handed down to freshman forward Nic Kerdiles. Details of the reasoning behind the hefty sanctions have been unclear, only that photos on Twitter sparked an investigation.

United States of Hockey has learned through a source with knowledge of the situation that the sanctions are not directly related to the photos, but confirmed the pictures led to the investigation. According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the NCAA found that Kerdiles may have unintentionally accepted an improper benefit in the form of a loan.

Apparently, Kerdiles stayed in a hotel room the night of the NHL Entry Draft that was part of a block paid for by a credit card owned by family advisor and certified NHL player agent Ian Pulver. According to the source, though the Kerdiles family eventually repaid Pulver, apparently enough time had lapsed prior to repayment leading the NCAA to view this as a loan from an agent and therefore an improper benefit.

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Posted in NCAA | 3 Comments