College Hockey Weekend Preview: Pro Prospects To Watch

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Chris Peters

The conference semifinals kick off today for every Division I hockey conference. This weekend can have significant impact on who’s in and who’s out of the NCAA tournament. Additionally, many of this weekend’s games are televised, with Hockey East holding center stage on NBC Sports Network.

The WCHA Final Five semis are available on Fox Sports North, for those of you in that wide viewing area. Additionally, the CCHA semis are on Fox Sports Detroit+.

So for many hockey fans across the country, this weekend will be a good chance to get a look at some of the best NHL prospects in college hockey. Coming up after the jump, I list off some of the most exciting prospects playing this weekend and where you can see them on TV (if they’re going to be on TV).

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Posted in American Prospects, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft | 5 Comments

American Prospect Update: MN State Tourney; Nieves’ USHL Debut; Galchenyuk Returns; McCabe Dangles

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Chris Peters

It’s that time of year. Higher stakes. More drama. More excitement. Everything gets turned up a notch in March and April. It’s also getting to the point of the season where NHL Draft prospects are running out of games to showcase themselves for the watchful eyes of scouts.

Pretty much all of the prospects in high school or prep hockey have already seen their seasons come to an end. The CHL is winding down its regular season next week, while the USHL still has around a month to go before its playoffs begin. Some college prospects have already seen their seasons come to a close, but a few are still alive with a few weeks left to play.

Coming up after the jump, a look at some standouts from the Minnesota State Tournament including Benilde hero Grant Besse and Mr. Hockey award winner Justin Kloos. Also some info on Boo Nieves (Kent School/Indiana Ice), Danny O’Regan (St. Sebastian’s/U.S. U18s), Jimmy Vesey (South Shore Kings), Alex Galchenyuck (Sarnia Sting) and Jake McCabe (University of Wisconsin).

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Posted in American Prospects, High School Hockey, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP, USA Hockey | Comments Off on American Prospect Update: MN State Tourney; Nieves’ USHL Debut; Galchenyuk Returns; McCabe Dangles

College Hockey Roundup: Wild Playoff Weekend; Conference Semis; Pro Signings; Links

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Chris Peters

If I were able to watch any of the college hockey this weekend, I would have likely needed a cigarette when all was said and done. Even though there was only one nationally televised game (UMass-BC on NBC Sports Network), it was thrilling just to follow the box scores to see some of the unexpected results last weekend brought.

With the conference playoffs in full swing, the games get more intense. From the physicality to the speed, everything gets ramped up a notch. This past weekend was no exception, if the 13 games that ended in overtime were any indication.

There was everything you come to expect from playoff hockey at any level: drama, controversy and fantastic individual performances.

Coming up after the jump, a look at some of the highlights from last weekend, a look ahead to the neutral-site games coming this weekend and the latest news and notes from around college hockey.

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Posted in American Prospects, NCAA, NHL | 3 Comments

Benilde-St. Margaret’s Shows What Makes Hockey Great

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Chris Peters

There’s something uniquely dramatic about high school sports. It can often be over-glorified and maybe sometimes there’s a little too much pressure put on the kids, but what happened last night in St. Paul was every bit storybook.

What can make high school sports so incredible is when kids, and they are kids, rise to the occasion in a very adult way. On the field of play, or in this case a sheet of ice, young athletes do the things we come to expect from professionals. Although they don’t do it for a pay check or what others will think or write about them. These young athletes do it for the joy of competition, the pride in themselves and in their schools. They do it for their teammates.

The Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys’ hockey team had a very special teammate in mind on their march to the state title: Jack Jablonski.

The team decided not to dedicate the season to Jack after the 16-year-old’s spinal cord was severed after being checked head-first into the boards in late December. Why wouldn’t they? The team decided that wouldn’t be enough. What happens when the season is over? He was going to need their love and support for much longer than that.

Though they may not have dedicated the season to their teammate, they sure played like it. The Red Knights, with Jablonski’s No. 13 stitched onto their right shoulders, skated off the Xcel Energy Center Ice on Saturday night as Minnesota State Champions.

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Posted in American Prospects, High School Hockey, USA Hockey | 3 Comments

Eastern Expansion in the USHL? Hold Your Horses

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Chris Peters

It’s been a bit of an interesting off-ice week for the United States Hockey League, the nation’s only Tier I Junior league. On Tuesday, the Maine Hockey Group and Firland Management announced intentions to pursue a USHL expansion franchise for Lewiston, Maine, to open play as early as 2013-14. Just a day later, the New England Hockey Journal reported that the soon to be renamed New England Huskies will move to Merrimack College’s home rink with hopes to be in the USHL by 2013-14 as well.

This news going public now is no mistake. The bug has been planted now that there are efforts from some ownership groups to attract USHL East. As great as it sounds on the surface, expanding the league’s footprint into new markets, fans and administrators should proceed with caution.

There has been talk of USHL Eastern expansion for a long time, but it always seems to peter out. What makes these two cases a little more interesting is that it seems there are some wheels in motion.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, USA Hockey | Comments Off on Eastern Expansion in the USHL? Hold Your Horses

2012 NTDP Tryout Camp Roster Unveiled

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Chris Peters

Today, USA Hockey announced the 50-plus player roster for its annual NTDP Evaluation Camp. The roster features many of the best American players from the 1996 birth year, who will be vying for spots on next year’s U.S. National Under-17 Team.

The team will not solely be selected out of this camp, as the summer player development camps are also taken to account, but the vast majority of the players selected for the 2012-13 U17 squad will have participated in this event.

The NTDP tryout camp is annually the first look at what the future may hold for USA Hockey. These players are two-to-three years out from their draft season and other players not in camp will rise over that span, but this roster often gives us a strong idea of a lot of the names we’ll be hearing about in coming years.

This year’s camp format is slightly different than years past. There are more players, for one. With 28 forwards, 19 defensemen and six goaltenders in camp this year, the NTDP was able to break into what was normally two teams, to three. There will be three squads of nine forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders. That means more ice time for each player and will lead to increased intensity, always great for an evaluation camp.

Coming up after the jump, the complete roster as well as some of the players to watch at camp that are already standing out in their young careers.
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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams | 6 Comments

American Prospect Update: A Scout’s View of 2012 Class, U.S. Prospects

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Chris Peters

After a few weeks off, the American Prospect Update has returned to its normal slot on Wednesdays here on United States of Hockey. There hasn’t been a lot of movement among the rankings and schools of thought, so I figured it was time to bring in an expert.

I enlisted the help of a Western Conference scout to help talk a bit about the 2012 NHL Draft class as a whole, and give some reports on some American prospects he’s seen so far this year.

Last year, around this time, it looked as though the 2012 Draft was going to be long on high-end talent, with great depth. This year, it’s becoming more clear that there is a fair amount of that high-end talent, but a shallow player pool.

The scout agreed saying, “After the first 25 players, there’s a bit of a drop. Once you get past 40 or 50, there’s a huge drop.”

That significant drop off after the first 40-50 players means that there will be some tough decisions from the second round on.

“I think it is going to be hard to find value late,” said the scout. “There are going to be kids that you take educated guesses on that you could go either way. The history of these kids is going to be huge.”

Coming up after the jump our Western Conference scout shares some thoughts on the top Americans in the Ontario Hockey League and NTDP.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP | Comments Off on American Prospect Update: A Scout’s View of 2012 Class, U.S. Prospects

College Hockey Roundup: Postseason in Full Swing; NCAA You Can Play; Hobey Race

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Chris Peters

The final two conference regular season champions were crowned over the weekend, meaning the entirety of college hockey is in the postseason. Boston College wrapped up the Hockey East regular season crown with a win over Vermont Friday, while Minnesota took the WCHA title thanks to a Minnesota Duluth loss at St. Cloud State.

The college hockey postseason is always full of unexpected twists and turns, which is what makes it so fun. The conference tournaments offer some really unique match-ups this year, which should lead to an entertaining couple of weeks of hockey.

Coming up after the jump, a look at some of the more intriguing postseason match-ups this weekend for each conference.

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Posted in American Prospects, NCAA | 1 Comment

If You Can Play, You Can Play

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Chris Peters

If you tuned into the NBC’s Bruins-Rangers broadcast Sunday, you may have seen a PSA featuring a bevy of top NHL players with a simple message: If you can play, you can play.

The PSA introduced the brand new You Can Play Project, co-founded by Patrick Burke, a Philadelphia Flyers scout, brother of the late Brendan Burke and son of Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, Brian Kitts and Glenn Witman. You Can Play’s stated mission is as follows:

You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.

You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team’s success.

You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.

How is respect gained in hockey? A blocked shot, a hard body check, a goal, an assist, or maybe a good hustle play. The You Can Play Project means to keep it that way.

A player being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender wouldn’t affect that player’s ability to block a shot, deliver a hard body check, score a goal, record an assist or hustle for a loose puck. On the ice, a hockey player is a hockey player. There’s no need for another identifier.

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Posted in Grow the Game, NHL, USA Hockey, Youth Hockey | 1 Comment

Fighting in Junior Hockey Soon to be Extinct? Good.

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Chris Peters

Fighting in Junior hockey is on the way out. Or at least it will be if USA Hockey and Hockey Canada get their way.

A recent New York Times story documented the efforts of USA Hockey and Hockey Canada to ban fighting at the Junior level. It is sure to be a hot button topic and met with passionate resistance from perhaps many fans, coaches and players.

In the new climate of heightened sensitivity surrounding injuries and fighting in hockey, this is a topic I’ve spent a great deal of time reflecting on. In fact, I wrote about this very topic in the wake of the tragic deaths of Derek Boogaard, Wade Belak and Rick Rypien. It was admittedly knee-jerk on my part. Drawing conclusions and maybe making too many generalizations, but the heart of the piece was about curtailing fights in Junior hockey.

I have no issue with fighting in professional hockey. Those guys get paid to do what they do. Some make a very comfortable living. In the small markets of the minor leagues, fighting is probably a big factor in what keeps people herding through the turnstiles.

It’s a different story in Junior hockey. These kids don’t get paid (for the most part). While fighting might fill a few seats here and there, the more significant number of people who go to USHL games are families looking to have a little fun at the arena. Maybe it’s different in the Canadian Hockey League, but I’d imagine a good deal of the folks heading to rinks across the little big towns in Canada are going to get a glimpse of future NHL stars. Whether those future stars knock the snot out of each other is irrelevant to their enjoyment.

Besides, who over the age of 20 would want to admit that the reason they go to Junior hockey games is to watch a 17-year-old get pumped by a 19-year-old?

Soon, it appears Junior hockey will be a fight-free zone in both the United States and Canada, which is a very good thing in my opinion.

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Posted in Junior Hockey, NHL | 38 Comments