College Hockey Roundup: Where Have The Elites Gone?

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Chris Peters

Looking up and down the latest national college hockey polls over the last few weeks, a few questions have been raised. Outside of the No. 1 spot, which has been locked down by Minnesota Duluth for the last six weeks, there’s been an abundance of movement among the top five teams in the country.

This could be an indication of parity in college hockey. More teams have found ways to compete with the perceived big boys in the college game. The talent pool has deepened, and has also spread out among the schools.

However, it may more accurately indicate the lack of truly elite teams in college hockey this year. Parity is often a result of the traditionally less-competitive teams getting better, for sure. However, it can also be a result of the nation’s traditionally more-competitive teams backsliding a bit.

College hockey is often a battle of attrition. The better programs get the better players and therefore those players are most often the ones that leave school early for professional contracts. These schools also are more susceptible to losing recruits to Major Junior, as the battle for elite players has never been hotter.

What makes this all interesting this year is that outside of Minnesota Duluth, which got off to a slow start this season itself, there hasn’t been a consistently dominant team.

There are several questions to be asked, but the most important one to me is: Does college hockey need dominant teams or programs, or is parity better for the future of the game?

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Posted in NCAA | 5 Comments

This Week in the United States of Hockey — 1/7-1/13/2012

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Chris Peters

It’s been an incredibly busy week for hockey in the U.S. and the game at large. There’s been plenty of great stories, big and small. Seeing as I don’t do this nearly often enough, I figured I’d provide a snapshot of the latest goings on in the United States of Hockey.

Coming up after the jump, a look at Americans selected as NHL All Stars, Winter Classic to the Big House?, fun at Fenway, a must-listen to podcast from John Buccigross and more.

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Posted in Grow the Game, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, USA Hockey, Youth Hockey | Comments Off on This Week in the United States of Hockey — 1/7-1/13/2012

One State, One Week, Two Tragedies — Time to Take The Pledge

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Chris Peters

Jack Jablonski. Jenna Privette. These two names have been in the thoughts of the hockey community for the last few weeks, both for similar reasons. Jablonski was hit from behind into the boards on Dec. 30 and we now know that it is unlikely he’ll ever walk again. One week later, in a game she had dedicated to Jablonski, Privette was injured after going head first into the boards and has not been able to move her legs since, though an MRI has shown that there are no broken bones in her spine, leaving room for hope.

These types of injuries are rare, but to have similar instances of this injury to occur in a one-week span is rather horrifying. Last week, I documented just a few of the other instances in which players were left paralyzed. It’s a scary thought. Each of these scenarios played out differently, each ended with similar results.

There have certainly been instances in which these injuries could have been avoided, particularly in Jablonski’s and Privette’s cases. Checking from behind is the hottest topic in youth hockey after these two injuries. It should be. Hits from behind need to be examined and hopefully we can curtail such hits. It’s easier said than done.

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Posted in USA Hockey, Youth Hockey | Comments Off on One State, One Week, Two Tragedies — Time to Take The Pledge

American Prospect Update: NHL CSS Mid-Term Rankings [EDITED]

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Chris Peters

We’ve reached the halfway point of the season for most of the leagues that house players eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. As such, NHL Central Scouting Services released its mid-term rankings Wednesday morning.

Central scouting listed 212 North American skaters and 36 North American goaltenders at the mid-term. Unlike lists unveiled earlier in the year, this is our first glimpse at where Central Scouting feels these players stack up. This is not broken down by league and there are no letter grades. The Central Scouting list could be treated like one NHL team’s draft board. So in the eyes of Central Scouting, if the draft were held tomorrow, this would be the order in which they’d select players if they were only picking from North American players. Keep in mind, there’s also a complete European list, so you’d have to remember that there are several Europeans that will earn high draft selections, thus altering this  order a bit.

Coming up after the jump, a look at how American prospects fared in Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, USA Hockey | 13 Comments

2012 WJC Postmortem: Team USA’s Forwards

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Chris Peters

Looking back at the 2012 World Junior Championship, the U.S. National Junior Team and all of its faults, one has to feel that its biggest opportunity to have made an impact in the tournament rested with the group of forwards. Against Latvia and Denamark, Team USA scored a combined 23 goals. Against Finland, the Czech Republic, Canada and Switzerland, Team USA scored a combined seven goals.

When you look up and down the forward roster, you’ll see five first-round draft picks, three of the WCHA’s top scorers, a player with two games NHL experience, one of the WHL’s most productive wingers over the last three years and many more.

Seven goals in four games against what would be considered upper-echelon opponents was not going to get it done.

In the two games in which Team USA’s fate was sealed, forwards put up many shots, 93 in total, but few of enough quality to beat a pair of elite goaltenders. In those two crucial games, Team USA faced off against a pair of guys in Sami  Aittokallio of Finland and Petr Mrazek of the Czech Republic (Mrazek ended up being named the directorate award winner for the tournament’s best goaltender). When you go up against two of the best, you have to find a way to be better. The U.S. didn’t.

The lack of a sustained forecheck and struggles to gain a presence in front of the opposing team’s net will be the big takeaways from this forward group. With all that potential and all that pedigree, somehow, Team USA couldn’t get the offense clicking.

Coming up after the jump, a look at each of Team USA’s 13 forwards.

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

2012 WJC Postmortem: Team USA’s Defense and Goalies

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Chris Peters

The 2012 World Junior Championship officially closed last night in thrilling fashion, as Sweden edged Russia, 1-0, in overtime to capture its first U20 gold medal since 1981. It was as exciting a 1-0 game as I’ve seen and it was a great way to end an extremely wacky tournament.

With the final placement set at the 2012 World Junior Championship, we now know the 2013 seeding.

The U.S. will play as part of Group B which includes Germany, Slovakia, Russia…. and… Canada. Three of the last four gold medal champions are part of this group. Can you say, “Group of Death?” Group A includes Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Latvia. It should be another outstanding tournament in Ufa, Russia in 2013.

Now it’s time to turn back focus one last time at the U.S. National Junior Team that finished seventh place (my apologies for a lack of a Switzerland recap, there were a lot of other things to cover). A seventh-place finish is nothing short of an utter disappointment in the eyes of the Americans. Having medaled in the two years prior, no one could have predicted such an abysmal finish.

When it came right down to it, the players underperformed in successive games and you can’t afford to have more than one off night at the World Juniors. The U.S. never found its game. Plenty of blame to go around, but as the dust begins to settle, finger pointing won’t get anyone anywhere.

Coming up after the jump, an in-depth look at each of Team USA’s goaltenders and defensemen at the 2012 World Junior Championship.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 2 Comments

WU17HC: U.S. Falls to Russia, 7-4, in Championship Game

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Chris Peters

Despite a valiant comeback effort by the U.S. National Under-17 Team, Russia captured the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge title with a 7-4 victory. The score isn’t indicative of how the game played out, as a pair of late empty-netters for Russia make it sound worse than it really was.

Team USA was down 5-2 at one point in the third period, but stormed back with an offensive onslaught in the closing minutes of the final frame, getting it to 5-4 before Russia sealed it with the empty-netters.

It’s a disappointing end to a thrilling tournament, but the U.S. had to battle in several of its games and you can’t fault the effort. It was definitely there. Coming up after the jump, some thoughts on the game and players that stood out for Team USA.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World U17 Hockey Challenge | 1 Comment

Jack Jablonski: The Spirit of the Hockey Family and Lessons Learned

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Chris Peters

Over the last six days we’ve learned a lot about a 16-year-old hockey player named Jack Jablonski. Unfortunately, last night, the newest thing we learned was that he probably will never walk again.

A check from behind in a JV hockey game in St. Louis Park, Minn., has altered a young man’s life forever. A broken vertebrae and severed spinal cord after a head-first crash into the boards.

Jablonski’s family posted the following on the Benilde-St. Margaret’s player’s CaringBridge page:

Jack has limited mobility and no movement in his lower body. As we feared, he will not be able to walk or skate. This news is devastating to Jack and everyone who loves him. Our hope and dream is that he will be able to prove this prognosis wrong.

Our priority is to help Jack accept and transition into his new life, a life that we did not plan, but one that we have to embrace. We have a mountain to climb, but with your support, we know that Jack’s youth, strength and determination will help him make remarkable strides.

In the face of some of the worst news a family can receive, the Jablonskis offer a positive message to all who have been following Jack’s story and sharing their support. The journal entry was titled “Never Give Up.” The Jablonski family simply won’t.

In the tragedy of such a catastrophic injury, the heartwarming support from the hockey community at large has been overwhelming. Visits, tweets, Facebook pages, guestbook messages, videos and calls for donations from around the hockey media has shown just how much hockey unites us all.

Jack Jablonski is one of us. He’s part of our family and because he’s part of our family, we’re going to be there for him.

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Posted in USA Hockey, Youth Hockey | 12 Comments

2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge Championship Game Preview: USA vs. Russia

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Chris Peters

Getting to the championship game at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is a grind. Seven games in eight days and little margin for error in the preliminary round make this an incredibly tough tournament to win. In fact, the U.S. and Russia, the two teams that will battle for the title tonight, just barely made it out of the preliminary round.

The pair of Group B opponents were part of a three-way tie with Canada-Pacific, however a complicated tie-breaker, allowed both Russia and the U.S. to advance, sending Pacific to the fifth-place game.

Then it was an incredible semifinal round. The U.S. needed a shootout to defeat Sweden, 2-1. Russia came back to force overtime against Canada-Ontario, and won in the extra frame, 4-3. Now the U.S. and Russia get a rematch from a hotly contested preliminary round game, in which Russia handed the U.S. its only defeat of the tournament, 3-2.

Coming up after a jump, a full preview of tonight’s contest as well as players you should be watching on both sides tonight.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World U17 Hockey Challenge | 1 Comment

2012 WJC: USA vs. Switzerland Preview

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Chris Peters

There’s a little added motivation for the U.S. National Junior Team as it takes the ice against Switzerland at 5 p.m. EST in Calgary. For some of these players, it could be the last time they wear the USA crest on their jersey, but for all there’s a chance at avoiding infamy.

Team USA hopes to celebrate together one last time (Photo: Dave Arnold)

The winner of tonight’s contest will finish the tournament in seventh place. Only one U.S. team in all the years USA Hockey has participated at the WJC has finished lower than seventh place. That came in 1999. Seventh isn’t where you want to be, but it’s also not eighth. A win also puts Team USA back at .500, as it currently sits 2-0-0-3.

Coming up after the jump, a look at today’s match up.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | Comments Off on 2012 WJC: USA vs. Switzerland Preview