American Prospect Update: Who To Watch in the USHL This Year

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Chris Peters

The American Prospect Update has returned, which can only mean hockey season has arrived. OK, once you finish your celebratory dance party for one, come on back and read the rest of this post…

The USHL Fall Classic kicks off today in Sioux City, Iowa. Dozens of elite prospects for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will be on display at the Tyson Events Center. The games won’t count towards the standings, but it makes the event no less important.

For the prospects, it’s the first audition for the many NHL scouts and execs that will be in attendance to get a glimpse of the best the USHL has to offer.

This season is one in which the stars may align just perfectly for the USHL. With several highly-touted prospects found within the league, there could be a much larger impact on the NHL Draft this June. A season like this is one could garner a whole bunch of attention for the USHL and help it attract and keep more talent.

Coming up after the jump, a look at some of the 2012 Draft-eligible players to keep an especially close eye on this USHL season…

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

Johnson, Sauer, Rossi and Pulford Named 2011 Lester Patrick Award Recipients

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Chris Peters

The Lester Patrick Award is given annually for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. The NHL announced Tuesday that this year’s recipients include Mark Johnson, a former NHLer, current University of Wisconsin women’s hockey head coach, and of course, the leading scorer for the 1980 Miracle on Ice Team; Jeff Sauer, former University of Wisconsin and Colorado head coach and current U.S. National Sled Hockey Team bench boss; Tony Rossi, longtime USA Hockey executive and a big part of the organizations significant growth over the last five decades; and Bob Pulford, a Hockey Hall of Famer and former coach and GM of the Chicago Blackhawks.

These four honorees will receive their awards Oct. 26 in St. Paul, Minn.

The Patrick is a high honor to all who receive it. Lester Patrick was a big part of the NHL’s early growth in the United States and perhaps set the wheels in motion for what the game has become today in this country.

After the jump, a closer look at the recipients, including a personal story of how one Lester Patrick winner impacted my path in hockey.

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American Prospects to Watch at NHL Training Camps

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Chris Peters

NHL Training camps have opened up and there are many up-and-coming American prospects competing for roster spots. Some are taking part in their first pro camps, while others are looking to build upon previous experience in an effort to improve their standing within an organization. It’s tense times for some, but for others it’s just a chance to gain a little experience before heading back to Junior or the AHL.

This year’s crop of American prospects is pretty deep and distinguished. Find out which players I’ll be watching closely throughout this intriguing preseason…

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Posted in American Prospects, NHL | 1 Comment

What’s Happening with USofH?

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Chris Peters

You may have noticed a slow trickle of content on the blog of late, and for that, my apologies. But the days without posts are for good reason .

Since the blog started in December of 2010, this is the first time we’ve had to deal with an off-season and preparing for the full hockey season. Because of that, there’s been some behind-the-scenes work being completed to make sure everything’s ready to go.

Essentially, the blog is going to go through some changes in order to allow for more comprehensive coverage over the course of this hockey season. The national team news and analysis will remain, as will weekly prospect updates and analysis. There will still be commentary on the game as a whole in the United States. However, there will be an added focus on the National Hockey League, its players and already drafted prospects, as that is an area that has been lacking around these parts.

You can also expect some ramped up coverage of the United States Hockey League and NCAA. Living just 15 minutes south of a major USHL hub (Cedar Rapids, the first time it’s been called a major hub), there will be more opportunities to watch and speak with the league’s players and coaches.

The NCAA is about to go through perhaps the most tumultuous three-year stretch we’ve seen. As the conference picture continues to come into focus, we’ll have coverage and analysis of it all. On top of that, there will be more content focusing on what’s happening on the ice at the college level. With the multitude of American prospects skating in college hockey rinks across the country, there’s plenty to cover.

There will be continued coverage of USA Hockey’s initiatives throughout the year, with examination of how its new Pee Wee checking rules are working, and the latest happenings with the American Development Model. You can also expect coverage of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Hockey Weekend Across America, and other growing-the-game initiatives, as per usual.

One of the things you’ll notice throughout the first half of the season is the U.S. World Junior Watch. As the tournament continues to grow in popularity, we’ll be tracking all of the U.S. National Junior Team candidates throughout the season, singling out various players for profiles from the early parts of the 2011-12 season right up to the announcement of the pre-tournament camp roster.

Since I write feature stories as part of that whole earning a living thing, I hope to bring some feature elements to the blog in the near future. They might be few and far between, but it will offer a change of pace from the “This Happened. Here are my thoughts” format this blog can sometimes take.

I hope you’ll enjoy some of the changes, additions and tweaks at United States of Hockey as the season rolls along.

Also, if there’s something you want to see more of, less of, or something different, please let me know. I’m always happy to hear feedback, suggestions or insults. You can leave them in the comments or shoot me a tweet or email me at cmpeters10@gmail.com.

The 2011-12 hockey season begins in earnest next week at USofH with a USHL season/prospect preview and a look at top American prospects taking part in NHL training camps this fall.

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International Hockey Community in Mourning

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Chris Peters

They say the hockey community is small. However small, it is just that, a community. Tragedy has come in various doses this summer, but none bigger than the one that collectively sank the hearts of our tight-knit group. At least 43 individuals, all gone.

The players and coaches are of various descent and backgrounds. Some were well known in North America, others weren’t. Some were young, some were old. All different. All the same. Teammates, yes, but members of the greater hockey family.

That’s why we all feel the effects. For whatever reason, unlike any sport, hockey people just seem to get each other. We’ll have our inside disagreements like if we should or shouldn’t ban fighting or if Gretzky was better than Lemieux or Orr or Howe. But when it’s all stripped away, we are united. United by a common love of this game.

This blog tends to focus merely on hockey in just one country, but it is the international nature of the game that makes it so special. It doesn’t belong to just one nation. It belongs to the world. It belongs to us and because it belongs to us, this news hurts.

If there is one positive we can take out of this mess, it is that in tragedy we, as a community, came together. Through social media, blogs, news outlets, there was reporting and reacting. As details continued to come out, each more heartbreaking than the one before, phone calls were being made to friends and fellow fans, vigils broke out, various tributes and memorials came pouring out. We all cared. It was happening to not just someone in a far off land, it was happening to us.

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Reexamining Fighting in Junior Hockey

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Chris Peters

The tragic death of Wade Belak, another hockey player gone too soon this summer, is plainly gut-wrenching. My first reaction to hearing the news of Wade Belak was, not again. The hockey community has taken another direct shot, and this one stings just as much as the heartbreaking losses of Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien earlier this summer. Collectively, it is almost too much to bear.

I had no plans to write about this topic before, but for whatever reason Belak’s apparent suicide got to me. Three guys, all loved by their fanbases (and beyond), all with the same job description, but each with his own issues to contend with, all gone. Not three hockey players, three human beings.

So first, I thought about the men we’ve lost too soon, their families, friends, teammates and fans. Secondly, I asked why? Why did this have to happen? How could it have been prevented? What could anyone have done differently?

Everyone has their own theories. It has brought plenty of people out saying we should ban fighting in the NHL, and with good reason. As someone who enjoys that aspect of hockey, it’d be hard to see it go. However, the people with that opinion are not wrong, especially not now.

None of us can definitively say fighting did or did not contribute to the deaths of these three men. I won’t speculate much more about that. However, because of the similarities among these three, we have to cautiously examine, not just fighting itself and its physical toll, but the mental and emotional conflicts they may bring about.

There have been generations of fighters in the NHL that have lived full, happy lives, so there is a track record that what has transpired this summer is not the norm. However, three is a trend. Albeit a small and recent trend, but a scary one. A trend that makes it only appropriate to continue to ask questions. To examine in depth.

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Posted in Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL | 6 Comments

NCAA vs. CHL: The Best Thing You’ll Read About The Battle

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Chris Peters

It is not often on this blog that I’ll write a post based on a story written by someone else. I’ve always felt that the primary goal of USofH was to bring you news and opinion you couldn’t get just anywhere. However, the brilliant Craig Custance, national hockey writer for Sporting News (soon-to-be ESPN.com hockey writer), penned perhaps the most important piece written about the battle being waged between college hockey and the Canadian Hockey League. It is both revealing and thought provoking, making it a story that I would consider required reading. Also, reading the SN piece first might help you follow along with this post.

I’ve long been an admirer of Craig’s work. He often writes about the most important topics in the NHL and is both well connected and well respected in NHL circles. Because of that, this may become the definitive piece on the topic. Custance, a true journalist, covers the story from all angles fairly and thoroughly.

Most hockey fans are blissfully unaware of this unrest within hockey’s developmental structure and this article likely won’t change that, but the exposure it brings to a new audience is important. Not only that, but Custance dug deeper and provided a wealth of new information in the form of quotes from high-ranking NHL, CHL and NCAA officials.

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

College Hockey’s Drama-Filled Summer Rides On

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Chris Peters

Another week, another dramatic announcement in college hockey. The WCHA has extended invitations to five remaining schools in the CCHA (Alaska, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State and Western Michigan), essentially merging the two conferences devastated by the Big Ten and National Collegiate Hockey Conference, starting in 2013-14.

So far, Alaska and Lake Superior State [UPDATED: and Ferris State] have already accepted the invitations. Ferris State and Western Michigan have each issued statements acknowledging that they’ve been invited, but have no definitive language as to what they’ll do. Bowling Green hasn’t said anything publicly, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which BGSU and Ferris wouldn’t join the WCHA.

WMU is likely holding out until Notre Dame makes a move, so the Broncos are no lock for the WCHA, but to be honest, they’re not a lock for anywhere right now. At this point, the WCHA is Western’s “safety” if the NCHC says no. Broncos AD Kathy Beauregard has essentially been shamelessly shouting from the mountaintops WHY WESTERN! WOW! WESTERN!, or in other words, “you really need to be adding us to your conference.”

So despite all of the drama we’ve already experienced over this turbulent summer, it isn’t over yet. Notre Dame is expected to announce its intentions for the 2013-14 season at the end of August. There are consistent rumblings that the Irish may go the independent route, which would be an interesting, and perhaps foolish move. They can go to NCHC or Hockey East and be far better off than staying independent. I wouldn’t expect them to go it alone.

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2011-12 U.S. National Under-18 Team: Forwards

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Chris Peters

Based on yesterday’s post, we know the U.S. National Under-18 Team has really solid goaltenders and defensemen, but the forwards aren’t exactly dragging the team down. With a very versatile crop of forwards, the NTDP has both depth and talent.

This is a gifted group of forwards, but one of the needs up front for this squad was a go-to bonafide scorer. There wasn’t one forward on the team last year that was consistently going to bury. As the season wore on, it looked more and more like Ryan Hartman could be that guy and he just may be going into the U18 season.

Despite the lack of that go-to scoring threat, the team had a very balanced offensive output in 2010-11. Eleven players had 20 points or more, which, when you consider the competition they faced at 16, is pretty impressive. The U18s will have an incredibly deep crop of forwards and a very good mix of playing styles.

Coming into the season, Team USA will include 14 forwards (Andrew Copp is the 14th forward and will likely float between the U18 and U17 teams over the course of the season). Of those 14, only one is NOT draft eligible this year. So there’s going to be a lot to prove for each of the guys up front in their draft campaign.

Coming up after the jump, a look at each of Team USA’s 14 forwards for 2011-12.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey | Comments Off on 2011-12 U.S. National Under-18 Team: Forwards

2011-12 U.S. National Under-18 Team: Goalies & Defensemen

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Chris Peters

There was little drama with the players that went from last year’s U.S. National Under-17 Team to this year’s Under-18 Team at the National Team Development Program. That said, it wasn’t devoid of turnover as USA Hockey officially released the final roster.

Every year it seems, one or two players from the Under-17 Team won’t return for one reason or another. Gone are Henrik Samuelsson and Dakota Mermis from last year’s squad. Samuelsson went to Sweden with his father, Ulf, who will be coaching the MODO club. Mermis was granted a release to play for the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL.

The lone new addition to the team was a good one. Riley Barber was named to Team USA earlier in the summer, coming over from the defending Clark Cup champion Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Other than that, Danton Cole is going to have a roster full of familiar faces in his second season as a head coach at the NTDP.

In addition to releasing the roster, USA Hockey announced the schedule for the U.S. Under-18s and it’s a doozie. On top of to 24 games against USHL competition, Team USA will take on a college slate that includes the following Division I schools: Michigan, Denver, Colorado College, Vermont, Maine, Minnesota State Mankato, Wisconsin, Northeastern, Boston University, Lake Superior State and Alabama Huntsville.

That has to be one of the most challenging college schedules the NTDP has come up with in some time, and they’ve played some great schedules. This will be a very challenging year for a very talented group.

Team USA opens its season with a preseason contest against the Youngstown Phantoms in Ann Arbor Sept. 16. The U18s will also represent the NTDP at the USHL Fall Classic in Sioux City, Iowa, Sept. 22-24.

With all of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft prospects on this team, I’ve broken up the roster breakdown into two parts. Coming up after the jump, a look at the goaltenders and defensemen for the U.S. National Under-18 Team.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey | Comments Off on 2011-12 U.S. National Under-18 Team: Goalies & Defensemen