U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Announced

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Chris Peters

USA Hockey announced the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2011 today, which included some names every American hockey fan is familiar with. Among the players, it was Chris Chelios, Gary Suter and Keith Tkachuk. Non players inducted were Flyers owner Ed Snider and legendary broadcaster Mike “Doc” Emrick.

This is a truly fantastic class for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. These five men will be inducted in Chicago come fall, with an official date and location to be announced within a week or two.

Coming up after the jump a look at each of the inductees.

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Posted in Grow the Game, NHL, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey | 2 Comments

CHL/NCAA Ballyhoo On The Air

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Chris Peters

Saturday morning, I chatted with Guy Flaming on The Pipeline Show on TEAM 1260 in Edmonton. The topic was (what else?) the ongoing battle between the Canadian Hockey League and college hockey.

You can check out the archive of that conversation here.

Many thanks to Guy for having me on the show. Additionally, I’ve got to hand it to Guy and his partner Dean Millard (who was on vacation Saturday) for their always balanced and fair take on this whole debate.

They both understand that there is not necessarily a right path for a player to take and that there are huge benefits to choosing either route. If you don’t already, be sure to regularly check out their fantastic radio show and equally fantastic blog, Coming Down The Pipe. You can also follow the boys on Twitter: @ThePipelineShow.

Unrelated note: USA Hockey will announce the inductees for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Monday. We’ll have a full rundown of the group on USofH later that afternoon. The induction ceremony will be held this fall in Chicago.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on CHL/NCAA Ballyhoo On The Air

The Argument Against CHL Players Retaining NCAA Eligibility

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Chris Peters

In recent weeks, the flurry of former college-committed players taking their talents to the CHL has caused a bit of an uproar on both sides of the argument. NCAA fans are upset they’re losing their top recruits. Many, but certainly not all, CHL backers are telling NCAA fans to quit their moaning.

Both have valid arguments, but both are, in most cases, passionately biased. I’ve stated many times before I am a pro-college guy, but I’m not, nor have I ever been, an anti-Major Junior guy.  I’ll explain to anyone who wants to know the value of choosing either path as each has strengths and weaknesses, as I see them.

That said, an interesting argument has crept up in this whole process. Why doesn’t college hockey try to get an exemption from the NCAA to allow former CHL players to retain college eligibility?

First off, I don’t know if that’s at all possible for sure, considering that NCAA is constantly monitoring and evaluating what is and isn’t a professional athlete.

The reason CHL players currently lose eligibility isn’t totally based on the stipend each player receives, but the fact that plenty of CHL players have already signed professional contracts with NHL clubs, making them professionals by the NCAA’s definition. While the CHL may not be considered a professional league per se, it includes professional hockey players, thus making it a professional league in the eyes of the NCAA.

That’s not really what I want to comment on though. Getting into all that legal stuff isn’t what you want to read anyway. However, I can tell you why, even if the NCAA could grant an exemption for the CHL, it shouldn’t.

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Posted in Junior Hockey, NCAA | 14 Comments

American Head Coaches Making Waves in Pro Hockey

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Chris Peters

Wednesday morning, the Buffalo Sabres named Ron Rolston head coach for its AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Rolston is just the latest among up-and-coming American coaches to earn a job in pro hockey this off-season.

This blog often focuses on the top prospects in the country, but the boom in American coaches earning high-profile jobs and honors is showing that there may be a new trend in hockey. It’s often said that hockey is full of people from the “old boys” network. They tend to stick together and that’s why you tend to see a lot of ex-NHL head coaches get new jobs pretty quick.

However, some teams are going in a new direction. What once was a rarity is becoming more and more the norm. Canadians had a stranglehold on NHL, AHL and even college positions for decades. This new wave of American coaches is changing that.

By my count, as of this writing, half of the American Hockey League’s 30 teams will be led by American coaches. That’s right, 15 American head coaches in the NHL’s top developmental league. There are currently six Americans leading NHL teams.

The growth in the AHL suggests something similar could happen at the NHL level in time, though it could be a long time.

Consider that only two Jack Adams Award winners (NHL Coach of the Year) are American. John Tortorella (2003-04, Tampa Bay) was the first, and Penguins head man Dan Bylsma joined him just last season. Will that number change in the near future? It certainly could with the plethora of American coaches at the helm of NHL and AHL teams.

In addition to Michigan-born Bylsma winning the Adams last season, his AHL counterpart, Rhode Island-native John Hynes, bench boss of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins earned that league’s coach of the year honors.

Where are these guys coming from? Let’s talk about it after the jump.

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Posted in NCAA, NHL, USA Hockey | 3 Comments

NCAA/CHL Battle Heating Up [UPDATED]

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Chris Peters

The college hockey world has been mainly focused on the constant realignment talk, but there’s another big story developing over this summer and it’s not a good one.

In recent weeks, three of the four college-committed players selected in the first round of the 2011 Entry Draft have decided to go to the OHL. J.T. Miller, previously committed to the University of North Dakota, has reportedly signed with the Plymouth Whalers. Jamie Oleksiak, who would have been a sophomore at Northeastern signed with the Saginaw Spirit last week. And the latest: I was informed by two independent sources that Connor Murphy will drop his commitment to Miami University and will sign with the Sarnia Sting. That is expected to be announced soon.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP | 35 Comments

I’m Back… Here’s a Bunch of Stuff I Missed

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Chris Peters

First off, let me say it’s great to be at a computer again after a few weeks away. My vacation ended up getting lengthened by a spot of pneumonia last week, which was unexpected and not so much fun. Since I’m almost back to full strength, it’s time to get back to work.

A lot of stuff has happened over the last two weeks, and I’m going to try and touch on a bunch of it right here in this post so we can get back to business as usual on USofH. So let’s get to it after the jump.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, World Junior Championship | 5 Comments

Gone Fishin’

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Chris Peters

Well, not really going fishing, but I am headed for vacation and won’t be posting anything new until Monday.

Despite the fact that the new college conference will be making its formal announcement Wednesday, you won’t be getting much out of me, at least not until I return. So make sure to stick close to all of the great college hockey media available, as I’m sure just about everyone and their brother will have something to say about this.

Until I return, keep cool inside from the hot summer sun with older posts from United States of Hockey. Please note I’ve added a few new widgets to the bottom for you to share your favorite posts on your social media site of choice. Also make sure to try out the new Google+ “+1” button.

You can expect a full week of content next week as we trudge onward this summer. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Posted in Blog News | Comments Off on Gone Fishin’

Building a Team with NTDP Director of Player Personnel Ryan Rezmierski

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Chris Peters

You may not be familiar with the name Ryan Rezmierski, but if you’re a fan of prospects, you’ve undoubtedly seen some of his handy work. Rezmierski is the director of player personnel at the National Team Development Program. He is responsible for the identification, evaluation and recruitment of prospective players for the NTDP and has helped bring in some significant American talent to Ann Arbor, Mich.

Rezmierski is entering his 11th season overall, and seventh in his current position at the NTDP. During his span, the U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team, which is almost always made up primarily of players Rezmierski has helped bring to Ann Arbor, has won medals every year, including four golds at the IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship. Eighteen players Rezmierski helped bring to Ann Arbor have been selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. There are plenty more accolades, but those right there are two pretty big ones.

So maybe now you’re asking yourself how you’ve never heard of this guy? He maintains a low profile, but anyone who’s talked to Rezmierski for about five minutes knows he’s a talented guy who is extremely passionate about what he does. On top of all that, he truly started his career from the ground up.

(Coming up after the jump, Rezmierski shares the process of putting together a team at the NTDP, some of his most memorable recruits and the challenges his staff faces in this hotly contested prospect battle.)

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

The Ever-Changing College Hockey Landscape And You

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Chris Peters

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard that five schools from the WCHA and one from the CCHA (possibly more) will be leaving their respective conferences to form one of their own starting in 2013-14, when the new Big Ten hockey conference begins play. After Thursday’s report, the seceding six released a statement Saturday essentially saying, “Yep, this is happening.”

So North Dakota, Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha and Miami University will be out on their own. There is hope that Notre Dame, and a yet-to-be-decided eighth team would join. The thought behind the conference is that this would allow the teams within it better exposure and an attractive, competitive schedule for recruiting, among other things.

Here were some of my initial thoughts when I heard this was all going down. These are also the opinions I still hold after letting this sit for a weekend:

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Posted in NCAA | 4 Comments

The State of American Hockey — 2010-11

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Chris Peters

Today marks the inaugural State of American Hockey post. It is a piece I hope to continue annually, for as long as I run this blog. Now that the NHL Draft is out of the way, we can take a comprehensive look back at the year that was in American hockey and uncover a few ways it can be better next season. 

It’s been quite a year for hockey in the United States. It’s been a year of excitement, growth and, in many ways, change. The 2010-11 season will likely be remembered as one in which hockey took a step forward in this country. USA Hockey’s membership rose, the NHL experienced rising attendance, record revenues and growing television ratings, and U.S. National Teams continued to impress on the international stage. Today, we will take a look at several facets of hockey in the United States, to comprehensively review what was done right this year and look forward to what can be done better in the future.

This State of American Hockey piece will be broken up into several categories including the NHL, USA Hockey membership, U.S. National Teams, College Hockey, Player Development (Junior hockey, NHL Draft) and a summary.

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Posted in American Prospects, Blog News, Grow the Game, Junior Hockey, Minor League Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, Women's Hockey, Youth Hockey | 6 Comments