Michigan State Hire Makes Waves

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Chris Peters

The seismic event that was the official announcement that the Big Ten hopes to add men’s ice hockey to it’s roster of sports Monday was followed up by another smaller, but incredibly significant development Wednesday.

Michigan State University shocked the hockey world when it announced that Tom Anastos was going to be it’s new men’s ice hockey coach, replacing the retiring Rick Comley. Anastos resigned his post as the commissioner of the CCHA prior to the announcement, leaving Fred Pletsch to take the reins as interim commissioner.

To the average hockey fan, what’s the big deal, right? Anastos is a MSU alum, played for and briefly coached with Ron Mason, fully connected in hockey as a conference commissioner and is, by most accounts, a tremendous leader.

However, when the news of the hire broke, it set off an immediate frenzy on blogs, news outlets and, of course, Twitter. The overwhelming reaction was… WHAT? They hired the commissioner? Wait… WHAT!?

The reaction was widespread. To say that this hire is out of the box doesn’t do it justice. There clearly was no box. There was not a person in hockey that saw this coming or would have ever dreamed of predicting it.

Continue reading →

Posted in NCAA | 1 Comment

American Prospect Update: Field Trip to Dubuque

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Chris Peters

Last Saturday I had a chance to take in the U.S. National Under-18 Team’s road game against the Dubuque Fighting Saints at the brand new Mystique Ice Center.

First off, let me say that Mystique is a perfect facility for the USHL. It’s not too big, not too small… it’s just right. Very loud and energized crowd. I really enjoyed the experience there. By the way, I’m enamored with the Dubuque logo and color scheme.

Secondly, the Fighting Saints are atop the standings in the USHL’s Western Conference and it’s easy to see why. There is a lot of talent on that team, with a good mix of young and old. It’s not necessarily a veteran-laden team, which goes to show that some of the right decisions in the draft can go a long way, even at this level. It’s one of the better teams I’ve seen in the last few years. I’ll have more on the individual players for Dubuque in just a bit.

The main purpose for my trip was to get a better look at the U.S. National Under-18 Team’s top prospects including John Gibson, Tyler Biggs, Rocco Grimaldi and J.T. Miller. Apparently that was the purpose for a lot of the gentlemen wearing black coats in the building. The Mystique Ice Center was crawling with NHL scouts.

Coming up after the jump, a quick recap of the game and a look at some of the draft-eligibles that stood out.

Continue reading →

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

Big Ten Hockey: Good for the College Game?

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Chris Peters

The college hockey landscape, for better or for worse, is changing. Yesterday, the Big Ten announced this little bit of news:

The directors of athletics of Big Ten institutions which sponsor men’s ice hockey unanimously announce their intention to recommend to the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors in June the establishment of men’s ice hockey as an official conference sport for the 2013-14 academic year with participation by Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

It was a move that we all saw coming, so it wasn’t a surprise. The addition of Penn State to give the conference six teams turned the discussion from “if” to “when”.

Whether it’s good news to you or not, it’s huge news for college hockey. My knee jerk reaction was that I felt this was going to be good for the college game. A fair amount of people don’t feel the same way, particularly those that cover/root for the WCHA and CCHA institutions not part of the Big Ten. Understandably so.

Coming up after the jump, a look at why this might be good for the college game, some fun with expansion talk and a whole lot of Big Ten links.

Continue reading →

Posted in NCAA | 8 Comments

NTDP’s First Seven Commits for 2011-12 Unveiled

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Chris Peters

If you hadn’t heard, the National Team Development Program announced the first seven players to commit to be part of the 2011-12 U.S. National Under-17 Team Saturday. The announcement came the day before 45 players arrived in Ann Arbor to take part in the NTDP Tryout Camp.

The first seven are as follows:

Forwards
Connor Chatham – Shiloh, Ill. – St. Louis Blues Midget Minor
J.T. Compher – Northbrook, Ill. – Team Illinois Midget Minor
Hudson Fasching – Apple Valley, Minn. – Apple Valley H.S.
Brandon Shea – Marshfield, Mass. – Noble & Greenough School

Defensemen
Will Butcher – Sun Prairie, Wis. –  Madison Capitols Midget Major
Steve Santini – Mahopac, N.Y. – New York Apple Core (EJHL)
Scott Savage – San Clemente, Calif. – LA Selects Midget Minor

With those seven signed, that means there are five open spots on D, nine forward positions and both goalie slots are all up for grabs.

Coming up after the jump, a look at the commits, the impact of signing Hudson Fasching, and the importance of early commitments.

Continue reading →

Posted in American Prospects, NCAA, NTDP, USA Hockey | Comments Off on NTDP’s First Seven Commits for 2011-12 Unveiled

Man With the Golden Touch?

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Chris Peters

One would have to think USA Hockey had one man in mind when thinking about who to hire as the head coach for its 2012 U.S. National Junior Team. It was announced today that Dean Blais will return behind the bench for Team USA at the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, to be played in Calgary and Edmonton, Dec. 26, 2011-Jan. 5, 2012. Continue reading →

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

Dean Blais to Coach 2012 U.S. National Junior Team

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Chris Peters

Dean Blais, head coach of University of Nebraska Omaha and the 2010 World Junior Champions will return as head coach for Team USA at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Full reaction coming up a little later right here on United States of Hockey.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Dean Blais to Coach 2012 U.S. National Junior Team

American Prospect Update: High School Wrap Up & Look at ISS Rankings

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Chris Peters

Pretty much across the entire country, the high school hockey season has ended with many state championships played last weekend. The cream of the high school crop has always been Minnesota and this year, it certainly lived up to the hype. Additionally, New Jersey’s non-public school state title game featured a few 2011 Draft prospects.

On top of the high school season ending, the college hockey season is close to wrap time as well. With conference tournaments being played this upcoming weekend and the national tournament looming in the background, the pressure gets ramped up.

Coming up after the jump, we take a look at Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey, Kyle Rau, Delbarton (N.J.) High’s standout all-state defenseman Matt Killian and OT hero Peter McMullen. Plus, a look at the latest ranking from International Scouting Services featuring reports on Tyler Biggs, Jamie Oleksiak, Chase Balisy, Keegan Lowe, Adam Clendening and Shane Prince.

Continue reading →

Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL Draft, NTDP | 2 Comments

Concussion Talk and Links from Around The United States of Hockey

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Chris Peters

March is a truly exciting month for hockey. It’s full of High School State Championships and playoff races heating up in just about every professional and junior league. You’ve got your NCAA conference finals and the looming national tournament. USA Hockey’s National Championships are also right around the corner. There’s truly an aura of excitement in the air.

Unfortunately though, it’s not all sunshine and roses for the game of hockey of late. The main topic has been head injuries and hits to the head and what the NHL should be doing about them. It came to what looked like it’s boiling point with the Chara-Pacioretty incident of last week and has only further gained steam as the NHL GMs met in Boca Raton.

Continue reading →

Posted in Grow the Game, NCAA, NHL, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey | Comments Off on Concussion Talk and Links from Around The United States of Hockey

American Prospect Update: Checking in With Familiar Faces

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Chris Peters

As the season continues to dwindle for many draft-eligible players, the opportunities to shine for scouts are becoming fewer. That tends to ramp up the pressure, the competitiveness and in some cases, the stress. How these players handle the next few weeks of the season could be a big part of determining draft position. With the NCAA conference playoffs underway, the USHL and CHL postseason in the near future and events like the World Under-18 Championship looming int he background, there’s a lot of great hockey left to be played.

Coming Up: Rocco Grimaldi, Reid Boucher, J.T. Miller, Seth Amrboz, Jamie Oleksiak vs. Scott Mayfield, and links.

Continue reading →

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

NTDP Tryout Camp Roster Announced

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Chris Peters

The National Team Development Program has set a very high standard for elite hockey players in this country to reach. An invitation to its tryout camp is coveted by the top 15-year-old hockey players in the United States. The camp, which takes place March 21-24 this year at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, has become one of the first proving grounds for the elite of the elite in this country.

Tuesday night, USA Hockey released it’s final roster for the 2011 NTDP Tryout Camp featuring the top 45 players born in 1995. Four goaltenders, 16 defensemen and 25 forwards will compete in front of the NTDP decision makers, as well as a host of scouts from the Canadian Hockey League, NCAA Division I and the USHL. You even occasionally find the odd NHL scout looking to get a quick peak at what’s to come in the next few years.

This camp takes a very large pool of players and narrows it down to 45. No small task, but an important one. By paring the large pool down, the camp gives us an idea of exactly which players from the 1995 birth year we should be keeping the closest tabs on.

There have been many players who were seen at this camp first including some of the top rookies in the NHL today, like Kevin Shattenkirk and Cam Fowler. There have even been infamous ommissions from the camp in the past. Patrick Kane did not earn a selection for camp, yet played his way onto the team with a strong performance at USA Hockey’s Select 16 Festival the following summer. So just because a player isn’t on this roster, doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have a chance to make the team.

However, most of the players selected for next year’s U.S. National Under-17 Team will have competed at this camp. The NTDP player personnel department and coaching staff will usually make offers to several players immediately following camp as well, so the team really starts to form after this event.

Coming up after the jump, a complete breakdown of the roster including where these players come from and which players you should know heading into camp.

Continue reading →

Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NTDP, USA Hockey, Youth Hockey | 9 Comments