- Omaha Lancers - Best team right now, bar none.
- Cedar Rapids RoughRiders - Young, but very good. Goalies are excellent.
- Ohio Junior Blue Jackets - Look for a big year out of this team.
- Waterloo Black Hawks - Scored 15 goals between Fri-Sat.
- Tri-City Storm - Had a scare against Chicago, but pulled it out.
- Sioux City Musketeers - Played two great games, but got ripped apart Saturday.
- Indiana Ice - Indy's success will depend highly on Scott Darling.
- Lincoln Stars - Traditionally start off slow, but got first win under JIM McGroarty to finish off the Classic.
- Sioux Falls Stampede - Defeated Waterloo, but fell to Ohio and Cedar Rapids. Defense lacks.
- Green Bay Gamblers - This team did win twice, but I'm not sure how they did it. Kyle Rank is subpar and they don't have anyone who is a bona fide scorer.
- Des Moines Buccaneers - Awful Powerplay and Penalty Kill could result in a long year for the Bucs.
- Chicago Steel - Winless at the Classic. Madore is a great goalie, but he can only carry them so far.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
USHL Fall Classic Power Rankings
After being able to view almost every team twice (Lincoln only once, since they played only once at the TEC) I will be throwing together a power ranking list of who I feel are the best teams heading into the 2007-2008 season.
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Will be interesting to see this same list in 3 months.
Indiana added another goaltender in matt hoyle from oakville (OPJHL) he's a 90 committed to harvard for 2009. look for him to push for ice time.
How in the world do Madore's stats qualify as being a "great goalie"...is the entire rest of the team so hideously bad?
pretty much, yes. =)
Stats don't tell the complete story my friend.
Hoyle will try and push darling but most likely fail. he looked very solid at the fall classic
Madore per point streak: 4 games, 5.31 GAA, .830 Save%....for goalies, those stats tell some kind of story...let's just say it's still early in the year.
I really think Sioux Falls is going to be a late bloomer this year. Once the kids they have get some experience and confidence they will be great. I think they were one of the most skilled teams I saw at the Fall Classic.
Omaha is going to be real tough this year though.
With Madore, the stats really do not tell the story. Very athletic and a good goalie...can't help but feel as though he's had about enough of the losing though.
is goalie (patterson) still with cedar rapids?
11th ranking out of 12 teams for the Buc's..what happened to their older team and that "article" that said alot of fire power and maturity!? I saw them play, your ranking is right where it should be for this team! No wonder their coach tried to go to another team!
Will see if the story about Hoyle is true.I see his OHL rights have been traded by Kingston to the saginaw spirit.Why did he not show at the training camp and then was dropped by the Ice on their protected list???
Don't you think Darling's head is still spinning.....from being cut from an NAHL team to playing Junior B on the east coast, then gets a scholarship to Maine, gets Drafted in the NHL and now on a team in the USHL all this happened in 8 months! What a Cinderella Story!
Good luck to the Buc's they are going to need it!
Kent Patterson is still with Cedar Rapids yes.
darling played jr. "A" on the east coast last year in the EJHL
"Kent Patterson is still with Cedar Rapids yes."
Why has he not played at all in the pre-season? Is he hurt?
Green Bay should have signed Beckwith, I thought he was an exciting keeper with great potential at the camp, How they took Rank over him is still confusing. Crandell and Beckwith would make a great 90 Duo, Both playing for Team USA Selects and Beckwith was a NTDP candidate. I do not see Rank lasting long in Green Bay as the fan base will tear him up.
I overheard some CR fans saying Patterson had a groin issue, I believe.
im willing to bet there will be some sort of rotation in indy for a little while. another side note is since hoyle is canadian, that puts indys import total to 4 (hoyle, revell, martini, bonis) meaning someones gotta go.
Martini was with the team last year so my understanding he is not considered an import.
I believe what someone stated at the Classic, "there is Omaha and the other 11". I am sure many teams were still trying to get down to the final roster.
What happened to Dorr on the Buc's ? I did not see him rostered for the classic?
Ohh sooorrry, Darling played Tier 3 Junior A Hockey in the ECJHL....LET'S MAKE SURE THE TIER 3 IS NOTED...because certainly the USHL makes sure the Tier 1 status is noted!
Tier III Junior A = Junior B
Nice " " around the Junior A Status for Darling..it was Tier III Junior A Hockey....for the most part equal to Junior B from what I hear.
Darling is the real deal boys.Needs to work on his rebound control as do most goalies but he is solid. Who cares where he played last year now is now.
Indiana is allowed 3 imports this year as Martini played last season.If Hoyle is coming will know soon but if he is betting on getting alot of starts I don't see it.Have not seen anything on the Canadian chat boards about the move by him but time will tell. Question-----Why would you change schools now and risk your GPA or is he out of school early????
GB fan base tear Rank up? Please. There are maybe 1500 regular hockey fans at GB games, the rest of the crowd is there for entertainment.
GB fans don't have a message board of their own. Besides, Crandall probably plays most games anyways. And we've got enough stuff to complain about.
-gbpuckfan
Omaha may be be the class of the league, but had a head start on the season with the trip and tournament in Canada. As Coach Hastings said, "the league will catch up." It all depends on hiw teams finish the season, not start.
Don't forget that Omaha opened up their training camp on Aug 20th, practiced for a full two weeks, then went up to Canada and played three exhibition games, came back home and practiced some more...all before most teams hit the ice for a lap around the rink!
agreed, what happened to dorr?
also we must take into account that it has been proven that the bucs do not care about games that don't matter, ie, all of last regular season.
they were hot when it really mattered, the playoffs, so us faithful fans can only conclude that they'll do the same during the actual season this year.
FROM USHR........In late-breaking news, Harvard goaltender of the future Matt Hoyle has decided to leave Oakville (OPJHL) and join Indiana, so Darling and Chris Paliafito, who played at Lake Forest Academy last year, will have some company. The 6’3” Hoyle, a 12th grader and ’90 birthdate who was drafted by Indiana last spring, will arrive in Indianapolis this week.
the import rule is yes martini is not considered an import. so they are allowed to carry 3 as long as he is on the roster. but if he is dropped however, they are only allowed to carry 2. thats my understanding of the rule.
If the Buc's don't care about games that don't matter, that is an AWFUL ATTITUDE! Why did they show up at the Classic? That sounds like a lame excuse for not doing well.
The teams that did well at the Classic and took it serious (even if they don't count) are guaranteed to be the best in the league!
"They got hot when it mattered!" The Buc's would not even have qualified for playoffs last year if they didn't change the ruling, because they were in last place in their division.
They got a GIFT last year to even be in the playoffs. They should be worried this year cause the rules are back to they way it should be.
The problem for this season is they used high draft picks up and did not select a great goalie! Also, where are their Minnesota super stars...Dorr, Matson for scoring power? Also, Dewhurst a "big" Team USA Player and he had 1 assist in the Classic...and yet to score a USHL goal. Good luck to the loyal fans it is going to be another loooong season!
Games don't count so they(Buc's)didn't try at the Classic........
The Buc's don't care...none of their players wanted to impress the college or pro scouts that attended the Classic??
In looking at the Buc's roster, several of the players don't have scholarships.
Good for Scott Darling on having a great showing at the Classic! This just goes to show that you can come from another league and have a big impact in the USHL.
We did not like Nick Graves here in GB and where is he?? Trust me they will be making and tender change sooner than you think.
my end of the year predictions.... EAST
1. Waterloo- Lot of fire power up front, strong veteran D and great goaltending
2. Cedar Rapids- Very young but goaltending will keep them in games
3. Ohio- veteran group, should continue to get better.
4. Indiana- Will be good if their players play up to their potential. looked burned out already.
5. Chicago- Madore will keep them in it until they get more experince. could be a dangerous team if they can put it all together. will collapse when miele goes to miami in december.
6. Green Bay- no scoring threats and goaltending issues will haunt them all year.
WEST
1. Omaha- wont lose more than 7- 10 games this year. By far the best team.
2. Lincoln- Tons of scoring power up front and solid D. Goaltending will be an issue like every year in Lincoln.
3. Tri City- Very veteran group that will challenge for the #2 spot.
4. Des Moines- Dont read too much into their pre season. Goaltending could be an issue. Will be good if their players live up to their potential. Regg will get them going, he always does.
5. Sioux City- Solid Forwards and D but no standouts. Goaltending will be inconsistant this year.
6. Sioux Falls- too inexperienced. goalies will be relied heavily upon all year just like in the fall classic and wont be able to hold all year.
scott darling played great at the fall classic. he is a huge part of their teams success! who cares where he played last year... he is going to be the best goalie in the league from what i've heard
SOUNDS LIKE THE "BLOG RANKINGS" WERE FROM A BUC'S FAN OR PARENT..."REGG GETS THEM GOING, HE ALWAYS DOES." GOAL TENDING WILL BE A MAJOR ISSUE FOR THE BUC'S! LOTS OF PLAYERS WITH ALOT OF HYPE..WILL THEY BE ABLE TO PUT THE PUCK IN THE NET?!
^^^Stop yelling. kthx
nick graves ended up playing for southern minnesota in the NAHL. and for you fans who know nothing about hockey the EJHL (teir 3 jr. A) is no where close to jr. B! HA! the EJ is a better league than the NAHL hands down. it puts twice as many kids D-1
Obviously you aren't very educated hockey people...Des Moines didn't have set units for their power play or penalty kill units at the Fall Classic. I'm sure Coach Simon is still sorting things out and wasn't treating this like they had to win three games like most teams.
No i did those rankings. i am a neutral party. I live in Indiana! Just look at Regg's track record. first year.. Clark Cup Champions. Second year... last place and told newspapers he and his team didnt care about the regular season then takes the Anderson Cup Winner out in 5 games and lose in overtime in the Clark Cup Semi Final killing a penalty none the less. I dont see how you CANNOT say he wont get them where they need to be by the end of the year? Oh and by the way.... i said goaltending MAY be an issue because Joe Rodwell put up huge numbers in the BCHL last year and led his team to the Royal Bank Cup Finals (Canadian Jr.A national championship) last season.
Weren't there Division I Scouts and NHL Scouts at the Classic? I would think any good coach would take the games serious. I guess none of the Buc's players need a Division I scholarship or to be looked at by a pro scout!?
ps What happened to Dorr?
Dorr is probably injured again.
Oh, let's see. Regg did not care about the regular season last year because he knew he could beat the #1 seed in the tourney. Yeah, right. No coach wants to play the #1 seed if they do not have to do so. Secondly, if the regular criteria for making the play offs last year was in effect, his team would not have got a sniff of the play offs.
Yeah, and every coach does not care if he loses regular season games? Losing teams do not put as many people in the seats and every team needs to maximize that. Explain that to your GM, president and ownership group. Yeah and players do not care if they lose the regular season too. OK keep drinking the kool aid.
When players get cut from the USHL why do you always hear them going to the NAHL instead of the EJHL? Sure they do get more Division I scholarships..the teams are based in the hot bed of east coast schools!
When is the deadline for getting down to the 23 man roster?
Deadline is now...24 hours after the Fall Classic is over.
players usually goto the NAHL rather than the EJHL mainly because of money. while the EJHL is probably a little bit better league its players have to pay around 5 or 6k a season.
better to pay that 5 or 6k and go to college for free rather than paying $280 a month for billets in the NA and then pay s full college tuition and play D-3
After last nights game against Ohio, need I say more about Kyle Rank?
you need to stop hiding behind your anonymous name which allows you to post these jealous comments - got cut huh?
Just a fan man just a fan
And besides I'm not the one who said he was sub-par, I just agreed.
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