Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday's News Roundup








USHL announces Fall Classic schedule.

Alfieri commits to Niagara University.

Muskegon first year USHL ticket/ad sales similar to last year's final season of pro.

USNTDP and Fighting Sioux recruit Grimaldi featured in Sports Illustrated.

Gopher Q & A with Nate Condon.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss












Regg Simon returns to USHL as Head Coach and General Manager of Des Moines Buccaneers.

Read all about it right here.

Thursday's News









Three from USHL join Mercyhurst Class of 2014.

Former Musketeer Brian Bales, Newcastle North Stars compete for Goodall Cup.

Wojtala chooses Bowling Green.

Six more USHLer's commit to Vermont.

Council approves contract for Young Arena addition.

Orthopedic Specialist to Advise Black Hawks on injuries.

Former Force speedster Birkholz leaves UM for WHL's Everett Silvertips.

Brandon Carlson could be bright spot in Fargo.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Tuesday News








Carpenter commits to Western Michigan.

Former Stampede player Carroll signs with Greenville.

Cedar Rapids Ice Arena readied for World Horse Shoe Championships.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday's News








USHL expresses interest in becoming tenant of new arena being built in Evansville, Indiana.

Guentzel Joins Nebraska-Omaha Staff.

Tri-City Storm Booster Club news.

Forciea's freedom revoked after one day.

Black Hawks' statement of the passing of Rob Kenny.

Defense name of the game for Fargo's Oleg Yevenko.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Saturday News








Ice makes moves in anticipation of 2010-2011 season.

Sioux Falls friens remember Arena manager Russ DeCurtins.

Two Saints teammate could face off for national pride next month.

Ambroz headed back to Omaha.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Thursday's News








Lancers look at Texas prospects this weekend.

Lancers' Marshall gets good news on injury.

Stampeded announces training camp roster.

Babinsky to skate for Lancers.

Hartzog, Faust added to Wisconsin roster.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Hump Day Happenings









Fallen Forciea leaves prison, seeks redemption.

Rehkamp ready to take off in second season with Force.

Former Bucs' trainer heads to AHL Syracuse.

Former Stampede Assistant Coach Rosso hired as Assistant at Mercyhurst.

Monday, July 19, 2010

More Monday News








Paulides skates in Sharks' development camp.







Former Rider takes educated path to NHL.

New News Monday









Here's a look at the USHL news for a brand-new week:

USHL picks two from Illinois.

Three CSHL alumni move up to USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Fargo Force try-out camp coming up.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Saturday news








Former Lancer signs with Ontario.

Fighting Saints find energetic voice.

Omaha Hockey Talk is looking for old photos of Lancers' action from the Aksarben days and UNO pictures from Civic Auditorium. If you have any old photos you'd like to share(You'll be credited as the source), mail them to omahahockeytalk@yahoo.com.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Friday's News








Lancers' Marshall hurt in Red Wings' prospect camp.

Force hold tryouts July 25th-28th.

My USHL off season with Anthony Day and Sam Coatta.

USHL players to represent USA in Europe.

Stampede's scouting director resigns.

Haula hype in Minnesota.

Cooper set for sophomore campaign.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wednesday's News








Team USA forward Rocco Grimaldi commits to North Dakota.

'Hawks assistant Dobes returns to Northern Lights.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Monday's News








Three questions with James Mullin, a Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick, scheduled to play for the Fargo Force this season.

Red Wings draft pick Benjamin Marshall, headed to Minnesota in 2011, to spend this season in Omaha with Mahtomedi High teammate Brandon Zurn.

Saponari likely headed to USHL.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

More Saturday news











For Muskegon Lumberjacks' head coach Kevin Patrick, the time has come to lead.

Saturday's news









UMass's Casey Wellman talks about his days in the USHL.

Former Lincoln Star Stephen Schultz skates in Islanders' Prospects Camp.

Terry Ficorelli leaving Muskegon Lumberjacks to broadcast for IHL's Evansville Icemen.

Muskegon Lumberjacks pleased with community's response to housing players.

This article was released in mid-April, but contains information, little talked about, concerning the USHL's divisional set-up for this coming season.

Black Hawk intern prepares to Run for Life.

Allen to be feature forward next season for Fargo Force.

Saints' Barber to play for USAHockey's U-17 team in Switzerland.

Saints coach checks out construction progress of new arena.

Friday, July 9, 2010

It's Friday!









Kyle Osterberg to play for USNTDP instead of Lancers.

Former Waterloo Black Hawk Michael Annett to race in Nascar Nationwide series' Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway tonight.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Thursday's Mail Bag








USNTDP Captain Jarred Tinordi happy with pick by Montreal.

Steel goaltender Wilson commits to Yale University.

Tampa Bay pick to play for Force next season.

Lumberjacks set roster, announce resignation of Stacey Patulski.

Blais' presence still felt in Fargo.

Former Lancer Patrick Wiercioch hones skills in Omaha.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

City of Cedar Rapids signs off on deal for ball team to run Ice Arena concessions










CEDAR RAPIDS — The city has designed a concession deal it hopes will better guarantee the success of two principal city entertainment venues, Veterans Memorial Stadium and the Ice Arena, and the sports teams that make the two spots home.

Read more here.

Saints staff gets inside look at NHL draft












Jim Montgomery and Adam Micheletti were all eyes and ears as they experienced the National Hockey League draft last weekend in Los Angeles.

The two members of the Dubuque Fighting Saints' staff attended the two-day event as the guest of Boston Bruins' general manager Peter Chiarelli, who owns a share of the United States Hockey League expansion franchise.

Read more here.

Sabres sign Tropp









Corey Tropp, who played for the Sioux Falls Stampede from 2005 to 2007, has signed a three year, entry level contract with the Buffalo Sabres.

Tropp played 100 games for the Herd, scoring 33 goals, adding 44 assists and 97 penalty minutes. In 22 playoff games, he had 6 goals, 12 assists and 8 penalty minutes. Tropp skated collegiately with Michigan State the past three seasons, with 29 goals, 41 assists and 111 penalty minutes.

The Grosse Point, Michigan native led Sioux Falls in scoring in 2006-2007 with 26 goals and 36 assists for 62 points and was named MVP of the 2007 USHL All Star game, after his two goals helped the West team to victory.

Tropp, who was drafted by Buffalo in the third round of the 2007 NHL entry draft, led Michigan State in scoring this past season with 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 37 games. He was named the Spartans' MVP and Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Monday's news









Team Rocky Mountain becomes new AAA affiliate program for Cedar Rapids Roughriders.

Future Force goalie taken in NHL draft.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Sometimes, it takes awhile for news to reach you....











This article from the Omaha World Herald is dated March 30th, but just arrived in my mail box last night. I pass it along to you, because it could possibly mean another move for the Omaha Lancers in a year or two.

Arena bill skates through vote.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Lincoln Stars Roster

With Lincoln releasing their roster, there are only a handful of teams left to hear from. Still haven't seen Fargo, Green Bay, Indiana, Sioux Falls, Tri-City, and Waterloo.

Forwards:
Ryan Dzingel
Dominik Shine
Austin Hervey
Josh Berge
Garrett Peterson
Andrew Schmit
Sam Alfieri
Jake Lynes
John McCarron
Eric Scheid
Jared Hanson
Brent Tate
Brad Wilhelm
Jeff McMinimy
Mark MacMillan
Kacper Guzik

Defense:
Ben Oskroba
Richard Coyne
Nick Cecere
Matt Prapavessis
Kyle Quick
Chris Casto
Frank Misuraca

Goalies:
Kevin Murdock
Luke Hafner


Affiliates:

Forwards:
Luke Johnson
Austin Wuthrich
Max Coatta
Thomas Schutt
Brad Hawkinson

Defense:
Bryan Sinz
Paul Ladue
Cole Martin
Josh Bretner
Zack Frye
Michael Mckee
Dylan Blujus

Goalie:
Trevor Gutierrez


Notable Omissions:
Josh Thorimbert - Draft Pick
Tyler Deresky - Veteran

Des Moines Buccaneers Roster

They have 38 players listed, 25 for their main roster and 13 affiliates. They don't mention which players are on the futures list, so it's tough to know who is there and who isn't. I'll post all 38 names below.


Forwards:
Mitch Cain
Yasin Cisse
Cal Decowski
Willie Faust
Max Gardiner
Kevin Irwin
Patrick Kirtland
Miles Koules
Tyler Lapic
Liam McDermott
Andrew Miller
Logan Nelson
John Olen
Ray Pigozzi
Chase Rey
Trent Ruffolo
Luke Sandler
Justin Selman
Gavin Tufte
TJ Tynan
Connor Wood


Defense:
Austin Coldwell
Blake Doerring
Joe Faust
Connor Kucera
Daniel Milan
Zane Popilock
Ethan Prow
Eric Sade
Colton Saucerman
Ian Spencer
Peter Stoykewych
Luke Veitch
Daniel Milan


Goalies:
Christian Frey
David Jacobson
Nick Kulmanovksy
Michael Shibrowski
Charles Williams


Notable Omissions:
Brendan O'Donnell - Draft Pick
Taylor Wolfe - Veteran
Garrett Ohrn - Veteran
Connor Frick - Veteran

Muskegon Lumberjacks Preliminary Roster

Here is an article on their roster. Muskegon has now released their official protected list.


GOALTENDERS:
Paul Berrafato
Joel Viennea

DEFENSEMEN:
Kevin Albers
Carter Forguth
Sebastien Gingras
Jaycob Megna
Micki Mihailovich
Travis Walsh
Mark Yanis

FORWARDS:
Matt Berry
Mike Conderman
Nick Czinder
Matt DeBlouw
Isaac Kohls
Andrew Kolb
Doug Lindensmith
Chris Lochner
Jordan Masters
Michael Moran
John Parker
Charlie Taft
Casey Thrush
Brendan Woods


Affiliate List:
Ryan Bullock
Josh Archibald
Garett Clemment
Tayler Munson
Alexx Privitera
Nicholas Seeler


Futures List:
Grant Besse
Joseph Cox
Garett Cockerill
Chris Leibinger
Joshua Henke
Michael McNicholas


Notable Omissions:
Darcy Ashley - Draft Pick
Kyle Huson - Draft Pick
Tom Conlin - Draft Pick
Jon Farkas - Draft Pick
Jonathan Miller - Draft Pick
Daniel Mele - Draft Pick
D.J. Vandercook - Expansion Draft Pick

Sioux City Musketeers Roster

Article for Sioux City's roster. Updated 25 man roster can be found here.

I am assuming the Musketeers have moved Josh Erickson, Ondrej Zehnal, Larry Smith, Jr., Blake Roubos, and Nicholas Weberg to their affiliate list.


FORWARDS:
Nick Gordon
Max McCormick
Maxim Gaudreault
Richard Young
Richard Zehnal
Will Suter
Ryan Carpenter
Tom Olczyk
Matt Paape
Mike Williams
Noah Nelson
Brett Patterson
Caleb Herbert
Max Gaede

DEFENSEMEN:
Kevin Gibson
Jake Suter
Dylan MacDonald
Will Butcher
Jordan Schmaltz
Greg Johnson
Jose Delgadillo
Brandon Lubin

GOALTENDERS:
Matt Skoff
Jake Hildebrand
Steve Perry


Notable Omissions:
Mitch Zion - Veteran
Shawn Pauly - Draft Pick
Max Novak - Draft Pick
Ben Greiner - Draft Pick
Tim O'Brien - Draft Pick
Cliff Watson - Draft Pick
Dan Scherer - Draft Pick
Jake Doty - Draft Pick

Youngstown Phantoms Roster

Here is an article on their roster.


Goalies:
Matthew O’Connor
Jordan Tibbett

Defense:
Justin Stevens
Jordan Young
Chris Bradley
Brandon Russo
Nilan Nagy
Scott Mayfield
Ben Paulides
Dan Senkbeil

Forwards:
John Fritsche
Quinn Smith
J.T. Stenglein
Mike Ambrosia
Ricky DeRosa
Teemu Tiitinen
Tyler Rehm
Ryan Belonger
Adam Berkle
Jiri Sekac
Andrew Lamont
Stuart Higgins
Dylan Margonari
Cody Strang
Ty Loney


Notable Omissions:
Chris Eiserman - Draft Pick
Michael Zalewski - Draft Pick
Darcy Greenaway - Draft Pick
Alex Temby - Draft Pick
Brian Harris - Draft Pick
Peter MacIntyre - Draft Pick
Cam Spiro - Draft Pick
Jonathan Miller - Draft Pick
Ryan Jasinsky - Veteran
Matt Mahalek - Veteran
Richard Young - Veteran

Omaha Lancers Roster

Here is the release for the Lancers roster.


Forwards:
Seth Ambroz
Ken Babinski
Justin Crandall
Stefan Demopoulos
Mitch Hughes
Jonathan Liau
Colin Markison
Mark Miller
Sean Murphy
Nick Oddo
Thomas O'Regan
Kyle Osterberg
Reid Sturos
Christopher Waterstreet
Brandon Zurn


Defense:
Aaron Ave
Mike Chiasson
Jake Downing
Justin Holl
Ben Marshall
Alex McLean
Dominic Racobaldo
Nathan Widman

Goalies:
Christopher Holden
John Keeney


1994 AFFILIATES

F Adam Chlapik
G James How
D Judd Loewenstein
D Matthew Montemurrow
D Trey Olson
D Vince Pedrie

1993 AFFILIATES

D Scott Dornbrock
D Max Everson
F Michael Ferrintino
F Kenneth Gillespie
F Christian Horn

1992 AFFILIATES

G Joe Ballmer
F AJ Reid


Notable Omissions:
Luke Hernandez - Draft Pick
Alexandre Neron - Draft Pick
Duncan McKellar - Draft Pick

It's Friday? Wow, time flies when you're waiting for hockey season....









....So, let's empty out the ol' mail box.

Joe Macdonell named VP of Business Operations for the USHL.

Mahtomedi to make stop in Omaha before heading to the Gophers.

Former Stamps star Prosser re-signs with Wild.

Fighting Saints trim roster to 23.

Ex-Gamblers switch teams.

P.K. O'Handley to help at Cup champ camp for junior and midget aged players.

************************************************

I stumbled across the little gem while emptying out the email box this morning. It's from the hockey blog Puck Prospectus, written by Iain Fyffe. In the June 28th edition of his blog, Mr. Fyffe talks about the possibility that NHL scouts over-rated players on the USNTDP. Read this part of his June 28th for his thoughts as to why that was:

USNTDP Players

I believe that the scouts may be overrating many of the USNTDP players from the USHL (Montreal trading up to draft a hulking defenseman doesn't instill confidence); when you rely on personal observation for evaluation, you'll often overrate the players you see most often. And with so many draft-eligible players playing on the same team in the USHL, they all got seen a lot by many scouts.

That being said, I do think that the Projectinator is off on these players. The explanation for this error is, I believe, due to the fact that these players are playing in a normal junior hockey environment, which is what the system is calibrated for. By a “normal” environment, I mean playing with players of a variety of age levels; a few 16-year-olds, some 17s, and a lot of 18s and 19s, and even 20s. The fact that the USNTDP players in the USHL were all 16s and 17s (plus one 15 in Jake McCabe), has caused their numbers and therefore the Projectinator's ratings of them to be affected. They don't have the support of a normal number of older players, but they have to play against a normal number of older players. Interpreting numbers at this level is as much art as science, and there can always be factors that you didn't consider.

To go back to the other hand, though, it's easy to overestimate how important this difference might be. When the USNDTP played in the NAHL the same situation presented itself, in the sense that they didn't have any players over 17 in the lineup. There were some players that were still able to put up impressive numbers for their age, such as Jeremy Morin, James Van Riemsdyk, and both Erik and Jack Johnson. Although the NAHL is of lower quality than the USHL, it doesn't seem to be that much lower so as to make up this difference. When the Projectinator is calibrated for the NAHL, some light should be shed on this issue.

A check of the 2009-2010 USHL schedule yielded the following information:

The USNTDP U-17 team played 34 games in the USHL, while the U-18 team played 26 games.

Of those 26 USHL games played by the U-18 team, they played:

2 games in October
4 games in November
5 games in December
5 games in January
4 games in February
6 games in March

A check of the U-18's roster showed that of the 9 players drafted, 6 of the 9 turned 18 before their USHL schedule ended(Justin Faulk turned 18 on the last day of the team's USHL schedule), as did 4 undrafted players. 5 players turn 18 this off season and 7 players turn 18 after the 2010-2011 starts, but before the league's Christmas break.

Last season, the U-18 team played a combined total of 13 games with 16-year-old players on the roster.

Each of the 9 drafted players played at least 21 USHL games, with the exception of goaltender Jack Campbell, who played 11. Two played 22 games, one played 23 and three played 26. One player, Bryan Rust, played 27 USHL games.

In the second paragraph, Mr, Fyffe states that: "The fact that the USNTDP players in the USHL were all 16s and 17s (plus one 15 in Jake McCabe), has caused their numbers and therefore the Projectinator's ratings of them to be affected." That statement is not completely accurate. It is true that the majority of players on the U-18 team were 17 when playing in the USHL this past season. But, of the five who did turn 18 during the post-Christmas Break portion of the schedule, all played several games as 18-year-olds.

This makes me wonder: Did the "Projectinator" (Whatever that is anyway) take birth dates into account? This statement ended the second paragraph: "They don't have the support of a normal number of older players, but they have to play against a normal number of older players. Interpreting numbers at this level is as much art as science, and there can always be factors that you didn't consider." After having to read that statement two or three times, I do agree with what it says. Age and experience apparently do count for something in junior hockey. BTW: After the the first of the U-18 team players actually turned 18(Jack Campbell on January 9th), the U-18 team won 9 of 13 games. They were 4-2 when all six players mentioned earlier were actually 18. That would be what? 40-20 over the length of a full USHL season?

Regardless of how the numbers break down, "Projectinator-ed" or not, it is indeed an interesting study. I just think the one point that Mr. Fyffe missed a bit on, was appearing not to know that the U-18 team did play 26 USHL games and that they played just 13 of those 26 games with 16-year-olds eligible to play(Every player on the U-18 team was a '92 birth date).

Now, after all that, I'm gonna go take a couple of aspirin and lay down. Have a good day everyone.

Dubuque Fighting Saints Roster

Here is an article on Dubuque's roster. An article, per John, noting the team's 23 man roster.


Goalies:
Matt Morris
Jackson Teichroeb

Defense:
Luke Curadi
Derek Docken
Tony Larson
Justin Lutsch
Nick Luukko
Joakim Ryan
Kevin Walters

Forwards:
Brandon Adams
Riley Barber
Brooks Bertsch
Jordan DiGiando
John Gaudreau
Zemgus Girgensons
Tyler Lundey
Nick Quinn
T.J. Schlueter
Andrew Sinelli
Chris Sitler
Caston Sommer
Shane Sooth
Scott Wamsganz


Affiliate Lists

1994:
Ryan Hartman
Mike Matheson
Jarrid Privitera
John Stevens
Adam Wilcox
Jeff Taylor

1993:
Holden Anderson
Jack Barre
Stephen Miller
John Doherty

1992:
Lawrence Cornellier
Shane Omdahl


Notable Omissions:
Kyle Murphy - Draft Pick
Vinny Saponari - Draft Pick
Mike Monfredo - Draft Pick
Matt Green - Expansion Draft Pick

Chicago Steel Preliminary Roster

Here is a link to the article for Chicago's roster.

Goalies:

Connor Wilson
Adam Miller

Defense:

Joel Benson
Sam Windle
Michael Gunn
Ian Young
Dan Kolomatis
Michael Holland
Peter Hand

Forwards:

Matt Esposito
Adam Krause
Darik Angeli
Jay Camper
Alex Denezhkin
Alex Carpenter
Nick D'Avolio
Theo DiPauli
Zachary Saar
David Bondra
Danny Mattson
Cole Gunner
Darren Nykaza
Michael Sit
Andrei Kuchin
Steven Fogarty


Notable Omissions:
Charlie Lindgren - Draft Pick
Ryan Renz - Draft Pick
Nate Repensky - Draft Pick
Devin Loe - Draft Pick
Patrick Moore - Draft Pick
Hudsen Fasching - Draft Pick
Brian LaBlanc - Draft Pick
Billy Latta - Veteran
Nick Pisellini - Veteran

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Preliminary Roster

I'm going to be adding the rosters from each team that have made them public so far and hopefully there can be some good discussion to come of it. It's always interesting to see these rosters now and when the season actually starts. Enjoy!


The Riders get a huge boost with Hjelle returning from Minnesota-Duluth. Right now, I'd say they have the best goalie tandem in the league.

Goalies

Brady Hjelle
Cody Campbell

Defense

Nolan Zajac
Andy Simpson
Tommy Fallen
Josiah Didier
Steven Hensley
Ian Brady
Greg Amlong
Anthony DeAngelo
Tom Parisi
Torey Wilsey



Forwards

Peter Sakaris
Jayson Megna
Mike Parks
Sam Warning
Justin Kovacs
Nick Lappin
Stephen Collins
Cason Hohmann
David Ferreira
Stu Wilson
Jared Linnell
Nick Saracino
Ryan McGrath
Matt Hanson
Zach Franko
Jonathon Davis
Peter Maric


Notable Omissions:
Will Suter - Draft Pick
Sean Flynn - Draft Pick
Tyler Gjurich - Draft Pick
Chris Tracy - Draft Pick
Tanner Pond - Draft Pick
Will Badner - Draft Pick
Jake Purnell - Draft Pick

NHL Moves

A few former USHL players have changed teams so far this off season and here is a quick run down on those players so we can keep an eye on them come next season. I'll keep this updated as more players move around.


Adam Burish (GB) signs with Dallas.
Dan Ellis (OMA) signs with Tampa Bay.
Nate Prosser (SF) re-signed with Minnesota.
Jimmy Hayes (LIN) traded to Chicago.
Keith Ballard (OMA) traded to Vancouver.
Victor Oreskovic (GB) traded to Vancouver.
Joey Crabb (GB) traded to Chicago, signs with Toronto.
Mark Eaton (WAT) signs with NY Islanders.
Nate Guenin (GB) signs with Columbus.
Danny Richmond (CHI) signs with Toronto.
Trevor Frischmon (LIN) signs with Columbus.
John Grahame (SC) signs with Colorado.
Garrett Stafford (DM) signs with Phoenix.
Tim Jackman (TwC) signs with Calgary.
Bill Thomas (TC) signs with Florida.
Trevor Smith (OMA) signs with Anaheim.
Corey Tropp (SF) signs with Buffalo.
Drew Miller (OMA) signs with Detroit.
Teddy Purcell (CR) signs with Tampa Bay.
Joe Corvo (OMA) signs with Carolina.
Travis Morin (CHI) signs with Dallas.
Jeff LoVecchio (OMA) signs with Boston.
Corey Elkins (SC) signs with Los Angeles.
Trevor Lewis (DM) signs with Los Angeles.
Patrick Davis (SC) signs with New Jersey.
Tim Conboy (ROC) signs with Buffalo.
Zach Miskovic (CR) signs with Washington.
Sergei Kolosov (CR) signs with Detroit.
Derek Whitmore (LIN) signs with Buffalo.
Blake Wheeler (GB) signs with Boston.
Dennis McCauley (SC) signs with Buffalo.
Louis Leblanc (OMA) signs with Montreal.
Peter Mannino (TC) signs with Atlanta.
Tim Kennedy (SC) signs with Buffalo.
Phil Lamoureux (LIN) signs with Calgary.
Matt Clackson (CHI) signs with Philadelphia.
Jared Boll (LIN) signs with Columbus.