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Note: The U.S. Hockey Report will be closed from July 23-30 for summer vacation. See you next week! *** 7/23/00 Look out for the '85s! That, in a nutshell, is the word from USA Hockey's Annual Dave Peterson Goaltending Camp, held at Kent State University July 12-16th. Both the high-end skill and goaltending depth among the '85s looks indicates this could be the best crop in years, which, naturally, bodes well for U.S. chances in international play. What follows is one observer's Top 10 list. Note that the top nine were all born in the first 3½ months of 1985. 1. Gerald Coleman, Evanston, Ill. -- Moves phenomenally well for a kid who's 6'3", 166 lbs. and only turned 15 a few months ago. Powerful in his movement. Hard worker who's willing to listen. Played for the Chicago Young Americans '84 squad last year. This season, he'll be the youngest player -- he's the only '85 -- in the National Team Development Program. A 4/3/85 birthdate. 2. Brenden Goetz, Faribault, Minn. -- 6'2", 180 and also very athletic. Great reflexes. Stays square to the puck. Intelligent, and possesses a strong understanding of what's going on around him. Does everything well. Played at Shattuck-St. Mary's last year. A 4/15/85 birthdate. 3. Mike Brown, Northville, Mich. -- Big, rangy 6'1", 180 goaltender from the HoneyBaked '85 squad. A little unorthodox but a very good athlete. A 3/4/85 birthdate. 4. Kevin Johnson, Minnetonka, Minn. -- 5'10, 155 lb. and quite complete. Strong in all areas. A 1/6/85 birthdate. 5. Joe Fallon, Bemidji, Minn. -- Another big kid -- he's 6'1", 160. Very good fundamentally. Solid positionally as well. Quite analytical. Very aggressive. On Bemidji team that won state bantam championship. A 2/1/85 birthdate. 6. Dmitri Papavegelou, Windham, NH -- 5'11", 175 lb and very athletic. A little excitable at times. Will be a sophomore at Tabor Academy. A 1/18/85 birthdate. 7. Wylie Rogers, Fairbanks, Alaska -- 5'8", 144 lbs and very aggressive, which is the key to his game. Positionally solid. Needs to get a little stronger to move up list. A 3/16/85 birthdate. 8. Jack Schoder, Battle Creek, Mich. -- A 5'9", 145 lb. goaltender who's a combination of aggressiveness and style, being a classic stand -up goaltender in the Chris Osgood mode. A 3/17/85 birthdate. 9. Dan Miller, Davisburg, Mich. -- 5'9", 160. Best technical form of anyone in camp. A 1/2/85 birthdate. 10. Zane Kalemba, Montville, NJ -- Youngest kid at camp by far. Needs some work on his form but his reflexes are very good and he competes. A 12/19/85 birthdate. Our top two girls were Natalie Lammé, an '82 from Hibbing, Minn. who's going into her senior year at Hibbing HS, and Shannon Kasparek, an '83 from South Lyons, Michigan who's also going into her senior year.
7/21/00 Jeff Jackson Takes Reins of Guelph Storm Jeff Jackson, the National Team Development's Program architect and chief builder, and the winner of two NCAA titles while coaching Lake Superior State in the early '90's, was hired today to coach the Guelph Storm (OHL). "The whole thing happened quickly," said Jackson, who met with club governor Jim Rooney, GM Alan Miller and several members of the team's ownership group last week. Jackson then went back and finalized an agreement two days ago. "It'll be fun to get back to just coaching," said Jackson from his home in Sault Ste. Marie. Jackson coached at Lake State from 1990-96, during which time his teams won two national championships and reached the title game in three consecutive seasons. Jackson holds the highest winning percentage (.751) among NCAA Div. I coaches with more than 200 games. In 1997, Jackson coached the U.S. National Junior Team to a silver medal in Geneva, Switzerland. Jackson also served as an assistant on Ron Wilson's staff at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. At Ann Arbor, Jackson's Under-18 squads posted a .650 winning percentage against USHL competition between 1997-2000.
7/21/00 Michigan, Mid-Am 15's Named Here are the players who will represent the Michigan and Mid-Am/Southeastern Districts at the U.S. Select 15 Festival next month in St. Cloud, Minn. For the Michigan players we have team information for all but a handful of players. If anyone can fill in the blanks, we'd be most appreciative. For the Mid-Am/S.E. players, we have hometowns only. Fourteen members of the team are from the Mid-Am district; the remaining six are from the Southeast. Conspicuous by his absence is top '85 forward Danny Fritsche of the Cleveland Barons Bantams. Michigan Select 15 Team GOALTENDERS (2): Mike Brown (HoneyBaked 85); Anthony Toco (Lakeland Hawks AA). DEFENSEMEN (6): Matt Hunwick (HoneyBaked 85); Lars Helminen (Compuware 85); Greg White (Little Caesar's 85); Nick Dobrowski (HoneyBaked 85); Matt Shouneyia (Compuware 85); Matt Baehr (Little Caesar's 85). FORWARDS (12) T.J. Hensick (Honeybaked 85); Josh Sciba (Honeybaked 85); Ryan Cianfrani (De La Salle HS); Ryan Maki (Honeybaked 85); Adam Smith (Honeybaked 85); Tom Train (Belle Tire 85); John Stabile (Sault Ste. Marie Bantam); John Vigilante; Nino Musitelli; Justin White; Jeff Gartner; John Globke. Mid-Am/Southeastern Select 15 Team GOALTENDERS (2): Brian Bakowski (Bethel Park, PA); Clayton Adams (Chevy Chase, MD). DEFENSEMEN (6): Stewart Carlin (Jeannette, PA); Daniel Drobnick (Mentor, OH); Steven Leppo (McKeesport, PA); Christopher Robinson (Pittsburgh, PA); Daniel Bauers (Oakton, VA); Thomas Harrison (Springfield, VA). FORWARDS (12): Timothy Brinton (Pittsburgh, PA); Jace Buzek (Greensburg, PA); Stephen Culbertson (Bowling Green, OH); B.J. DiPaoli (Coal Center, PA); Gary Klapowski (Pittsburgh, PA); Brian Moore (Carmel, IN); Matthew Puntereri (Wampum, PA); Sean Sutphen (London, OH); Joseph Ulerich (Pittsburgh, PA); Robbie Arnone (Great Falls, VA): Matthew Fritz (Chapel Hill, NC); Garret LeBlanc (Boca Raton, FL). 7/20/00 Harvard Gets a Top D... 6'1", 187 lb. left-shot defenseman Jesse Lane, who played for the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) last season and will be spending his senior season with the U.S. National Team Development Program, has made a commitment to Harvard for the fall of 2001. Lane, a native of Needham, Mass. who played for the Walpole Stars (EJHL) before heading west, has strong all-around skills and the ability to handle himself physically. One of the top defenseman at the US Select 17 Festival, he'll be on the U.S. Under-18 Select Team going to Slovakia for the Four Nations Tournament next month. Other schools that Lane considered were Yale, Notre Dame, UNH, Providence, and Cornell.
7/20/00 ...and BC Gets a Top Forward 5'11" RW Ryan Murphy of the U.S. National Team Development Program will be headed to Boston College in the fall of 2001. For Murphy, a top student, his final choice came down to Harvard and BC. Notre Dame and Yale had been in the mix earlier, but Murphy, whose family moved from New Jersey to New Hampshire last year, wanted to be close to home and play in the Beanpot. Murphy, who went to the Cardigan Mountain School and St. Paul's before accepting an invitation to go to Ann Arbor, is an up-tempo player whose speed off the wing makes him extremely dangerous. 7/19/00 U.S. National Junior Camp Roster Set The roster for the U.S. National Junior Camp, to be held next month in Lake Placid, has been released. On the first week (Aug. 1-6) 44 players will be brought in. Of those, approximately 20 will make the cut and be held over until the next week. Those 20 will join with the "veterans" of last year's U.S. National Junior team in the Summer Challenge, a double round-robin tournament that includes Finland and Sweden. The team will be coached by Keith Allain, the former Yale goaltender (class of '80). Allain scouted for the St. Louis Blues last season. His assistants will be: Tim Taylor: The coach at Yale for the last 22 years, Taylor was also an assistant with the 1984 U.S. Olympic team in Sarajevo, and a head coach in 1994 in Albertville. He was Allain's coach at Yale. Jim Johnson: Currently working in the Phoenix Coyotes front office, Johnson is a former Minnesota-Duluth and NHL defenseman. Concussions forced him to retire a few years ago. Click here for the full printable roster, with birthdates, heights, weights, etc. It's a Microsoft Word document. If you don't have Microsoft Word, the following is a short version of the roster: First Week Roster: GOALTENDERS (4): Craig Anderson, Jason Bacashihua, Craig Kowalski, Nick Pannoni. DEFENSEMEN (16): Keith Ballard, Matt DeMarchi, Brian Fahey, Justin Forrest, Tim Gleason, David Hale, Joey Hope, Neil Komadoski, Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, Evan Nielsen, Colin Peters, Joe Schuman, Kurt Sauer, Kenny Smith, and Ben Tharpe. FORWARDS (24): Joe Cullen, Jon DiSalvatore, Ben Eaves, John Eichelberger, Jake Fleming, Jon Francisco, Quinn Fylling, Rob Globke, Jeremy Jackson, Steve Jackson, Todd Jackson, Gregg Johnson, Brady Leisenring, Dennis Packard, Bryan Perez, Troy Riddle, Shawn Roed, Jim Slater, David Steckel, R.J. Umberger, Kris Vernarsky, Jon Waibel, Dan Welch, John Wroblewski. VETERANS (9): G Rick DiPietro; D Ron Hainsey; and forwards Connor Dunlop, Patrick Foley, Andy Hilbert, Brett Nowak, John Sabo, Jeff Taffe, and Brad Winchester. Players will arrive in Lake Placid on Tues. Aug.1, practice on Wed. Aug. 2, and then play three intrasquad games. The first game will be on Thurs. Aug 3 at 5 pm; the next will be on Fri. Aug 4 at 7 pm; and the third will be on Sat. Aug 5 at 3 pm. The veterans blow into town on Aug. 7. Here's the schedule for the Summer Challenge. Each team will play four games before breaking camp.
7/18/00 Three D for the National Program Three defenseman have been added to the National Program for this fall. The most recognizable name is that of Bryan Miller, an '83 defenseman who played last season for the Chicago Freeze (NAHL). Miller, 5'10", 175 lbs. and a right shot, is a native of Wayne, NJ and played for the New Jersey Jr. Devils before going to Chicago last fall. An excellent skater who's highly mobile, Miller has a good stick, and a head for the game. He's on the U.S. Under-18 squad going to Slovakia next month. Right now, BU, BC, and Michigan State are the leaders in the hunt for Miller, who'll be entering his senior year in high school. Two '84 D have been added, rounding out the younger team's defense corps. One is Matt Carle, who played for Dennis Sorenson's Alaska All-Stars bantam team last winter. Carle, 5'11", 161 lbs, is a left-shot D with good all-round skills and a strong sense of what to do with the puck. He's from Anchorage. The other '84 D will be Mike Nesdill, who's from Phoenix, Arizona -- call it the anti-Alaska -- and played for the Desert Youth Hockey Association Midget Squad. Nesdill, 6'0" and 165 lbs., is a little raw, but with his size and skills has excellent potential. Nesdill and Carle will be joining fellow '84 defenseman Noah Babin, Mike Grenzy, Corey Potter, Tom Sawatske, Evan Shaw, and Mark Stuart on the Under-17 team blueline. A player who won't be going to the National Program is Gabe Gauthier, one of the top-ranked U.S. '84 forwards. Gauthier will likely be staying in Canada, either returning to Chilliwack (BCHL) or going on to the Saskatoon Blades, the WHL team that drafted him in the first round (#14 overall). With Gauthier not coming, Patrick Eaves, who's equally good on the blue line or at center, is being penciled in at the latter.
7/18/00 As Long As We're on the Subject Speaking of Gabe Gauther, he'll be coming east for Hockey Night in Boston next month, appearing with the Pacific team. Also on the team will be a handful of Cushing players: defenseman Blake Pickett, and forwards Yale Lewis, Josh Angevine, and Chris White. White, by the way, has made a verbal commitment to Quinnipiac for the fall of 2001. A small, quick centerman, White posted an 8-14-22 line in 30 games last winter and was named MVP of Cushing's New Year's Tournament. He's an Anaheim native. The Pacific team, which arrives Aug. 1, practices Aug. 2, and begins play on Aug. 3, will feature other prep players. From Berkshire comes forward Nick Tsiantar and defensemen Ben Gott and Nick Dancey. From Deerfield comes defenseman Alex Linton. There is also a slew of kids who play Jr. B in California, like Chris Margott of the Ventura Mariners, who won the National Jr. B title this past April. The team was put together, and will be coached by, Ron White. An influential hockey figure in Southern California, Ron, who is also Chris White's father, owns a local Jr. B team, the Bay City Bombers, and two separate ice hockey complexes, one right near Disneyland in Anaheim, and the other in Long Beach. Needless to say, anybody who's a player in Southern California has come through White's rinks.
7/17/00 Prep Hockey's Loss; Princeton's Gain Jim Ward, the head coach at Northfield -- Mt. Hermon for the past seven years, will be named today as an assistant on the staff of Len Quesnelle at Princeton. Ward will be taking over many of the duties -- including recruiting coordinator -- that Quesnelle had been handling before being promoted to head coach last month. Prior to coming to NMH, Ward had been an assistant at Union College under Bruce Delventhal during the years the Dutchmen made the transition from Div. III to Div. I. Before that, Ward was an assistant on the staff of Tony Mariani at Norwich for three years. Ward, 37, is an Ottawa, Ont. native. He played Tier II for the Carleton Place Kings before going on to play college hockey at SUNY-Geneseo, where he was a captain and All-SUNYAC defenseman. Ward's job at NMH will be taken over by Tom Cranfield, his assistant for the past four years. Cranfield, a former captain at SUNY-Cortland, coached at his alma mater for three years before coming to NMH.
7/17/00 Check it Out Due to an e-mail server error, a number of e-mails sent to the U.S. Hockey Report between the dates of June 29 and July 5 evaporated into the ozone. Just like that -- poof! If you subscribed during that period -- or even think you may have -- please e-mail us at subscribe@ushr.com so we can be sure of having you on our subscription records. Thank you!
7/17/00 New York, Minnesota 15's Named Here are the players who will be representing New York and Minnesota at USA Hockey's Select 15 Festival August 4-11 in St. Cloud, Minn. New York Select 15's (1985 birthdates) GOALTENDERS (2): Timothy Mayhew (Clifton Park. NY); Edward Neville (Franklin Square, NY). DEFENSEMEN (6): Nicholas Barnych (Smithtown, NY); Steven Birnstill (Commack, NY); John Colford (Deer Park); Louis Liotti (Westbury, NY); Richard Lynch (West Seneca, NY); Christopher Smith (Lakeview, NY). FORWARDS (12): Michael Arcieri (Northpoint, NY); Mike Arciero (West Point, NY); Andrew Brolsma (Fairport, NY); Ryan Callahan (Rochester, NY); Michael Cohen (Williamsville, NY); Michael Collette (Oceanside, NY); Joseph Gardner (Buffalo, NY); Christopher Greene (Lake Placid, NY); Peter MacArthur (Clifton Park, NY); Jeffrey Pappalardi (Delmar, NY); Frank Rizzo (St. James, NY); C.J. Tozzo (New Rochelle, NY). Minnesota Select 15's (1985 birthdates) GOALTENDERS (2): Kevin Johnson (Wayzata); Brenden Goetz (Shattuck-St. Mary's). DEFENSEMEN (6): Zack FitzGerald (Duluth East); Phillip Johnson (Duluth East); Andrew Guyer (Greenway); Tyler Truax (Bemidji); Blake Friesen (Minnetonka); Brad Kern (Hibbing). FORWARDS (12): Mike Hendricks (Bemidji); Jim Kilpatrick (New Prague); Aaron Bader (Shattuck-St. Mary's); Derek Hanson (Bemidji); Ben Hendrick (Anoka); Bredan Bayers (St. Louis Park); Garrett Regan (Hastings); Ian Schaser (Benilde-St. Margaret's); Andrew Carroll (Roseville); Brad Peterson (Bloomington Jefferson); Brent Borgen (Mahtomedi); Corey Carlson (Two Harbors). 7/13/00 U.S. Under-18 Select Roster Nearly Set Here's the roster for the USA Hockey Under-18 Select Team that will be representing the U.S. at the Four Nations Tournament next month in Slovaka. This is a tentative roster, as final confirmation has not yet arrived from a few of the below-named players. Sixteen of the players named are '83 birthdates. Four -- defenseman Mark Stuart, and forwards Patrick Eaves, Zach Parise, and Brett Sterling -- are '84s. All of the players invited competed in the recent 16 and 17 Festivals in St. Cloud, Minn. The head coach will be Mark Osiecki of the USHL champion Green Bay Gamblers. Assistants will be Scott Paluch of Boston College and John Micheletto of Notre Dame. The team will leave from Minneapolis, and arrive in Vienna on August 12. 2000 USA Hockey Under-18 Select Team Select 17 Standouts As we did after the 16 Festival, we've put together a list of top players at the Select 17 Festival, which concluded last week in St. Cloud, Minn. with New England knocking off Rocky Mountain, 6-2, for the gold. In the bronze medal game, New York edged Minnesota, 3-1. Let it be noted that, two years ago, as 15's, New York came in dead last. Anyway, our list of top performers at the festival is a bit of a hybrid list, meaning performance at the festival is heavily weighted, but future potential and a player's established level are given weight, too. In other words, we try to keep in mind that it's just one week -- and the summer, at that. With goalies, of course, it gets even weirder. Rocky Mountain's Layne Sedvie was our #1 guy going into the final day, but stumbled and fell to #8. Tim Warner, who played for Massachusetts and is a top-flight prospect, was OK here, but OK wasn't enough to knock off the guys ranked ahead of him. One other thing: we're using Div. I play, not pro, as our primary reference point here. With that in mind, here are some of the players who caught our attention. These views are from this typist only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, the good people of St. Cloud -- or anyone else for that matter. Forwards: 1. Gino Guyer, Minn. -- 5'10", 177 lb. left-shot center from Greenway High School. The dominant offensive player at the tournament. Extremely dangerous anywhere near the net. Great stick. Makes eye-popping plays. Shoot or pass? It's impossible to tell -- he just doesn't telegraph his plays. Shut down pretty well late in the tournament, and, as a team, Minnesota wilted with him, scoring but one goal in each of last two games. Guyer will be returning to Greenway - that's up on the Iron Range -- for his junior year. Tied for tournament scoring lead with eight points (4-4-8). 2. Mike Erickson, Minn. -- 6'2", 185 lb. RW from Eden Prairie HS. An all-around athlete, he's also a quarterback, which played into his recent decision to return to Eden Prairie instead of joining the National Program in Ann Arbor. Scary coming over blue line with a head of steam. A power forward who can skate and shoot it. Was on fire in first two games of tournament. Finished with a 3-2-5 line. 3. Matt Duncan, Minn. -- 6'1", 183 lb. RW from Bloomington Jefferson. Good size. Good hands. In one game scored on a nifty wrap-around, then walked off the boards and, cutting across the slot, notched another. Good size/skill combination. Played point on powerplay. 4. Dave Spina, Rocky Mt. -- 5'10", 167 lb. skilled RW from Mesa, Arizona and the Texas Tornado (NAHL) keyed the offense for the silver-medal winning Rocky Mountain squad. Quick, with good acceleration. Patient with the puck. Very aware. 3-4-7 line. 5. Chris Higgins, N.Y. -- 5'10", 175 lb. left-shot center from Avon Old Farms. Gets a little bigger -- and a little better -- every year. Excellent agility. Slips checks well. Good in traffic. Can let it go on the fly. Came out of gate fast, but tailed off a little toward the end of the week. 6. Ryan Shannon, New England -- 5'8", 162 lb. right-shot center from Taft. Very smart. Very crafty. Committed to Boston College. 7. Chris Chaput, New England -- 5'9", 184 lb. left-shot center from Mount St. Charles, the perennial Rhode Island state champs. Started out the week slowly, but came on at the end. Not big, not fast -- just creates offense. Committed to Providence College. Led goal scorers here with five. Finished with 5-2-7 line. 8. Christian Jensen, New England -- 5'10", 172 lb. RW (he's a left shot) from the Taft School. Goes hard both ways. Unselfish player. Makes things happen. Quick and athletic. Committed to Yale. Finished with eight points (1-7-8), which tied him with Guyer for the scoring title. 9. Chris Connor, Michigan -- 5'6", 163 lb. LW from Honeybaked Midgets started slowly, but lit it up at end, finishing play with a 2-4-6 line. He's going to the Chicago Freeze (NAHL). 10. Stephen Gionta, N.Y. -- 5'6", 188 lb. right-shot center who played last winter for the Rochester Americans (NAHL). Hard-nosed player who came through with big and timely plays. Taken by Cleveland in the NAHL dispersal draft of Rochester players. 3-4-7 on the week. 11. Bill Thomas, Mid-Am/S.E. -- 6'1" RW from Cheswick, PA and the Cleveland Barons Midgets. Good size/skill combination. Skates well, moves the puck, and can fire it, too. Had a good week, finishing with a 2-3-5 line. 12. Ryan Trowbridge, New England -- 6'0", 190 lb. winger from the Taft School. Good finisher. A power forward type. Had two goals in New England's 4-3 win over N.Y. 13. Jason Moul, Michigan -- 5'7", 170 lb. RW from Redford High School in Michigan. Started slowly, but came on at end of week. Going to the Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) this fall. 14. Rob Flynn, Mass. -- 6'2", 201 lb. RW from Milton Academy is going to the U.S. National Program for a year. Like all the Mass. forwards, he had a quiet week here. His game could develop quickly in Ann Arbor. 15. Mark Langdon, N.Y. -- 6'1", 187 lb. LW from the Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL). Has size, skates smoothly, and produced offense, finishing with a 1-4-5 line. 16. Marty Guerin, Michigan -- 6'0", 190 lb. RW from Honeybaked Midgets. Good up-and-down pro style winger. Rugged, and can be a little nasty, too. Playing for the Omaha Lancers (USHL) this coming season. 17. Adam Powell, Pacific -- 6'0", 236 lb. left-shot center from Fairbanks, Alaska and the Arctic Blast. Hard not to notice. With a 3-3-6 line, he figured in two-thirds of his team's goals. 18. David Boguslawski, Minn. -- 5'8", 170 lb. left-shot center from Park HS in Cottage Grove, Minn. Will be going to the Tri-City Storm. Dangerous down low. 19. Jake Sparks, Rocky Mt. -- 5'10", 175 lb. right-shot forward was big factor in Rocky Mt.'s taking home the silver. Finished with a 2-3-5 line. Played midget hockey in Colorado last winter. Looking to play Jr. A this year. 20. Jeff McFarland, Minn. -- 5'9", 167 lb. right wing from Wayzata HS. Skilled player who came out of the gate fast, but tailed off at end of week. Still finished with a 3-3-6 line. 21. Blake Stewart, Central -- 5'10", 152 lb. left-shot center from Team Illinois. Won faceoffs with regularity. Was physically involved. Quick release to his shot. Will be going to the Chicago Freeze (NAHL) this fall. 22. Andy Sertich, Minn. -- 5'10", 162 lb. winger from Greenway HS is a skilled forward who moves the puck smartly. He's a converted defenseman. 23. Justin LaVerdiere, New England -- 5'9", 200 lb. left-shot forward started slowly but notched the big game-winning goal vs. New York with eight seconds left on Tues, added two more the next night, then two more in playoff game Thursday. Finished with a 2-4-6 line. Plays for Mount St. Charles. 24. Joe Jensen, Minn. -- 5'10", 169 LW from Osseo HS. Skates well. Has good anticipation. Works hard. More noticeable second half of week than first half. 25. Jordan Black, Rocky Mt. -- 5'10", 175 lb. right-shot forward from Little Caesar's Midgets. Will be going to Rochester Mustangs (USHL) this fall. 26. Jake Schwan, New York -- 5'10", 171 lb. RW from Capital District Selects. Not flashy, but came through with a lot of key plays. Scored game-winner in bronze-medal game win over Minnesota. Finished with a 4-2-6 line. 27. Adam Bartholomay, Pacific -- 5'10", 184 lb. RC from the LA Jr. Kings. Quick. Excellent stick skills. Patient with puck. Might have been more noticeable on a better team. A bit of a sleeper. Good Jr. A prospect. 28. Matt Miskovich, Minn. -- 5'10", 171 lb. LW from Grand Rapids (Minn.) High School. An energy guy who'll pot one every once in a while, and can make a play, too. Lacks the speed of other Miskoviches of recent vintage. 29. A.J. Palkovich, N.Y. -- A 5'10", 162 lb. left-shot wing from N.Y. Applecore. Quick. Good skills. 30. Mike Morris, Mass. -- 5'10", 157 lb. RW from St. Sebastian's has good skills, but had a quiet week. 31. John LaLiberte, New England -- Yet another rugged, banging winger. LaLiberte played for the Exeter Snow Devils (EJHL) last winter. 32. Jason Tejchma, Mich. -- Another good player who had a quiet week. Tejchma, who's a 5'8", 164 lb. left-shot center played last year for the Honeybaked Midgets. Will be playing for the Danville Wings (NAHL) this fall. 33. Beau Kretzman, Minn. -- 5'10", 171 lb. LC from Edina HS works hard; creates opportunities. 34. Michael Walsh, Mich. -- 6'1", 191 lb. LW from Compuware Midgets is a rugged, up-and-down-the-wing type. 35. Rob Brougham, Atlantic -- 6'0", 184 lb. LW from the New Jersey Jr. Devils. Came alive on final day of round-robin play, in Atlantic's attempted second half comeback against Michigan. 36. Nick Tsiantar, Pacific -- 6'0", 174 lb. RW plays for the Berkshire School in western Massachusetts. Has good size; gets around pretty well. 37. Brendan Timmins, Mass. -- 6'1", 202 lb RW from Arlington HS. Good banging winger who works hard in corner and along the wall. Battles for space in front of the net. 38. Stephen Waters, Central -- 5'9", 164 lb. right-shot forward from Lincoln HS in Wisconsin. A bit raw but showed some skill. 39. Jeff Jepson, Mid-Am -- 5'9", 140 lb. LW. Quick. Elusive. 40. Matt Blabac, N.Y. -- A 6'3", 198 lb. physical center who uses his size well. Plays at the Millbrook School, nominally a Div. I prep program.
Defensemen: 1. Ryan Whitney, Mass. -- Quite simply, a magnificent young player. Without taking anything away from the rest of the D here, the gap between Whitney and the others is actually a canyon. Right now, the defenseman from Scituate, Mass. projects to be a high first-round NHL draft pick, perhaps going in the top five overall. Whitney, who'll play his senior year with the U.S. National Program before matriculating at Boston University, is 6'3", 189 lbs., and a smooth skater with a long stride. He carries the puck with ease, using his reach to great advantage. His passes are tape-to-tape. His excellent peripheral vision -- combined with a strong sense of where he is on the ice -- allows him to make successful no-look passes. Indeed, teammates seem startled at times to find the puck suddenly on their stick. Whitney is patient and calm, and will hold the puck as long as necessary. In prep play, his tendency has been to pass it out of the zone almost exclusively, generally hitting a forward at the offensive blue line. Here, he showed more of a willingness to skate it out, even going end-to-end on occasion. Generally, he did a good job picking his spots. Whitney was solid taking care of business in his own end. With his wingspan and long stick, opposing forwards have to take a circle route to get around him. Whitney was involved physically here, and showed more nastiness than customary. 2. Matt Greene, Mich. -- Greene, who played for Chris Coury's Little Caesar's squad last winter, is 6'2", 201 lbs,., and loves to hit hard. He's still raw skill-wise. That is, the skills are there, they just need smoothing out. In addition, he hasn't finished growing into his body. Greene, with his size and physical style of play, is a potential first-round NHL draft pick. He's going to the U.S. National Program this fall. 3. Matt Jones, Rocky Mountain -- Went from the Chicago Chill Midgets to the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) last year. A native of Lisle, Illinois, Jones is 5'11" and has filled out to 195 lbs. He's an excellent skater, and difficult to knock off the puck. Needless to say, Jones, an at-large player, was a major reason Rocky Mountain got past Minnesota and into the gold medal game. 4. Judd Stevens, Minn. -- A 6'1", 189 lb. right-shot from Wayzata High School. A good skater with good hands. Sees the ice well. Keeps improving. 5. Tim Hambly, Minn. -- A 6'0", 167 lb. puckhandling D from White Bear Lake HS. Great outlet passer. Excellent 1-on-1 defender. And a battler, too. Hambly shoots left. 6. Bryan Miller, Atlantic -- 5'9", 175 lbs. and a right shot. A native of Wayne, New Jersey who played for the Chicago Freeze (NAHL) last winter. An excellent skater with very good hands, Miller played on a weak team here. At times was rather alone out there. 7. Tom Gilbert, Minn. -- 6'2", 176 lb. right shot D is a converted forward. Hasn't lost the offensive touch, finishing up as the tournament's top-scoring defenseman (1-4-5). Big, strong straight-ahead skater with good acceleration. Plays for Bloomington Jefferson. 8. Jesse Lane, Mass. -- A 6'1", 187 lb. left-shot D with all-round skills. He can skate. He has good hands. He can fire it. A Needham, Mass. native, Lane played for the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) last winter and will be going to the National Program this year. 9. Peter Harrold, Mid-Am -- A 5'11", 170 lb. right shot from Kirkland Hills, Ohio who played for the Cleveland Barons Midgets last winter. Harrold is a highly mobile, rugged, puckhandling D. 10. Frank Burgio, N.Y. -- Another mobile, puckhandling D to keep an eye on. Burgio is 5'11", 188 and played last year for the Rochester Jr. Americans. 11. Mike Dagel, Minn. -- 5'10", 169 lb. right-shot D from Greenway HS is a heads-up passer who gets the puck out of his zone quickly and efficiently. 12. Jaime Sifers, New England -- A 5'10", 185 lb. solidly-built, hard-nosed defensive D. Likes to hit. Battles hard. A right shot. Plays for Taft. 13. Howard Jennings, N.Y. -- A sleeper, Jennings was appearing at his first USA Hockey Festival. A 6'1" plus, 170 lb. defensive D, Jennings has a good skating stride, is physical, and showed poise with puck. A native of Plattsburgh, NY, Jennings crosses Lake Champlain to lace 'em up with the Green Mountain Glades, Vermont's sole junior team. He's a left shot. 14. Trevor Calamel, N.Y. -- Another sleeper on the New York team, Calamel was also appearing in his first USA Hockey Festival. A right-shot D who's also 6'1" plus, 172 lbs, Calamel is a smooth skater who can pass or carry the puck with confidence. Played for the Buffalo Saints Midgets last winter. 15. Eric Lundberg, New England -- A 6'2", 187 lb. right shot who plays for the New England Coyotes, Lundberg is a big, smooth-skating defensive D. Going to Providence College in the fall of 2001. 16. Rob Lehtinen, Michigan -- A 5'10", 161 lb. native of Marquette, Mich., Lehtinen plays forward for the Electricians Midget squad in the winter, and D at the Select festivals every summer. A good skater who handles the puck well -- and he's versatile, of course. 17. Ross Goff, Pacific -- 5'10", 186 lb. puckhandling D from Lynwood, Wash. and the Langley Hornets (BCHL). Injured his knee in the 9th-place game and could be out for six months, possibly longer. 18. James Pemberton, New England -- A 6'1" 178 lb. right shot from Mount St. Charles. Physical, defensive D-man with a nasty streak. Has a good low shot from the point. 19. Chris Bolognino, Central -- A sturdy, reliable defenseman from Team Illinois. At 5'11", 198 lbs., he's well put-together, too. Shoots left. 20. Don Grover, Mass. -- A good, solid defensive D who's now 6'0", 184. Plays for Catholic Memorial. A right shot. 21. Patrick McGrath, Mich. -- Another sleeper. First USA hockey festival. Good hands, and, at 6'0", 150 lbs., good-sized -- or at least good-framed. Got better as week went along and he gained confidence. A late addition to the Michigan roster, McGrath filled the spot of the injured Sean Collins. 22. Barnabas Birkeland, Minn. -- 5'11", 172 lb. right shot from Buffalo HS. Reliable defensive D. 23. Matt Hedrick, New England -- Played for Orono HS in Maine last year. Going to Deerfield Academy this fall. 5'11", 180 lbs. and solid. Strong on skates. Physically involved. 24. Brad Flaishans, Rocky Mt. -- 5'10", 150 lbs., skates well, and has good hands. Played for the Phoenix Firebirds last winter. 25. Chris DiStefano, N.Y. -- Skilled left-shot D from the Choate School. 5'8" but a solid 179 lbs. Had an excellent first game, then injured shoulder, which hampered him the rest of the way. 26. Gerard Miller, N.Y. -- Rugged defensive D from Henry Lazar's Applecore squad. He's 5'10", 189 lbs., and a right shot. 27. Dinos Stamoulis, N.Y. -- A 5'10", 184 lb. defensive D. A right shot, he played for Applecore last winter. Will be heading to Sioux Falls (USHL) in the fall. One of many solid d-men on the bronze medal-winning New York team. 28. Ben Brayden, New England -- Mobile D. Good size at 6'0", 172 lbs. Plays for the Green Mountain Glades. 29. Brian Yandle, Mass. -- Patient, and poised with the puck. Excellent passer. Was teamed with Whitney. The two just played keep-away from the other team. Yandle, who's 5'10, 161 lbs. and a right shot, played for Catholic Memorial last year, but is transferring to Cushing Academy. 30. Bryan Nelson, Minn. -- Rugged d-man from South St. Paul HS. 5'8", 166 lbs. and a left shot.
Goaltenders: 1. Kellen Briggs, Rocky Mt. -- Played for the Brad Buetow-coached Vail Midget AAA squad last winter. Posted a 1.50 gaa, and a .951 save percentage at the festival. Outstanding in big 2-1 win over Minnesota, allowing very few rebounds. 2. Bobby Goepfert, N.Y. -- Posted a 1.20 gaa, and a tournament-leading .952 save percentage at the festival. Played for Suffolk PAL Jr. B team last winter. Steady thoughout, rotating halves with Kevin Amborksi. 3. Brad Shirley, New England -- 1.60 gaa, .939 save percentage. 5'9", 130 lbs. Plays for St. Paul's School in Concord, NH. 4. Jim Merola, New England -- 2.00 gaa, .922 save percentage. Very consistent. From LaSalle Academy in Rhode Island. 5'11" but skinny -- he's only 134 lbs. Quick glove. 5. Kevin Amborski, N.Y. -- 2.00 gaa, .935 save percentage. Played last winter for the Syracuse Stars Jr. B, then was moved up to the Syracuse Jr. Crunch in the Ontario Provincial League. 6. Brian Papcun, Mich. -- 5'10", 162 lb. goalie from the Ann Arbor Ice Dogs. Finished play here with a 1.60 gaa, and a .942 save percentage, the latter the third-best figure in play here. Stopped 16 of 17 vs. Rocky Mt, and had 37 saves in 5-2 win over Atlantic. 7. Chris Kapsen, Minn. -- From Edina HS. Posted a 1.20 gaa, and a .917 save percentage. Very steady. 8. Layne Sedvie, Rocky Mt. -- A real sleeper. Played for Bismarck (N. Dak.) HS last winter. Came here and had a couple of excellent games, shutting out Michigan 1-0 while making 29 saves in one of them. Had a rough outing vs. New England in gold-medal game, but is a fine prospect. Finished with 2.67 gaa, and a .909 save percentage.
7/11/00 Michigan State Gets Falardeau 6'3", 190 lb. left-shot center Lee Falardeau will be playing for Michigan State in the fall of 2001. Falardeau, an '83 birthdate, and one of the top forwards on the U.S. team at the World Under-17 Championship over New Year's, is going into his senior year with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor. Among the other schools Falardeau talked to were Michigan, Notre Dame, and Cornell. Falardeau is from Midland, Michigan. The fact that Michigan State is the nearest Div. I team to his hometown played a role in his decision. Before going to the U.S. National Program Falardeau played for the Honeybaked Bantams.
7/11/00 Cornell Gets a Top Scorer Mike Knoepfli, the third-leading scorer in the Ontario Provincial League last winter (as an '83), will be going to Cornell in 2001. Knoepfli, who's 6'1", 195 lbs. and can play either wing, posted a 37-47-84 line for the Georgetown Raiders last year. He'll be returning to Georgetown for his senior year.
7/11/00 Jensen Aims for Double 5'10", 172 lb. left-shot forward Christian Jensen, a big cog on the Taft squad that went 22-1 last winter, has committed to Yale University for the fall of 2001. Jensen, a top player for the gold-medal winning New England team at last week's Select 17 Festival in St. Cloud, Minn., is also an excellent lacrosse player and was recruited by many of the top programs in that sport. At Yale, Jensen will attempt to play both sports. He's from New Canaan, Conn. 7/10/00 Three for the National Program Hill Murray High School RW Jim McKenzie, Milton Academy RW Rob Flynn, and Little Caesar's defenseman Matt Greene have all committed to the National Program for this fall. McKenzie, a Woodbury, Minnesota native, is the only one of the three who's an '84. A powerfully-built, competitive type who works hard and wins the battles for the puck, McKenzie is 6'1", 193 lbs. Flynn, a 6'2", 200 lb. RW , is a big power forward and one of the top scorers in New England prep hockey. A native of Canton, Mass., he's a 1/8/83 birthdate. Greene, who came on strong over the course of the past year while playing for the Chris Coury-coached Little Caesar's Midgets, is a rugged 6'2", 201 lb.right-shot defenseman who loves to hit. He's a little raw right now, but could be a pro down the road. Greene, who's from the Detroit area, is a 5/13/83 birthdate. In a related note, Dustin Brown, a 5'11" centerman who was drafted by Guelph in the second round of the OHL draft last month, has turned down an offer to join the National Program and will be playing for Guelph. Brown is a smart, crafty centerman -- a smooth passer who can finish. He's from Ithaca (NY) High School and the Syracuse Stars Bantams. 7/7/00 New England Takes Gold at 17's St. Cloud, Minn. -- New England, behind a four-point afternoon from Chris Chaput (2g,2a) and a two-point game from Mt. St. Charles teammate Justin LaVerdiere (1g,1a), knocked off Rocky Mountain, 6-2, to take the gold medal at the U.S. Select 17 Festival yesterday. John LaLiberte, Keegan Rosenberger, and defenseman James Pemberton (also from the Mount) scored New England's other goals. After New England broke out to a 2-0 first period lead, Rocky Mountain came back with two of their own on a goal by Jake Sparks, and an unassisted breakaway goal off the stick of Chris Garceau (an at-large player from...Connecticut). It was 2-2 at the half, but New England went to town after the break, notching four unanswered goals. New England goaltenders Jimmy Merola (13/11) and Brad Shirley (10/10) each played a half in the New England net. It was a banner two weeks here for New England as the district's 16 and 17 teams each went undefeated. However, the 16's had to -- because of goal differential -- settle for a bronze medal game appearance, which they won. The 17's then followed that up by going out and taking the whole thing. In yesterday's bronze medal game, a Jake Schwan goal broke a 1-1 tie and led New York to a 3-1 win over Minnesota and a bronze medal. Stephen Gionta notched two goals for New York, one an empty-netter. New York outshot Minnesota, 24-22. Minnesota, after scoring 18 goals in the tournament's first three games, were held to one goal in each of the tournament's last two games. In the fifth place game, Michigan topped Massachusetts, 1-0, as the Bay Staters scoring woes continued. Massachusetts, which beat the 9th and 10th place teams here by identical 4-2 scores, lost their other three games by scores of 3-1, 2-0, and 1-0. In the ninth place game, Pacific, on a goal by Grant Goeckner-Zoell (say that fast a few times), topped Central, 4-3. 7/07/00 Walsh Diagnosed with Kidney Cancer University of Maine head coach Shawn Walsh, diagnosed with kidney cancer on Monday, is being operated on today in a Boston hospital, where the kidney is being removed. According to the Bangor Daily News, the kind of cancer Walsh was diagnosed with is renal cell carcinoma, the most prevalent type of kidney cancer. The five-year survival rate is 40-45 percent for all RCC stages combined. Those figures, the Bangor Daily News adds, are based on patients diagnosed and initially treated more than five years ago. It's quite likely that advances in medical technology may have raised that number. It helps as well that Walsh, who's been behind the Black Bears' bench for 16 years, is still only 45 years old. In addition, Walsh is extremely fit physically and, as all who know him will agree, extremely determined. Both, of course, are extremely important in fighting cancer. The next step after Walsh has his kidney removed -- many people, by the way, lead a normal, healthy life with just one kidney -- is three weeks of what is described as "aggressive treatment" at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center. The diagnosis of cancer came about when Walsh, who'd suffered with a nagging, persistent cough all winter, began to worry when it lingered well into June. A few weeks ago Walsh decided to have it checked out. An x-ray showed a cancerous spot on his lung, to where it had spread from his kidney. Walsh is reported to be upbeat and expecting to be back behind the Maine bench when the beginning of hockey season rolls around. For the meantime he'll be delegating a lot of tasks to Grant Standbrook, his top assistant for the last 11 years; Gene Reilly, who's been at Maine for the last two years; and first-year assistant Dave Bauer.
7/7/00 Maine Lands a Top Recruit 6'3", 200 lb. defenseman Paul Lynch, a Peabody, Mass. native who played for the Brooks School last winter, will be going to the University of Maine in the fall of 2001. Lynch, a 4/23/82 birthdate, was largely hidden during the season, as Brooks is a Div. II prep school seldom visited by Div. I recruiters. However, in March, at the HNIB All-Scholastics, he caught the eyes of everyone. Lynch is more than just big -- he can also skate, and has a nasty edge to his play. Merrimack made a pitch for him initially (Brooks is in North Andover), but then BU, BC, and Maine all jumped in. Lynch will be playing his junior season with the Valley Junior Warriors of the EJHL, coached by Andy Heinze. Pro scouts will be watching closely.
7/7/00 Femenella to USHL Right-shot defenseman Arthur Femenella, who graduated from the U.S. National Team Development Program last month, was set to sign on with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL, but had a last-minute change of heart, and has decided to head to the USHL instead, thus keeping his college eligibility intact. Femenella is leaning toward signing on with the Sioux City Musketeers and new coach Dave Siciliano, who has been coaching the Owen Sound Platers (OHL) for the last three years. Former National Program graduates who needed an extra year or two in the USHL before going on to Div. I play included John Eichelberger (Wisconsin), Brett Englehardt (Michigan Tech), and Michael Chin (Notre Dame). Femenella, who's 6'6", 230 lbs., played for the New Jersey Junior Devils, coached by Randy Walker, before joining the National Program two years ago.
7/7/00 ... Werner, too University of Michigan recruit Eric Werner, a 5'9" defenseman who played for the U.S. Under-17 Team last season, will be playing his senior year in high school for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL. Werner, who as a 10th grader played for the Little Caesar's Midget Program, is a quick, elusive offensive defenseman with excellent stick skills. He's joining an already-strong team, and one on which, according to head coach Bob Motzko, he'll be a big-time contributor.
7/7/00 Chicago Freeze to Host 2001 Gold Cup The Chicago Freeze (NAHL) have won the right to host the 2001 Gold Cup at their home rink, the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Ill., roughly 40 miles west of downtown. The dates for the four-game event are Fri. May 4, and Sat. May 5, 2001. The teams, as usual, will be the host team plus the champions of the USHL, NAHL, and AWHL.
7/6/00 Rocky Mt. & New England Go for Gold St. Cloud -- Here at the U.S. Select 17 Festival, Rocky Mountain will meet New England in the gold medal game this afternoon. It didn't look like it was going to be this way, but yesterday Rocky Mt. put the brakes on Minnesota, by far the strongest team in the tournament, beating them, 2-1. The hero? Goaltender Kellen Briggs, a Colorado Springs, Col. native who played last winter for the Brad Buetow-coached Vail Midgets. When the game ended the players streamed onto the ice, mobbing their goaltender. Great stuff. As for New England, they had an easy time with Mid-Am/SE today, knocking them off, 6-2, behind a pair of goals from Michael Bordieri. Here are the other matchups: In the bronze medal game, Minnesota will play New York; in the fifth-place game, Massachusetts will meet Michigan; in the seventh-place game, Atlantic meets Mid-Am/SE; in the ninth-place game, Central will meet Pacific.
7/6/00 U.S. National Program Coaching Staff Set New U.S. National Team Development Program Head Coach Mike Eaves has been making a splash here in St. Cloud during the Select 16 and 17 Festivals, talking to players, parents, coaches, scouts, cafeteria workers -- and just about anyone who wishes to stop by and chat. It's infectious, and has brought a new shot of energy and excitement to USA Hockey -- as well as a lot of optimism for the future. Most importantly, some of the walls between the districts and the National Program are starting to come down already. It's not going to happen overnight, but both Eaves and his top associate, Moe Mantha, see it as vital to the long-range success of the NTDP. As a matter of fact, Mantha, after spending last week here with the 16's, headed back to Michigan to meet with that district's leaders. In a couple of months, the season will be underway. Here's how the coaching staff will look. Eaves, most recently an assistant on Kevin Constantine's staff at Pittsburgh, will be the head coach of the National Under-18 team. Eaves will have Alex Roberts, who's been with the program from the beginning, as his assistant. Mantha, most recently coach of Anaheim's top farm club in Cincinnati, will coach the Under-17 team. His assistant will be John Hamre, who was an assistant coach at Yale Univeristy last winter. Ken Martel, who was an assistant with the program last year, will now be the program's scouting coordinator. Martel will also help run practices. The scouting staff will consist of Lew Mongelluzzo, Brian Hunter, and Chris Warner. Instead of two having two graduate assistants, this year the National Program will only use one. The position is wide open and applicants are encouraged to apply. The program is looking for someone to work specifically with the goaltenders.
7/4/00 U.S. Junior Camp Schedule Set Candidates for the 2001 U.S. National Junior Team will arrive in Lake Placid on Tues. Aug.1, practice on Wed. Aug. 2, and then play three intrasquad games. The first game will be on Thurs. Aug 3 at 5 pm; the next will be on Fri. Aug 4 at 7 pm; and the third will be on Sat. Aug 5 at 3 pm. After cut-down day, the U.S, along with Finland and Switzerland, will play a round-robin tournament, each team playing four games before breaking camp. Here's the schedule: The roster is not yet completed. When we get it, we'll run it immediately.
7/1/00 Pacific Takes Gold at 16's St. Cloud, Minn. -- The Pacific '84s, who went undefeated last year in winning the gold as 15's, did it again this year, knocking off Minnesota, 2-1, in the gold medal game here. Pasadena, California native Brett Sterling, who led all tournament scorers with 14 points, notched his 10th goal of the tournament, an unassisted effort that broke a 0-0 tie early in the second period. A little over two minutes later, Dane Smulick of Anchorage, Alaska, put Pacific up, 2-0, with an assist going to defenseman Jeremy Smith, another Alaskan. With 6:35 remaining, big Nate Raduns, who's from Sauk Rapids, just down the road from St. Cloud, put Minnesota on the board. Nick Pernula and Tom Dickhudt picked up assists on the play, and it was suddenly a one-goal game. However, Minnesota couldn't get any closer and Pacific, coached by Dennis Sorenson, held the fort. Both goaltenders -- Matt Mouser for Pacific and John Curry for Minnesota -- went the route in net and had strong games. In the bronze medal game, New England edged Mass, 3-2, in OT, the winning goal coming off the stick of Mt. St. Charles forward Joe Lauricella, who, it must be noted, is from Blackstone, Mass. The goal came 17 minutes into OT, and both teams, with five games in six days plus daily practices under their belts, were wiped out. The loss was a heartbreaker for Mass., which came within 10 seconds of beating Minnesota the previous night, which would have put them in the gold medal game. However, the Paul Cannata-coached squad came a long way from last year, when, as 15's, they went 0-5-0. As they say, there were no losers in this game. In the fifth-place game, Michigan forward David Rohlfs (Compuware Midgets), scored with 1:31 remaining in OT to lift his team past Rocky Mountain, 4-3. In the seventh-place game, Chris Collins had a goal and two assists to help pace New York past Central, 4-2. Mid-Am/S.E. and Atlantic tied for ninth, as Mid-Am/ S.E.'s Matthew Lombardo lifted his team into a tie with Atlantic with 25 seconds remaining. No overtime was played. The all-tournament team was named at it is as follows: Of the 200 players at the tournament, we've put together a list of the players who stood out. It's a hybrid list, meaning performance level at the festival is heavily weighted for some players while future potential is given more weight for others. We're using Div. I play, not pro, as our primary reference point here. Anyway, here are some of the kids n the tournament that you'll likely be hearing from in the future. These views are from this typist only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the mayor of St. Cloud, the police chief -- or anyone else for that matter. Forwards: 1. Zach Parise, Minn. -- Extremely quick 5'9" centerman from Shattuck-St. Mary's. Notched three of his team's four goals in final round-robin game, including one with 10 seconds remaining to lift his team into gold medal game. His shot is deadly accurate, with a great release. 2. Stephen Werner, Mid-Am/S.E. -- A Chevy Chase, Maryland native who played for the Washington Little Caps Jr. B team last winter. A 6'0" RW with exceptional puck skills, Werner is smooth and crafty in his one-on-one play. Got stuck on weak team, but didn't let it lower his level of play. Going to National Program. 3. Patrick Eaves, Minn. -- Eaves, who is 5'11" -- and the younger brother of BC-bound Ben -- is headed to the National Program from Shattuck-St. Mary's. Missed the first couple of games with an injured groin. On returning, played a game at center, which some observers feel is his best position; and then a couple at D, where others feel he's best suited. The bottom line: he's in your top three at either position. Cerebral -- and a poised puckhandler. 4. Hugh Jessiman, New England -- Played last winter at Brunswick School, a Div. II prep school in southern Connecticut. After a day or two of adjusting to the tempo, Jessiman began to really open some eyes. He's 6'4", but a bit of a toothpick at 175 pounds. Has soft hands, good one-on-one moves, and, as the week went along, began to assert himself physically more and more. Tremendous upside, but has to get out of where he is. Has been invited to the National Program. 5. Tim Wallace, Pacific -- 6'0"Alaska All-Stars Bantam who played center here. An energy guy with skills to boot. Plays tough, aggressive hockey, but can also find the open man, make the one-on-one move, and score. Going to the National Program. 6. Greg Moore, New England -- A Lisbon, Maine native who played at St. Dom's HS last season, Moore, a 6'0" right wing, is a power forward with a capital P. Excellent on the off-wing, drives to net hard. Going to the National Program. 7. Dustin Brown, New York -- From Ithaca HS and the Syracuse Stars Bantams. Didn't play at 15's, so he's being seen by a lot of people for the first time. Brown, a 5'11" right-shot centerman, is crafty, distributes the puck smoothly and intelligently, and has an excellent wrister with a quick release. Very good inside the tops of the circles. Picked by Guelph in the second round of the OHL Draft. Invited to the National Program. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 8. Brett Sterling, Pacific -- 5'6" LW who scores, scores, and then scores some more. Has done it consistently the past two years. Wins battles for the puck against bigger, stronger players, then turns it into a scoring opportunity. Sterling, who played for the L.A. Junior Kings, was invited to the National Program here at the festival -- and accepted. 9. Ryan Kesler, Michigan -- 6'0" right-shot center who can take puck to the net, win faceoffs, and score. Key to success of Honeybaked '84s last winter. Will be playing in National Program. 10. Taylor Hustead, Rocky Mt. -- A 6'1" right-shot center from Scottsdale, Arizona, Hustead attends Culver Academy. He's strong on his skates, keeps his feet moving, and anticipates well. Good wrist shot. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 11. Ryan Potulny, Rocky Mt. -- Potulny, who played last winter for Red River HS in Grand Forks, ND, is a 5'11" center who was out for most of the tournament with a hip pointer. Goood skater, plays gritty game, and has strong work ethic. 12. Greg Goodnough, New York -- A 5'9", 208 lb. RW who played in the Ontario Provincial League for the Syracuse Jr. Crunch last winter and this year will be headed to the National Program. Goodnough, with his strength and low center of gravity, is extremely difficult to knock off the puck. Goodnough was slowed throughout the tournament by a nagging foot injury. 13. Nate Raduns, Minn. -- Lanky 6'1" centerman out of Sauk Rapids, a Class A Minnesota High School. Hasn't played much at a high pace, and has had to adjust to this setting. A little in and out here but he has size, good hands, and a good sense of the game. 14. Nate Thompson, Pacific -- 5'10" left-shot center from the Alaska All-Stars. Skates well, can make a play, and works both ways. Agile; slips checks nicely. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 15. Matt Chacho, Pacific -- A 5'10" right-shot center from the Fairbanks Arctic Blast, Chacho was one of the top scorers in the tournament. Wide skating stance; hard to knock off puck. Not flashy, just quietly produces offense. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 16. Peter Cartwright, Pacific -- Another of the tournament's top scorers, this 5'11" RW played last year for the Alaska All-Stars Bantams. He goes to the net hard, and tenaciously bangs away at rebounds. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 17. Jim McKenzie, Minn. -- 6'1", 193 lb. Hill-Murray RW is rugged and hard-nosed. Excellent work ethic. Will dig puck out along wall and in corners. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 18. Nick Pernula, Minn. -- 5'9" Osseo forward played RW on Parise's line. Very quick. Moves puck well. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 19. Ray Ortiz, Mass. -- 5'9" right-shot center out of Belmont Hill led the Masssachusetts resurgence. Skilled, persistent forward who creates opportunites for his team. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 20. Tom Goebel, Rocky Mt. -- 5'5" right-shot forward out of the Cleveland Barons Midget program. Very shifty. 21. Adam Ladd, New England -- 5'6" RW who came out of Keene HS in New Hampshire -- in other words, nowhere -- and sparked the New England offense. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 22. Mike Dagenais, Mich. -- 6-0 LW out of the Marquette Electricians Midget AAA program. Excellent first day, had a bit of a lull, then came back strong at the end. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 23. Chris Collins, New York -- 5'6" left-shot forward was kind of quiet, until the final day, when he scored three of his four points in the tournament. Played for the Rochester Americans Jr. B. Is going to Taft this fall. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 24. Brian Boyle, Mass. -- Has the potential to be among the top five or ten players on this list. He's 6'5", 191 lbs., has great reach, and decent hands. Needs to learn to think the game better, and add intensity. Plays for St. Sebastian's. 25. David Booth, Mich. -- 5'11" left-shot center from Honeybaked '84s. Low center of gravity. Drives to net hard. Protects puck well. 26. Danny Shribman, Mass. -- 5'8" right-shot center from BB&N, a Cambridge, Mass. day school, is a hard-working energy guy with good skills. A catalyst for Mass. Named as an alternate on the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 27. Cy Young, Pacific -- 5'9" left-shto forward from Anchorage, Alaska and the Alaska All-Stars was hampered by injury, and wasn't up to snuff. A good player, though. 28. Bryan Horan, New England -- 5'11", 151 lb. right-shot center from the New England Coyotes. Cerebral, quietly efficient player. 29. T.J. Fox, New York -- 5'11" winger played last winter in the Ontario Provincial League for the Syracuse Jr. Crunch. Has skills, but needs to acquire consistency. 30. James Tselikis, New England -- Intelligent centerman plays for Cape Elizabeth HS in Maine, where he's just got to be the best player by a mile. Needs to move up to a higher level of play. 31. Tyler Hirsch, Minn. --5'9" right wing from Shattuck-St. Mary's came up with some key points. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 32. Kevin Labatte, Rocky Mt. -- 6'0" right wing from Ogden, Utah and the Utah Junior Grizzlies. A power forward with size and strength. 33. Mark McCutcheon, New York --5'11' 150 lb. RW from Rochester Americans Jr. B. Can skate, but needs to produce more offense. 34. Kenny Roche, Mass. -- 5'10" LW from S. Boston, Mass. and St. Sebastian's popped up with some good scoring opportunites. 35. Mike Howe, Minn. --5'9" RW from St. Cloud Apollo HS. Can fly, but he didn't have to: his family lives here in town. Named as an alternate to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 36. Dane Smulick, Pacific -- 5'8" Alaska All-Stars Midgets RW showed flashes of skill. A very late '84 -- he's born the day after Christmas. 37. Tom Dickhudt, Minn. --5'11, 196 lb. LW out of Woodbury HS also showed flashes of skill. Needs to be more consistent. 38. Kevin Sheehan, Central -- 5'11" forward from the Chicago Chill Midgets. 39. Scott Thauwald, Minn. -- 5'10" LW from Rochester Mayo works hard for the puck. 40. Chris Wright, Mich. -- 5'9" LW from Honeybaked '84s. A hard-working forward who forechecks like mad and lifts his teammates. Defenseman: 1. Mark Stuart, Minn. -- Excellent all-round defensemen from Rochester Lourdes HS. 6'1", 211 lbs., and very strong. Younger brother of Colorado College's Mike and Colin. Will be going to the National Program. 2. Ben Lovejoy, New England -- 6'0" Deerfield Academy. Big, strong kid who can skate and move the puck. Like Stuart, one of the top pro prospects in this age group. Will be returning to Deerfield. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 3. Noah Babin, Mich. -- One of the best pure skaters in the camp. From Florida, has played last two years in Michigan, most recently with the Little Caesar's Midgets. Played two games, then had to sit for the rest of the tournament with a minor knee injury. Going to the National Program. 4. Corey Potter, Mich. -- 6'1" Honeybaked 84. Smart, intelligent, poised. Decision-making skills set him apart. Going to the National Program. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 5. Tom Sawatske, Minn. -- 5'11" Duluth East kid headed to the National Program. Excellent skater who can run the power play. 6. Mike Nesdill, Rocky Mt. -- Along with forward Taylor Hustead, one of two excellent players here out of Arizona. While Hustead went to Culver last year, Nesdill, who's 6'0", 165 lbs., stayed home and played in the Desert Youth Hockey Association.Very good offensive instincts and offensive skills. A little mistake-prone, but the mistakes he makes are from overexuberance and years of weak competition. Has been invited to the National Program. 7. Matt Carle, Pacific -- A very good skater who moves puck effectively. Carle, who's 5'11", played for Dennis Sorenson's Alaska All-Stars Bantams last year. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 8. Mike Grenzy, New York -- Keeps it simple, makes good passes, good choices, and, at 6'3, 180 lbs., has size. Played last year for the Toronto Marlies Bantams. Going to the National Program this fall. 9. Garrett Overlock, New England -- Like Hugh Jessiman, his teammate last winter at Brunswick, Overlock, who's 5'11" got better with each game. He's naturally athletic, and skillwise he's solid in all aspects of the game. Makes good decisions with the puck. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 10. Evan Shaw, Mass. -- Physical, strong, stay-at-home D who is at his best when he keeps it simple. Played last summer for St. Sebastian's, and will be with the National Program starting this fall.10. 11. Jake Wilkins, Pacific -- Somewhat similar to Shaw, though with better hands. Wilkins, who played last winter for the Alaska Mustangs, is 6'1" and plays a rugged pro-style game. 12. Tim Cook, Atlantic -- 6'3", 178 lbs. and has unusually quick feet for a kid of his age and size. A little shy at times. Plays for the Hotchkiss School. 13. Dylan Reese, Mid-Am -- Good, reliable D with solid puck-handing skills. Always looking for the opening to pass to. Reese, who's 5'10", 172 lbs., played for the Joe Gaul-coached Pittsburgh Hornets last winter. Named as an alternate on the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 14. David Norton, Mass. -- An offensive defenseman, and an excellent skater. Got better as the week went along. Plays for Lawrence Academy. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 15. Matt Maunu, Minn. -- Dependable. 5'10" and is a right shot. Plays for Cloquet High School. 16. David Carlisle, Rocky Mt. -- 5'7" defenseman from Forest Lake HS will be playing this year for Shattuck. Was an at-large player here for the Rocky Mountain District. Named as an alternate on the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 17. Adam Brand, Central -- 6'0", 182 lbs. and another physical pro-style D-man. Plays for Antigo HS in Wisconsin. 18. Matt Czech, Minn. -- 5'7" and a good puckhandler. Plays for Hill-Murray HS. 19. Brian Dobler, N.Y. -- Another small defenseman -- he's 5'7" -- with skill. Plays for N.Y. Apple Core. 20. Jeremy Smith, Pacific -- Yet one more small skilled defenseman. Smith, who's 5'8" and plays in the Alaska All-Stars organization, likes to carry the puck. Goaltenders: 1. Tim Roth, Atlantic -- Pulled a groin muscle on the first day of practice; didn't get to play until three days later. Sparkled in net his first day, holding a strong Minnesota team to two goals, and keeping his cellar-dwelling team in the game. The following day, he went out and held Michigan to one goal. Roth, who played for the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey last winter, is extremely calm and poised. Made some great saves going side-to-side. Really stood out. Finished with a 1.10 gaa and a .967 save percentage. Roth is the first goaltender since Rick DiPietro three years ago to be chosen for the National Program out of the Select 16 Festival. 2. Adam Geragosian, Mass. -- A major factor in Massachusetts' success this year. Finished with a 2.00 gaa and a .923 save percentage. Geragosian, who's 5'10", played for St. John's Prep varisty the last couple of years. Will be moving on to Lawrence Academy this fall. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 3. Travis Russell, New England -- Russell is a steady goalie, economical in his moves, and solid fundamentally. He's 5'10" and attends Essex Junction HS. Named to the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 4. Matt Mouser, Pacific -- Posted the second-highest save precentage in the tournament (.944). Quick, small goalie -- he's 5'8" -- who played last winter in the Norcal Reps organization. That's in the San Francisco Bay area. Named as an alternate on the team going to the Czech Republic next month. 5. Justin Tobe, Mich. -- Had a strong tournament. Posted a .935 save percentage and a 1.87 gaa. Like Roth, his team (Michigan) had a hard-time scoring goals for him. Tobe is 5'10" and played for the Honeybaked '84s last winter.
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