USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Lumberjacks Players Ready for Top Prospects Game Wednesday

Published on January 18, 2013 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, Michigan (January 17th) - Just like in the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, the Muskegon Lumberjacks will bring into this year's all-star event four prospects to showcase their talents in front of top executives and scouts from all 30 NHL teams. The four Lumberjacks that will participate in the event are Forwards Cameron Darcy and Frederik Tiffels along with Defensemen Ben Storm and Michael Brodzinski. All four Lumberjacks have gone through different paths to get to this point, but all have one goal in mind to play in the big show someday.

Michael Brodzinski, the Blaine, Minnesota product and University of Minnesota commit, was a stand-out player for three years at Blaine High School recording 73 points (33 goals and 40 assists) in 87 career games. He was a first round pick (7th overall) in the 2011 USHL Futures Draft by the Des Moines Buccaneers that was later traded to Muskegon last February.

The Lumberjacks blue-liner has posted a solid season in his first full USHL season with the Lumberjacks ranking among the top offensive defenseman in the league. Brodzinski is eager to show executives and scouts what he has to offer talent-wise against players that he knows pretty well from his high school days in Minnesota.

"It is a great honor and an exciting time to showcase my talents in front of all the NHL teams," said Brodzinski. "It will be a fun test and enjoyable going out there against guys who I have known and played against before. I am going preform at the highest of levels and hopefully post a solid game."

Ben Storm, the Calumet, Michigan native and St. Cloud State commit, was a two-sport star at Calumet High School playing both football and hockey for the Copper Kings. On the gridiron, Storm saw action as a defensive end, tight end, and even punter. On the ice, Storm racked up 61 points (28 goals and 33 assists) in 53 games during his two years of high school hockey.

Storm had originally signed a national letter of intent to play football for Michigan Tech University, but decided that playing in the NHL was his ultimate dream and committed to St. Cloud State University to play his college hockey. Storm is grateful that his long journey into hockey is finally starting to pan out for him.

"I am very thankful and grateful for this opportunity to show everyone what I am truly made of as I will put forth my best effort into this game," said Storm. "I have been working hard into making myself a better hockey player all season long and will continue to do so. I feel like my dream of playing in the NHL someday is starting to take shape."

Cameron Darcy, the South Boston, Massachusetts native, is in his third year in the USHL after spending the previous two seasons with the U.S. National Team Developmental Program in Ann Arbor. Darcy accumulated 37 points (21 goals and 16 assists) in 135 games played with the USNTDP the last two seasons.

The New Englander is continuing to further develop his game and has received notice from NHL scouts before being the lone New England representative out of 36 players that participated in the 2012 NHL Research, Development, and Orientation Camp last August in Toronto, Ontario. Darcy explains that his dreams of playing in the NHL someday started when he was just a little kid.

"Growing up, I used to play mini-sticks with my brothers having the dream of someday being able to play in the NHL," said Darcy. "I am proud and honored to represent the Muskegon Lumberjacks organization in this event, and it is a great opportunity for me to show NHL executives and scouts what I have to offer."

Frederik Tiffels, the Cologne, Germany product, is in his first season with the Lumberjacks along with his first time playing hockey in North America. Tiffels also played for Team Germany in the recent 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia. Prior to coming to the states, Tiffels played two seasons with the Jungadler Mannheim Under-18 Team out of the German Junior League totaling 60 points (15 goals and 45 assists) in 72 games played to along with a stellar plus-51 rating.

The German also spent time playing for Team Germany in various IIHF tournaments the past two seasons racking up 14 points (6 goals and 8 assists) in 29 tournament games. Tiffels came to the USHL hoping to not only chase down a dream of playing in the NHL, but also play hockey at the college level. Tiffels says that being selected to participate in this game is a great honor, but there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.

"I am proud to represent the Muskegon Lumberjacks in this event and hopefully will put on a good performance in front of all the executives and scouts," said Tiffels. "To play in front of all the scouts with a chance to get drafted is cool, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before reaching the top level."

Each Lumberjack participating in this year's Top Prospects Game brings a different flavor to the event, but they all have one goal in mind, and that is to play the game the right way. Every player growing up playing hockey has dreams of playing in the NHL someday, but most do not make it to the ultimate prize. These four Lumberjacks realize that their dreams of playing in the big show are ever so close, but they also realize that it doesn't come without hard work and sacrifice. Come game time, you will see these four individuals giving it their all hopefully to have their name called in this June's NHL Draft.

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 18, 2013


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