Herd's Preseason Roster Ready for Day One of Training Camp
September 1, 2023 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.- The Sioux Falls Stampede Hockey Club has officially announced its 25th Anniversary Season training camp roster Friday. The roster includes 15 players with USHL experience while 15 others will get their first taste of USHL hockey. The roster also includes five players who are NHL Draft picks in newcomers Artur Cholach, Zach Nehring, and Beckett Hendrickson and returners Chris Pelosi and Jack Phelan.
The Herd's roster is very diverse, consisting of 21 Americans, two Canadians, Belarusians, and Russians, one Ukrainian, and a Czech. Minnesotans make up the largest group on the team, with six players, followed by Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and North Dakota each with two. A total of 16 forwards, 11 defensemen, and three goaltenders make up the team's preseason roster. Rosters will need to be trimmed to 25-players prior to the start of the regular season which begins September 20th.
Half of the roster this season consists of returning USHL players, with 10 playing in 10 or more games with the Stampede last season. This list includes, forwards Will McDonough, Jaksen Panzer, JJ Wiebusch, Chris Pelosi, Merril Steenari, Tyler Borgula, and Egor Barabanov, defensemen Jack Phelan, Kaz Sobieski, and Alex Rybakov. Seeing just a few games for the Herd last season, Caleb Heil (G), Micah Berger (F), John McNelis (F), and Grant Dillard (F) will all be part of the team's preseason roster.
Returning to Sioux Falls for his third season with the Stampede is #17 Jaksen Panzer. In his previous two seasons, Panzer marked a total of 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points. He finished fifth in points scored for the Herd at the end of the 2022-23 season with 28 points. Panzer is committed to play hockey for the University of North Dakota next fall, just across the river from his hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Will McDonough is also a big name returning for a third season with the team. Last year, McDonough tallied 12 goals and 13 assists with 25 points, making his two-season total sit at 15 goals, 19 assists and 34 points. McDonough recorded one game-winning goal and three power-play goals during 2022-23. He is just 15 games away from joining an elite list of Stampede players who have played 100 or more games in the USHL. McDonough is committed to Harvard University starting in 2023-24.
JJ Wiebusch comes back to Sioux Falls after a trade from Cedar Rapids brought him to the Stampede in late February of last season. In his 17 games with the Stampede, Wiebusch marked a goal and seven assists for eight points, including his short-handed goal at Sioux City on March 12, 2023. Wiebusch four goals and 20 total assists during his rookie season between the Stampede and RoughRiders.
On the defensive front, Jack Phelan is back for his sophomore USHL season. Last year, the Hinsdale, Illinois native and University of Wisconsin Badgers commit marked a goal and four assists for the Herd. Phelan was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings back in June.
Kaz Sobieski returns for his second full season with the Herd. Last season, Sobieski appeared in 54 games in the blue and gold where he tallied four goals and four assists. A University of Massachusetts - Amherst commit, he has played in 56 total games for the Stampede with a total of five goals, four assists, and nine points. Sobieski marked a career high two goals against Sioux City on April 14, 2023 in Sioux Falls.
Caleb Heil will be back in the Stampede net this season after playing in nine games for the team last year. Heil finished the 2022-23 season with five wins, two losses, and an overtime loss. He marked 237 saves for a .908 save percentage and a 2.92 goals-against average. On April 8, 2023, Heil recorded his first shootout win after a five-round shootout series against Tri-City in which the Victoria, Minn. native stopped all five shooters to secure the win.
Training camp for the 2023-24 season begins today and runs through September 15th. The team will begin preseason play by heading to the Lancer Bowl in Omaha, Nebraska on Sep. 8 and 9 to take on the Tri-City Storm and Des Moines Buccaneers. They will then take a mid-week trip to Fargo, North Dakota for a Sep. 13 matchup with the Fargo Force before heading back to the Scheels IcePlex to host the Sioux City Musketeers and Fargo Force Sep. 15 (2:30 p.m.) and 16 (6:05 p.m.). Preseason games at the Scheels IcePlex are open to fans with tickets costing $10 each, free for Season Ticket Members. Tickets will be available day of at the IcePlex.
The Stampede's regular season begins with the USHL Fall Classic on Sep. 20 and 21 in Pittsburgh, Penn. against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and Tri-City Storm, respectively. The Herd's Home Opener is set for Oct. 7 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Single-game tickets for the Stampede's home games go on sale Sep. 11. For season tickets, group rates, birthdays, and any specialty seating or questions, contact the Stampede at 605-275-4625 or stop into the office at 1111 N Lake Ave.
# Name Pos. S/C Birthdate Hometown
1 Michael Chambre G L January 7, 2005 Fort Myers, Florida
2 Trent Powell D R March 9, 2004 Soldotna, Alaska
3 Jake Toll D L October 30, 2004 Rosemount, Minnesota
4 Gennadi Chaly D R August 22, 2005 Salekhard, Russia
5 Kazimier Sobieski D R April 12, 2004 Deerfield, Massachusetts
6 Matthew Grimes D L May 19, 2007 Locust Valley, New York
7 Jack Phelan D R May 28, 2004 Hinsdale, Illinois
8 Zach Nehring F R March 7, 2005 Minot, North Dakota
9 Micah Berger F L June 29, 2004 Bethesda, Maryland
10 Ivan Anoshka F L October 7, 2004 Minsk, Belarus
11 Egor Barabanov F L May 16, 2006 St. Petersburg, Russia
12 Hayden Reid F L June 21, 2006 Clarington, Ontario, Canada
13 Beau Janzig D R November 17, 2003 Hermantown, Minnesota
14 Chris Pelosi F L March 6, 2005 Sewell, New Jersey
15 Beckett Hendrickson F L June 24, 2005 Minnetonka, Minnesota
16 JJ Wiebusch F R February 20, 2004 River Falls, Wisconsin
17 Jaksen Panzer F L April 8, 2004 Grand Forks, North Dakota
18 Merril Steenari F R January 18, 2004 Aliso Viejo, California
20 Will McDonough F R June 18, 2005 Duxbury, Massachusetts
21 Jordan Geike F R January 3, 2006 Rochester, Minnesota
22 Joe Belisle D L June 6, 2005 Hugo, Minnesota
23 Grant Dillard F R February 3, 2006 Champaign, Illinois
24 Matheson Mason F L December 8, 2004 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
25 Alex Yatsenko D L January 12, 2006 Minsk, Belarus
26 Artur Cholach D L June 6, 2003 Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine
27 Alex Rybakov D L January 14, 2005 Chelyabinsk, Russia
29 Tyler Borgula F R October 6, 2005 Livonia, Michigan
30 Caleb Heil G L June 19, 2006 Victoria, Minnesota
31 Jan Kasal G L February 22, 2005 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
34 John McNelis F L January 8, 2006 Potomac, Maryland
Tony Gasparini General Manager
Eric Rud Head Coach
Ryan Black Assistant Coach
Dustin Carlson Assistant Coach | Goaltending Coach
Jordan Whitsell Athletic Trainer
Brayden Deweese Equipment Manager
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