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NAHLers poised for first college commitments this week

November 12, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release


This will be a big week for some of the NAHL's most sought-after players. The NCAA Collegiate Signing Period officially began on Wednesday. Players who have received the first batch of offers from U.S. college hockey programs can sign and return the letters and commit themselves to those programs.

The NAHL sent over 100 players to colleges last season. Others who still play in the league made commitments to attend colleges in the future. This season, those numbers could grow -- with more college scouts than ever before having seen NAHL players perform in the Blaine, Minnesota Showcase last month and with the league itself on an upturn.

Danny Brooks, Brown University's assistant coach, says his school has recruited and will be getting a commitment from an NAHL player this week. "Yep, we're taking one," he says, a player he scouted heavily and watched closely at the NAHL Showcase.

"The Showcase was dynamite, especially having the Eastern Junior League teams there," Brooks says. "That gave us the chance to see players in different situations than their normal league play and that is really critical in evaluating them.

"The NAHL has very, very good coaching," Brooks continues. "I like the battles I see in NAHL games. When I was at Wayne State (in Detroit, from 1999-2002), I took some America West Hockey League players -- that's the NAHL now -- and they played extremely well for us. They were a big part of our team and were key contributors to our success."

Paul Pooley, coach of Providence College, has been sold on the NAHL for a long time. "We feel the NAHL has been good to us. We like the players we've gotten out of the league and they've had a positive impact on our program."

Pooley has six NAHL grads on his team now -- Tony Zancanaro, Tyler Sims, Dinos Stamoulis, Trevor Ludwig, Bill McCreary and Vince Goulet -- and is looking to get more. He agrees with Brooks that NAHL coaching is a big factor in player development.

"It's a combination of the kids getting good coaching and that they play in a competitive environment," Pooley says. "With that kind of opportunity, they come into their own and they turn out to be very good hockey players for us.

"The biggest thing we look for is, where a kid is and what he can become. We don't evaluate them as finished products yet. The basic skills have to be there, of course, but we look for kids with hockey sense, a good work ethic and the intangible qualities -- like the desire to be better We want them to develop and to keep them on a growth curve.

"We also find that the players who that have come out the NAHL are more than good hockey players. They have leadership and they are very coachable."

At Brown, which is an Ivy League school, an excellent academic performance is a requirement for athletic participation. Brooks found a number of NAHL players at the Showcase who fit his profile. He credits the league's coaches for that and notes how many NAHL grads are playing in good collegiate programs around the United States.

"The NAHL is definitely on the road back," says Brooks. "The league had a few problems a couple of years ago, but it has changed now. There's no question things have improved and it's on the way up."

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