NAHL North American Hockey League

National Team Development Program Weekly Update

Published on January 14, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team will travel to Wyandotte, Mich., for a Friday night (January 16) contest against the Motor City MachineA pair of teams featuring players from the National Team Development Program will take on all-star teams from the North American Hockey League's four divisions at the 2009 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament. The event will be held at the home of the NTDP, the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Sunday (January 18) through Tuesday. The U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams will be mixed up for the tournament.

UNDER-18 HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON: Ron Rolston is in his fifth year as a head coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record of 167-98-7-16 (W-L-T-OTL).

UNDER-17 HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES: John Hynes is in his sixth year as a head coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record of 195-106-9-15 (W-L-T-OTL).

U.S. NAT'L U-18 TEAM NOTES: Jerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, N.Y.) owns the team lead in points with 26 (9-17). He is also second on the team in assists with 17 and is averaging a point per game through 26 games played. In the U18s contest against Mahoning Valley on Sunday, he notched two goals ... Kenny Ryan (Franklin Village, Mich.) is second on the team with 25 (15-10) points ... Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y./16-7--23) leads the team in goals with 16 ... Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./4-18--21) leads the team in assists with 18. He also paces all defensemen in points ... Brandon Maxwell (Winter Park, Fla.) made 36 saves in the victory on Sunday.

U.S. NAT'L U-17 TEAM NOTES: Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) currently leads the team with 33 points (15-18). He is tied with Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./15-7--22) for the team lead in goals with 15. He is also tied with Chase Balisy (Fullerton, Calif./7-18--25) for the team best with 18 assists. Through 31 games, he is averaging 1.06 points per contest ... Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) leads all defensemen in points with 16 (7-9). He has three power-play goals for the season ... Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich.) and Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) have combined for six shutouts, with each recording three. Yanakeff has a 2.06 goals-against average and .914 save percentage for the season, both of which lead the team. His goals-against average ranks third in the NAHL. Campbell is not far behind with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.

NTDP LISTED IN NHL CS MIDTERM RANKINGS: Twenty-four players with ties to USA Hockey's National Team Development Program were listed on NHL Central Scouting's 2009 Midterm Rankings. NTDP alum Jordan Schroeder (2006-08) was the highest-ranked American-born player coming in at No. 4. Kyle Palmieri (No. 19/Montvale, N.J.) and Jeremy Morin (No. 21) were the highest-ranked players currently at the NTDP. Both Under-18 Team goaltenders were ranked among North American netminders. Brandon Maxwell came in at No. 11, while Adam Murray (Anchorage, Alaska) was ranked at No. 20. On last season's midterm rankings 13 NTDPers were listed. Central Scouting's final rankings come out in late April or early May.

ABOUT TOP PROSPECTS: The second annual Top Prospects Tournament will feature all-star teams from the NAHL's Central, North, South and West Divisions in a three-game, round-robin tournament. Players from the U.S. National Team Development Program squads will play two games each on Sunday and Monday. In conjunction with the Top Prospects Tournament, the season's second and final NAHL Futures Prospects Tournament will be held January 16-19 at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The tournament will feature some of the best Midget and Bantam teams from around the country.

U17s vs. MOTOR CITY: Both NTDP squads have combined for a 16-11-2 record ... The Machine are currently last in the division with a 6-25-1 record ... This weekend's games will be Team USA's fifth and sixth meetings against Mahoning Valley this season ... The U-17s won all four of the previous matchups, outscoring Motor City 22-7. In the most recent game, on November 26, Team USA won by the score of 7-2 on the road in Wyandotte, Mich ... Two Machine players will appear in the 2009 Top Prospects Tournament over the weekend, including Josh Bussell and Ryan Misiak.

UP NEXT: The U.S. National Under-17 Team heads to Alpena, Mich., for the first time this season to take on NAHL North Division foe Alpena Ice Diggers for a weekend series. Puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday (January 24) and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday ... The U.S. National Under-18 Team will head to Adrian, Mich., for a showdown with NCAA Division III opponent, Adrian College on Tuesday (January 20).

NTDP IN THE PROS: As of today, a total of 41 National Team Development Program alumni have suited up in at least one National Hockey League game ... Phil Kessel (2003-05) is tied for fourth in the NHL with 24 goals for the Boston Bruins ... Patrick Kane (2004-06) of the Chicago Blackhawks is tied for 18th in the NHL with 42 points (16-26) ... Kane and Mike Komisarek (1999-2000) have been voted starters for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. Kane received the most votes (917,551) of any player in the Western Conference, while Komisarek collected over 1.3 million votes to represent the Eastern Conference and hometown Canadiens ... Nathan Gerbe (2003-05) and Jeff Frazee (2003-05) have been selected to the PlanetUSA team for the 2009 American Hockey League All-Star Classic. Gerbe will represent the Portland Pirates, top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, while Frazee will represent the Lowell Devils, top farm club of the New Jersey Devils. Both are in their rookie seasons in the AHL.

NTDP IN THE NCAA: The National Team Development Program has produced nearly 300 NCAA ice hockey players in its 12-year history including three Hobey Baker Memorial Award Winners and 25 All-Americans ... The University of Wisconsin's Jamie McBain (2004-06) leads the nation's defensemen and ranks tied for fifth overall with 28 points (5-23). His 23 assists are tied for the national lead ... James vanRiemsdyk (2005-07/9-17--26) of the University of New Hampshire and Ryan Stoa (2003-05/13-13--26) of the University of Minnesota are tied for 12th in the nation with 26 points each ... Jordan Schroeder (2006-08/8-16--24) of the University of Minnesota leads all NCAA freshmen in points with 24 ... The University of Wisconsin's Blake Geoffrion (2004-06) is tied for third in the nation with eight power-play goals ... Jordan Pearce (2002-04) is third among NCAA goaltenders with a 1.48 goals-against average. He has compiled a 17-3-2 record for the University of Notre Dame, which currently holds the top spot in the USA Hockey Magazine/USA Today Men's College Hockey Poll.

HOCKEY WEEKEND ACROSS AMERICA: The second annual Hockey Weekend Across America, presented by Reebok -- a three-day nationwide celebration of the sport of hockey -- will take place Feb. 13-15, 2009. Each of the three days associated with Hockey Weekend Across America has a theme, including Wear Your Favorite Hockey Jersey on Friday, Bring a Friend to the Rink on Saturday and Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes on Sunday. Material for download, including the event logo and poster. For more information on Hockey Weekend Across America, presented by Reebok visit HockeyWeekendAcrossAmerica.com.

HOCKEY WEEKEND ACROSS AMERICA: The second annual Hockey Weekend Across America, presented by Reebok -- a three-day nationwide celebration of the sport of hockey -- will take place Feb. 13-15, 2009. Each of the three days associated with Hockey Weekend Across America has a theme, including Wear Your Favorite Hockey Jersey on Friday, Bring a Friend to the Rink on Saturday and Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes on Sunday. rial for download, including the event logo and poster. For more information on Hockey Weekend Across America, presented by Reebok visit HockeyWeekendAcrossAmerica.com.

ABOUT THE NTDP: Founded in 1996, USA Hockey's National Team Development Program was created to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice. Located in Ann Arbor, Mich., the 46 players in the program are split into two squads - the U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams.

- In the 10 years NTDP players have been eligible for the draft, 152 players have been selected, including the number one overall selection in 2000 (Rick DiPietro), 2006 (Erik Johnson) and 2007 (Patrick Kane).

- In 2007-08, 44 NTDP alumni appeared in at least one game in the National Hockey League.

- Patrick Kane (2004-06) became the first NTDP alumnus to earn the National Hockey League's Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2007-08.

- Kevin Porter (2002-04), of the University of Michigan, joined Jordan Leopold (1997-98) and Matt Carle (2000-02) as the third NTDP alumnus to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey's top player in 2007-08.

- In the 12-year history of the National Team Development Program, players from 28 states have donned the Team USA uniform. This season 18 different states are represented between the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams.

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North American Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2009


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