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NAHL U.S. National Team

National Team Development Program Weekly Update

January 21, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-18 Team will welcome North American Hockey League North Division rival Mahoning Valley Phantoms on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The U.S. National Under-17 Team will travel to take on the Alpena IceDiggers for the first time this season Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

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 169-99-7-16 (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 198-106-9-15 (W-L-T-OTL).

U.S. NAT'L U-18 TEAM NOTES: Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) notched a hat trick on Tuesday night (Jan. 20) against Adrian College to increase his team lead to 19 goals. Morin also surpassed Brett Sterling (2000-02) and James vanRiemsdyk (2005-07) on the all-time career goals list to take sole possession of fourth place with 67 career tallies ... Jerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, N.Y.) owns the team lead with 29 points (12-17). He is also second on the team with 17 assists and is averaging a point per game through 29 games played. D'Amigo recorded three goals during last weekend's NAHL Top Prospects Tournament ... Kenny Ryan (Franklin Village, Mich./15-12--27) and A.J. Treais (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./12-15--27) are tied for second on the squad with 27 points each ... Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./4-18--21) leads the team in assists with 18. He also paces all defensemen in points.

U.S. NAT'L U-17 TEAM NOTES: Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) currently leads the team with 36 points (15-21). He is tied with Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./15-7--22) for the team lead in goals with 15. Nieto's 21 assists and 1.06 points-per-game are both team highs, while Zucker has paced the team with five game-winning markers ... Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn./7-10--17) and Frankie Simonelli (Bensenville, Ill./4-13--17) lead Team USA's defensive corps with 17 points each. ... Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich.) and Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) have combined for six shutouts, with each recording three. The tandem also has identical 12-5-1 records. Yanakeff has a 2.11 goals-against average and .908 save percentage for the season. His goals-against average ranks third in the NAHL, while Campbell leads Team USA with a 2.10 GAA and .912 save percentage.

U18s vs. MAHONING VALLEY: The U.S. National Under-18 Team meets the Phantoms for the second time in two weeks on Sunday. In the last meeting between the two teams, Team USA rolled to a 9-1 victory over Mahoning Valley. The Phantoms have posted a 4-2-0 record against the U.S. National Under-17 Team. The U.S. U18s have amassed a 5-2-1 against domestic junior competition in 2008-09 ... The Phantoms currently lead the NAHL North with a 22-9-3 clip and sent six players to the 2009 NAHL Top Prospects tournament including netminder Jordan Tibbett; defensemen Carl Nielsen and Cullen Lundholm; and forwards Nick Shkreli, Johnny Meo and Jordy Trottier.

U17s vs. ALPENA: The IceDiggers and U.S. National Under-17 Team will meet for the first time this season ... Alpena sits in third place in the NAHL North Division with a 20-12-4 mark, sitting just three points away from the first-place Mahoning Valley Phantoms ... The IceDiggers are led by Erik Peterson with 34 points (13-21) ... Nick Graves has seen the majority of the time between the pipes for Alpena, logging 1611 minutes with a 16-8-3 record, 2.35 goals-against average and .918 save percentage ... Peterson, Graves and forward Ryan Timar all took part in the 2009 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament ... Last season the NTDP went 5-5 against Alpena and finished just behind the IceDiggers in the NAHL North Division standings.

UP NEXT: Both NTDP squads hit the road next weekend. The U.S. National Under-18 Team will meet a couple of NCAA opponents on Friday and Saturday. The U18s will meet Rochester Institute of Technology of Atlantic Hockey on Friday at the Blue Cross Center in Rochester N.Y., on Friday (January 30) at 7 p.m. ET, before heading to Geneseo, N.Y. for a date with SUNY Geneseo of NCAA Division III at 4 p.m. on Saturday ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team will travel to Marquette, Mich., for a weekend series against NAHL North Division foe Marquette Rangers on Friday and Saturday night. Puck is set to drop at 7:30 p.m. ET for both contests.

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) 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 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.

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 ... 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 is tied for eighth overall with 28 points (5-23). His 23 assists are second best in the nation ... Ryan Stoa (2003-05) of the University of Minnesota is tied for sixth in the nation with 30 points (15-15) ... Jordan Schroeder (2006-08) of the University of Minnesota leads all NCAA freshmen in points with 27 points (10-17) ... Jason Lawrence (2003-05) of Boston University is second in the nation with nine power-play goals while, The University of Wisconsin's Blake Geoffrion (2004-06) is tied for third in the nation with eight power-play tallies ... Jordan Pearce (2002-04) has played more minutes than any other goaltender in the NCAA (1425) and is fourth among NCAA goaltenders with a 1.55 goals-against average. He has compiled a 18-3-3 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 is available 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.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics



North American Hockey League Stories from January 21, 2009


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