USHL Weekly Roundup

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USHL Weekly Roundup

April 18, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


The United States Hockey League (USHL) is into the second round of the postseason with eight teams vying for the Clark Cup, while many alumni have signed NHL entry-level deals and are making their NHL debuts before the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday, April 19.

The second round of the Clark Cup Playoffs is set featuring matchups between the Madison Capitols and Dubuque Fighting Saints, the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms, the Sioux City Musketeers and Lincoln Stars, and the Waterloo Black Hawks and Sioux Falls Stampede.

In the best-of-three first round playoff series, the Capitols swept the Green Bay Gamblers, the Black Hawks swept the Tri-City Storm, and the Musketeers swept the Fargo Force. The Lumberjacks won a decisive third game to advance past the Cedar Rapids Roughriders. Recaps.

The NHL, United States Hockey League (USHL) and USA Hockey recently partnered to launch a Declaration of Excellence, which will build upon USA Hockey's American Development Model by aligning resources, standards and support systems across the USHL, the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league. The Declaration supports an athlete-centric environment, building on the USHL's strong foundation by implementing a set of consistent, high-performance standards across all member teams.

"The NHL is proud to support the growth of the American development system, which has become one of the most productive in the world. The Declaration of Excellence enhances what's already working and ensures players in the USHL have access to the tools, coaching, and resources they need to reach the highest levels of the game." - Bill Daly, Deputy Commissioner of the NHL.

"The USHL has long been a leader in developing talent for the highest levels of hockey. The Declaration of Excellence ensures every USHL player, in every market, is supported in a truly elite environment. This expands upon our common commitment to growth with our NHL and USA Hockey partners and represents a shared belief in our athlete-centric model." - Glenn Hefferan, Commissioner & President of the USHL.

"Our collective efforts are focused on creating the best possible environment for players striving to advance in their hockey careers and this agreement reflects important collaboration and alignment that will positively benefit our sport." - Pat Kelleher, Executive Director of USA Hockey.

"We have taken this approach since the inception of Tier-1 hockey in the United States, and it is certainly proven to be the best development path for players who desire to go to the NHL and NCAA. From that standpoint, we want to continue to amplify that. We're looking for opportunities to expand and create more opportunities for players. Being able to do all of this simultaneously with the NHL's support is a great step for us." - Glenn Hefferan, Commissioner & President of the USHL.

The USHL placed more than 85 players on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft. Of those, 54 played a full season in the league this season, representing all 16 teams and giving the USHL an average of 3.4 players per team, which is more than any other junior hockey league in North America.

More than 40 USHL alumni have signed NHL entry-level deals and more than 30 alumni have made their NHL debut this season.

"Alumni are the foundation of the USHL. We are proud to celebrate their deserved milestones and play a pivotal role in their development as people and players. The USHL helped develop more than 280 players in the NHL this season, which exceeds our mark from 2023-24 and further cements our position as the top junior hockey league in the world. We are excited about the opportunities our recently announced partnership with the NHL and USA Hockey will create for our next generation of stars." - Glenn Hefferan, USHL President & Commissioner.

Johns Hopkins University has partnered with the USHL to create a computer-generated schedule optimized for player performance, rest and recovery.

Sioux Falls Stampede forward Ethan Wyttenbach became the first winner of The Gaudreau Award on Saturday, April 12. Jane and Guy Gaudreau and the Wyttenbach family were present for the announcement. Wyttenbach received the award for embodying the characteristics of Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau, both on and off the ice.

Twenty USHL alumni were named NCAA DI All-Americans, Isaac Howard (Michigan State, NTDP) became the sixth straight USHL alum to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and Cam Fowler (Boston College, Youngstown Phantoms) was named the recipient of the Mike Richter Award as the most outstanding goalie. Eight of the last 10 winners of college's hockey's highest honor came from the USHL. Fowler becomes the seventh USHL alum to win the Mike Richter award since it was established in 2014.

The USHL had more than 70 alumni in the Frozen Four where the Western Michigan Broncos won their first national championship in program history. Twenty-three 23 alumni, including the tournament MVP Owen Michaels (Dubuque Fighting Saints/Lincoln Stars) and past Clark Cup winners Grant Slukynsky (Sioux City Musketeers, 2022), Hampton Slukynsky (Fargo Force, 2024), Iiro Hakkarainen (Fargo Force, 2024), captured their first college title.

USHL President & Commissioner Glenn Hefferan promoted Frank Butler to Sr. Director of Player Personnel. Butler is responsible for the supervision and execution of the USHL Development Series and events including the DICK'S Sporting Goods Fall Classic, Frosty Cup and American Cup powered by Wegman's.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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