USHL PIVOTAL IN PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Jan 9, 2014Follow Tom Witosky: @toskyAHLWild
USHL PIVOTAL IN PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Steve Kampfer remembers the day he arrived in Sioux City at age 15.
“I was from a small town in Michigan and I couldn’t help but think that Sioux City was a lot like it. At least the downtown area reminded me of it because it really only had two main streets,” the Iowa Wild defenseman said with a smile.
But Kampfer also recognizes today just how much his two years away from home as a 16-year-old member of the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League helped him become a professional hockey player.
“You never know how things might turn out, but I know that the USHL helped me a lot,” said Kampfer, who owns a 2011 Boston Bruin Stanley Cup ring. “It was one of the most important steps in my development.”
USHL hockey – a major cog in the U.S. version of Junior A Hockey – also has long been the most visible argument against those who contend there is little fan interest in hockey in Iowa. Clubs in Sioux City, Des Moines, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo annually draw thousands of fans that want to see the next Eric Cole, Kyle Okposo or Joe Pavelski in the early stages of development for the National Hockey League.
Last year, the five Iowa clubs drew 415,846 fans to their games and have a total attendance of 169,280 just about halfway through this season.
“The USHL plays a very important role in developing American hockey players, there is just no doubt about that,” Wild head coach Kurt Kleinendorst said.
Kleinendorst should know – he was head coach for two years of the U.S. National Under-18 Team, which competes against USHL teams as well as college teams.
Among the players he coached on that team was former Iowa Wild forward Jason Zucker, who is now with Minnesota.
The Iowa Wild coach also said that there is no conflict between USHL hockey and AHL hockey as far as he is concerned even at the ticket office.
“Hockey is hockey and the more the merrier,” Kleinendorst said, adding that the Wild is building a strong relationship with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL. “We have provided them with some equipment that the club needed and they have provided us with ice time when we need it. We have a good relationship.”
Kleinendorst said that the USHL developed itself into a college prep program for hockey players as well as providing an immediate pathway for those few players who might be ready for professional hockey at a young age.
“Most of the players go to the USHL because they are hoping to get a scholarship to play in college,” he said. “That kind of development also gives them the opportunity to compete against the young talented Canadian and foreign players.”
One example is Wild forward Erik Haula, who left his home in Pori, Finland at the age of 17 to first play at Shadduck-St. Marys, a college prep school in Faribault, MN, but left after only a year to play for the Omaha Lancers during the 2009-10 season.
Haula said that he never regretted his decision, which also included him transferring to Gross Catholic High School in Omaha. During his one season in Omaha, Haula scored 28 goals and had 44 assists. That record prompted the Minnesota Wild to draft Haula that year in the seventh round of the NHL Entry Draft.
“Shadduck was a good first spot, but I thought pretty quickly that I was ready for a level -up,” Haula said. “That’s why I thought it was the right decision to go to the USHL.”
Haula, with his high school diploma, then returned to Minnesota where he played for three years with the University of Minnesota where he was one of their top scorers. Now he is a mainstay forward for the Iowa Wild when he isn’t playing for the NHL Wild.
“I am a strong believer that as you get stronger and tougher, you have to move up and challenge yourself. The USHL was a good place for me to go at that time,” Haula said.
Wild forward Chad Rau, who played in 2004-05 for the Des Moines Buccaneers, said that the USHL had a “tremendous” effect on his development as hockey player.
“I went from playing 25 games a year in high school to something like 60 games a year in the USHL against better competition. It definitely allowed me to improve my game and I really do think it is what got me scholarship to play college hockey,’ said Rau, who attended Colorado College before signing with the Wild.
Rau also said that moving away from home, attending school in a different community and playing hockey forced him to grow up a lot more quickly.
“It changes your life completely. Playing with older guys and practicing every day. It forces you to grow up before going to college,” Rau, who played for former Buccaneer coaches Bob Ferguson and Reg Simon, said.
Kampfer said that kind of change also provides the focus that a young player needs. He credited that his Musketeers coach, Dave Siciliano, and others in Sioux City with getting him started with his career.
“You grow up quickly,” Kampfer said. “You learn that hockey is what you want to do. You understand that you have to take it more seriously than when you were playing with your friends back home.”
IOWA WILD WITH USHL EXPERIENCE:
Brian Connelly – Tri-City Storm (2004-06)
Erik Haula – Omaha Lancers (2009-10) *
Steven Kampfer – Sioux Musketeers (2004-06)
Taylor Matson – Des Moines Buccaneers (2006-08)**
Kyle Medvec – Sioux City Musketeers (2005-07)
Justin Mercier – Chicago Steel – (2006-07)
Jim McKenzie – U.S. National U-18 Team / Green Bay Gamblers (2001-02) / Sioux Falls Stampede (2002-04)
Tyler Murovich – Chicago Steel – (2006-07)
Chad Rau – Des Moines Buccaneers (2004-05)
Jason Zucker – U.S. National U-18 Team (2006-08) *
* Currently with Minnesota Wild – NHL Affiliate of the Iowa Wild
**Currently with Orlando Solar Bears – ECHL Affiliate of the Iowa Wild
WILD COACHES IN USHL:
Kurt Kleinendorst – U.S. National U-18 Team (2009-10)
Steve Poapst – Chicago Steel Head Coach (2007-10)