USHL Top Prospects Game in Muskegon brings league’s best to NHL scouts
By Matt Mackinder –
MUSKEGON– The second annual USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Wednesday night wasn’t much for scoring on the ice, but the event at L.C. Walker Arena scored in the minds of players, NHL scouts, college hockey personnel and USHL officials.
Though weather conditions on the west side of the state were less than ideal for travel, all 30 NHL teams had representatives in Muskegon to see 40 of the top USHL players under one roof.
League commissioner Skip Prince said after last year’s event, also held at L.C. Walker Arena, he was more than excited to see what the second installment of the game would bring.
“It’s a great event and obviously, there is a lot of enthusiasm and energy in the game,” Prince said about the event, which had an announced attendance of 1,075. “We saw a couple guys drop the gloves, which is a little surprising for an all-star game, but we’re really pleased with the number of NHL scouts (that came to Muskegon), which is significantly greater than last year. We also got with the NHL and NHL Central Scouting as early as October and November to tell us who they were following so we would know who we were looking at coming in.”
As for the game, which featured five Michigan natives (Plymouth’s Ryan Ivey, Troy’s Thomas Ebbing and Alex Kile, Laurium’s Ben Storm and Canton’s Michael Downing), one player from the Ann Arbor-based U.S. National Team Development Program (John Hayden) and four hometown Lumberjacks (Cam Darcy, Frederik Tiffels, Michael Brodzinski and Storm), Team West defeated Team East 2-1.
Conor McGlynn (Sioux City Musketeers) opened the scoring 4:45 into the first for Team West and then Jason Cotton (Tri-City Storm) made it 2-0 just 1:53 into the second period before Hayden broke the shutout bid with a goal at the 15:08 mark of the third period.
Hayden also tussled with Justin Woods (Lincoln Stars) 12 minutes into the second period.
“I had asked someone (to fight) before and the guys were talking, so I guess they knew,” said Hayden, who was named Team East’s player of the game. “We agreed to go right off the face-off, so it worked out.”
Downing (Dubuque Fighting Saints), a Team East co-captain and Michigan recruit, engaged Team West co-captain Luke Johnson (Lincoln Stars) in a fight at 7:01 of the third period.
“I thought I played good, had a good, solid defensive game,” Downing said. “I jumped off into the rush a few times and had my chances, but defensively, I think I had a good game.”
With the vast majority of the players on the ice already committing to Division I schools, the obvious next step for USHL players is to skate on college campuses. Newly-hired College Hockey, Inc., director of education and recruitment Kyle Lawson, a former defenseman at Notre Dame, attended the game and came away impressed.
“It’s a good opportunity to come up and see some of the top kids in the country,” said the 25-year-old New Hudson native. “It’s been a great experience, a great game, pretty low-scoring for somewhat of an all-star game, but at the same time, I think all the kids are trying to make a good impression and it’s been fun to see a lot of old faces and some new ones, too.”
Eamon McAdam and Cal Petersen, teammates with the Waterloo Black Hawks, combined for 31 saves in the West net. McAdam earned player of the game honors for Team West.
Charlie Lindgren (Sioux Falls Stampede) and Alex Sakellaropoulos (Chicago Steel) together stopped 22 shots for Team East, which was coached by Dubuque’s Jim Montgomery and former Michigan State and Lake Superior State coach Ron Mason.
Sioux Fallscoach Cary Eades led the West side, assisted by University of Minnesota legend Doug Woog.
Kile (Green Bay Gamblers), another Wolverines’ recruit and Team East co-captain, played in the prospects game last year and jumped at the chance to skate in it again this season.
“It’s fun to be able to hang around with the guys you don’t know too well,” said Kile. “It’s a serious game, but you’re still having fun out there with the guys and it’s just a good experience. People act like they’re playing like there are no scouts in the stands, but with all 30 teams here, it’s a pretty big deal.”
As for Ebbing, his stock has soared this year after making the jump to the Steel straight from the Division II state high school champion Brother Rice squad. A teammate of his inChicagois last year’s Mr. Hockey winner, Mackenzie Maceachern.
“There is so much talent out there and it was an honor to be a part of it,” said Ebbing, who has yet to commit to a Division I school. “You look up and you see all those scouts, but you just have to go out and play your game. There are scouts all throughout the league. It didn’t make me too nervous (knowing the scouts were watching), but I kept it in the back of my head.”
“Coming from high school hockey, you don’t see too many scouts in the stands,” added Storm, who played last season at Calumet High School and has committed to St. Cloud State. “You don’t know about it either, so I had a little bit of jitters at the beginning, but you just get a little adrenaline going and it all worked out.”
With two prospect games in the books, Prince finished by saying that the game may become an annual event, but stopped short of saying that it will come to Muskegon in 2014.
“We’re hoping that it becomes a regular event where teams will bid for it and it will go around the league,” said Prince. “Muskegon will probably be an interested and strong bidder for it next year.”