USHL commissioner Bob Fallen talks state of the league, upcoming opportunities in Plymouth
By @MichaelCaples –
MUSKEGON – United States Commissioner Bob Fallen was in Muskegon Monday night to see the Lumberjacks finalize their series victory over the Youngstown Phantoms.
Fallen, who took over commissioner duties on June 1, was impressed with what he saw both before and after the final buzzer.
“Great series,” Fallen said. “Two great teams, very physical, very emotional. I was really impressed at the end of the game, the respect that the kids showed for one another. It was a long, long handshake line, and I look at that all the time. To me, it’s what the game’s all about – guys hugging each other, very hard-fought, everybody left it out there. It was very good.”
In a playoff match-up that featured the likes of NHL draft pick Matheson Iacopelli (Brownstown native, Chicago Blackhawks) and potential first-round pick Kyle Connor (Shelby Township), Fallen said he is routinely impressed with the increasing talent level in his league. He also said he wants more of those players to experience the competitive nature of the playoffs, as well.
“It never ceases to surprise me how good some of the talent is in this league,” Fallen said. “You see a guy do something and you go, ‘Who the heck is that? I’ve never heard of that guy, he’s really good.’ I think we’re in good shape. We’re looking at a couple of things in the future for the playoffs; I would personally like to maybe see a few more teams. It’s something we have to study pretty carefully because of the impact it has on the length of our season. We’ve got a committee formed to study it a little more closely, and we’ll see what happens.
“To me, as a developmental league, I would personally like to see more kids learning playoff pressure, more coaches coaching in playoff conditions, that type of thing, so it’s something we’re going to look at.”
Fallen has been thrilled with the 2015 NHL Draft projections, as it pertains to the junior league he oversees.
“I’ll tell you what, if you really analyze, there’s a gentleman for TSN who put out his Top 100, and five of the top eight have USHL experience,” Fallen said. “That never used to happen. You’ve got some recognition throughout North America from scouts going, ‘Hey, this league is legit.’ It’s exciting.
“…There are great developmental leagues all throughout North America, and the CHL is a great route for a lot of kids, but more and more every day, we’re not looked at as the weak sister anymore, second fiddle, we’ve got guys like Kyle Connor who can compete with anybody – heck of a player.”
The commissioner is also excited about his league having a new presence in Metro Detroit, considering the U.S. National Team Development Program, a USHL member program, will be occupying USA Hockey Arena (formerly Compuware Arena) next season.
“We see it as a great opportunity. As soon as the deal was consummated with Mr. Karmanos, I reached out to the leadership at USA Hockey and said what can we do from a league standpoint, to help you guys position this as the home of the USHL, as well? Let’s face it, all of our players are going to go through that building, I think it’s a great marketing opportunity for USA Hockey and the United States Hockey League.”
Fallen said that at the moment, there has been minimal discussion about things the USHL could do to capitalize on the USA Hockey Arena development, but that he hopes to work closely with USA Hockey and the NTDP as they begin a new era in Plymouth.
“I think it’s just really making the building a platform for promoting our league,” Fallen said. “I think you’re going to see some décor that’s USHL-centric and we’re going to put our heads together here soon, obviously the deal just happened, so, we’re going to get together and talk about maybe some mutual effort on some events to come to that building and things like that. It’s right in the heart of Hockeytown, so it’s a great opportunity for our league to promote ourselves.”