Tuesday, July 29, 2014

NEHJ and 2014 NHL Draft


Did some work for New England Hockey Journal on the 2014 NHL Entry Draft held last month in Philadelphia, particularly on New England players who were taken in the two-day event at the Wells Fargo Center.

More than 60 current or future college players were tabbed by the 30 NHL clubs that weekend. Future NCAA players who were selected included Ryan Donato (Harvard), Jonathan MacLeod (Boston University), Miles Gendron (UConn) and Beau Starrett (UNH).

The PDF of the article can be accessed here and finished here.

NCAA Settles Concussion-Related Lawsuit


The National Collegiate Athletic Association has settled a class-action head injury lawsuit to diagnose college athletes who may have suffered brain trauma while participating in intercollegiate contact sports, including ice hockey. The NCAA is creating a $70 million fund to address the issue.

Former University of Maine forward Kyle Solomon, who had to stop playing due to multiple concussions suffered in junior and college hockey, was part of the lawsuit. A native of Southampton, N.Y. who prepped with the Boston Junior Bruins, Solomon skated with Maine from 2008 to 2010, notching a goal and five assists in 42 appearances with the Black Bears.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Hedden Story Up at USCHO.com



Two-for-two this week at USCHO.com - a story I wrote on former Neumann University forward Mike Hedden is now up on the site.

Hedden, who won an NCAA Division III championship with Neumann in 2009, helped the Texas Stars to the Calder Cup title this spring as American Hockey League champions, scoring two goals in the deciding contest at St. John's. He has 56 goals and 127 points in 210 career AHL regular-season appearances.

Hedden, who previously played with Toledo (ECHL), is now off to Croatia for next season, to skate with Medvešcak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Princeton's Fogarty Profiled at USCHO.com


My latest story for USCHO.com is now up, on new Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty, who spent the past seven seasons building Adrian (Mich.) into an NCAA Division III powerhouse.

A former Colgate forward and ECAC assistant coach, Fogarty will get his first crack as an NCAA Division I head coach starting this fall at Princeton. The Tigers finished last in the league with a 4-18 mark last season in ECAC play, going 6-26 overall with just two wins coming after Jan. 10, and have nowhere to go but up.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Young Returns to BU




Former Boston University Terrier forward Scott Young has returned home as BU's new Director of Hockey Operations, according to USCHO.com.

A native of Clinton, Mass., and an alumnus of St. Mark's School in Southborough, Young earned Hockey East Rookie of the Year accolades in his freshman campaign with the Terriers, tallying 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points. He then added 15-21—36 points the following season, winning a second straight Beanpot Tournament with BU along with the Hockey East Tournament title. He then left Boston to join the U.S. National Team in the run-up to the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, posting 58 points in 57 preliminary outings. 

A first-round NHL draft choice (11th overall) in 1986, Young played for Hartford, Pittsburgh, Quebec, Colorado, Anaheim and St. Louis in an NHL career that spanned from 1988 to 2006 and resulted in 342-414—756 points in 1,181 regular-season appearances. A nine-time 20-goal scorer at the NHL level, he also posted 44-43—87 totals in 141 Stanley Cup playoff contests, and won the Cup in 1991 with the Penguins and in 1996 with the Avalanche.

His highest-scoring NHL season came in 2000-01 with the Blues, where he registered 40-33—73 totals in 81 games, and he had three goals and 15 points in 22 contests in the spring of 1996 in helping Colorado claim its first Stanley Cup. He also played briefly in Germany and in the Central Hockey League in his professional career.

Internationally, Young skated in three world Junior Championships, winning bronze with the U.S. in 1986. He also played in three World Championships and three Winter Olympic Games, winning silver at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. He also helped the U.S. to the 1996 World Cup crown.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Former College Players Change Clubs in NHL Free Agency


Here's a partial listing of former NCAA players (in alphabetical order) who have changed NHL affiliation since free agency kicked off on July 1:


Player, Pos.        College         New Team-Last Team
Brian Boyle, F      Boston College  Tampa Bay-Rangers
Dan Boyle, D        Miami           Rangers-San Jose
Mike Cammalleri, F  Michigan        New Jersey-Calgary
Carter Camper, F    Miami           Ottawa-Columbus
Scott Clemmensen, G Boston College  New Jersey-Florida
Cory Conacher, F    Canisius        Islanders-Buffalo
Patrik Eaves, F     Boston College  Dallas-Nashville
Mark Fayne, D       Providence      Edmonton-New Jersey
Tom Gilbert,D       Wisconsin       Montreal-Florida
Brian Gionta, F     Boston College  Buffalo-Montreal
Tanner Glass, F     Dartmouth       Rangers-Pittsburgh
Matt Hunwick, F     Michigan        Rangers-Colorado
Chad Johnson, G     Alaska          Islanders-Boston
Steven Kampfer, D   Michigan        Rangers-Minnesota
Ryan Miller, G      Michigan St.    Vancvr-St. Louis
Willie Mitchell, D  Clarkson        Florida-Los Angeles
Al Montoya, G       Michigan        Florida-Winnipeg
Mike Moore, D       Princeton       Washington-Boston
Matt Moulson, F     Cornell         Buffalo-Minnesota
Brooks Orpik, D     Boston Coll.    Washington-Pitt
Kevin Porter, F     Michigan        DetroitBuffalo
Mason Raymond, F    MN-Duluth       Calgary-Toronto
Jack Skille, F      Wisconsin       Islanders-Columbus
Paul Stastny, F     Denver          St. Louis-Colorado
Ben Street, F       Wisconsin       Colorado-Calgary
Thomas Vanek, F     Minnesota       Minnesota-Montreal
Joe Vitale, F       Northeastern    Arizona-Pittsburgh
Jesse Winchester, F Colgate         Colorado-Florida