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(USHL) Weekly Notes

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Eight USHL teams will host home openers this weekend with a slate of 12 games between Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28.

In Remembrance
The USHL sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau and former owner of the Tri-City Storm, Kirk Brooks. 

DICK’S Sporting Goods Fall Classic

  • Every USHL team opened the 2024-25 season last weekend before 400 college and NHL coaches, scouts and hockey personnel at the DICK’S Sporting Goods USHL Fall Classic in Cranberry Township, Pa.
  • The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Sioux City Musketeers and Sioux Falls Stampede are the only undefeated teams after the Fall Classic. Cedar Rapids and Sioux City are the only teams entering this weekend with two regulation wins.
  • Forward Amine Hajibi (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders/Northeastern University), defenseman Aleksandr Rybakov (Sioux Falls Stampede/Providence College) and goalie Samuel Urban (Sioux City Musketeers) were named USHL Players of the Week.
  • Ryker Lee (Madison Capitols/Michigan State) led USHL rookies in points with three on two goals and one assist.
  • The Madison Capitols paced the USHL on the power play, going 4/11 (36.4%). Four teams were perfect on the penalty kill with the Dubuque Fighting Saints and Sioux Falls Stampede co-leading in attempts at 8/8 (100%).

Special Promotions 

  • The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders will open their 25th anniversary season in style with special glow-in-the-dark jerseys and a glow-stick giveaway on Saturday, Sept. 28.
  • The Fargo Force will donate all ticket sales to former Fargo Force player and coach Chad Demers as he continues his fight against cancer. Along with ticket sales being donated to the Demers Family, Saturday’s game will feature a specialty puck drop along with “Team Demmy” T-shirts and “Demmy Dangles Cancer” bracelets for sale. A pair of donors have pledged to match the first $10,000 raised and the Metro Sports Foundation will also donate their portion of proceeds from the 50/50 Raffle to the family. Read more.

NCAA Commitments

  • The USHL has more than 340 players committed to play NCAA Division I college hockey 2024-25 rosters.

Where They’re From

  • According to Elite Prospects, the USHL is compiled of 75.9% U.S. citizens. The next most-represented countries include Canada (10.1%), Sweden (3.4%), Russia (2.3%), Slovakia (1.8%) and Czechia (1.6%). Fifteeen different nationalities are represented in the USHL. 

USHL in the NHL

  • There are 25 NHL picks on USHL rosters with 11 of 16 USHL teams claiming at least one selection. Six teams in the leaugue have multiple NHL draft picks rostered, including the Dubuque Fighting Saints (5), Green Bay Gamblers (4), Sioux Falls Stampede (4), Muskegon Lumberjacks (3), Lincoln Stars (2) and Youngstown Phantoms (2).
  • With ten first-round selections and 49 total picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, the USHL has developed the most draft choices of any junior hockey league since 2012. 
  • The USHL has produced more selections than the OHL, WHL and QMJHL for eight straight years.
  • The USHL’s ten first-round selections in 2024 tied a league record previously set in 2016. It marked the 16th consecutive year the USHL has had multiple first-round picks and extended the run to 20 years with at least one selection.
  • Selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks, Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel) joined four other first overall picks with USHL lineage: Owen Power (Chicago Steel/Buffalo Sabres/2021) Jack Hughes (NTDP/New Jersey Devils/2019), Auston Matthews (NTDP/Toronto Maple Leafs/2016) and Rick DiPietro ( NTDP/New York Islanders/2000)
  • More than 315 players with USHL ties participated in NHL development camps during the offseason. Every NHL team that hosted a camp had at least four USHL-produced players. The Detroit Red Wings rostered a league-leading 21 players with USHL ties.
  • Multiple players who played last season in the USHL signed NHL entry-level contracts, including: Matvei Gridin (Muskegon Lumberjacks/Calgary Flames), Ilya Protas (Des Moines Buccaneers/Washington Capitals), Julian Lutz (Green Bay Gamblers/Utah Hockey Club) and Juraj Pekarcik (Dubuque Fighting Saints/St. Louis Blues).

Dupaco Cowbell Cup

  • Bragging rights are up for grabs again as the Dupaco Cowbell Cup between the Dubuque Fighting Saints, Des Moines Buccaneers, Cedar Rapids Roughriders and Waterloo Black Hawks returns for its 14th season.
  • Each head-to-head game between the four teams will count toward the USHL standings and the Cowbell Cup standings. The Cowbell Cup will be awarded to the team with the most Cowbell Cup points at the end of the regular season. For all Cowbell Cup games, teams will earn two points for each win and one point for each overtime or shootout loss.
  • Dubuque has won the last five Cowbell Cups and leads with eight total titles. 

Happy Anniversaries

  • 40th Anniversary Season: Madison Capitols*
  • 25th Anniversary Season: Chicago Steel, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
  • 15th Anniversary Season: Dubuque Fighting Saints

*Madison left the USHL in 1995 before rejoining in 2014.

USHL in the NCAA Last Season

  • 270 USHL alumni played in the NHL during the 2023-24 season.
  • 12 former USHL players were named NCAA First-Team All-Americans in 2023-24.
  • Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel) won the Hobey Baker Award, Greg Brown (Dubuque Fighting Saints) won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year and Kyle McClellan (Omaha Lancers) won the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA Goalie of the Year.

USHL & USA Hockey

  • Fargo Force minority owner Matt Cullen was among a group of inductees to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Cullen is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion and one of two U.S.-born players to have played in more than 1,500 NHL games. He joins Brianna Decker, Kevin Stevens, Major Frederic McLaughlin and the 2022 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team in the class of 2024.
  • The inaugural Canadian Hockey League (CHL)/USA Prospects Challenge will take place this November. The two-game series will feature first-year draft-eligible players for the 2025 2025 NHL Draft from the CHL (Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League) and USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. The host of the CHL/USA Prospects Challenge will rotate between the CHL’s three league markets each year. This is the first of a three-year agreement between the CHL and USA Hockey.

Coaches’ Corner

  • Five teams are starting the 2024-25 season with a new bench boss. Joining the ranks of head coach include Lennie Childs (Omaha Lancers), Evan Dixon (Dubuque Fighting Saints), Ryan Cruthers (Sioux Falls Stampede), Mark Abalan (Tri-City Storm) and Pat McCadden (Green Bay Gamblers).
  • Pat McCadden is the first Gamblers alum to become head coach for the team. He played more than 100 games for the Gamblers between 2008-10, previously serving as assistant coach and associate head coach for the past two seasons