Men’s Ice Hockey | 11/5/2024 12:28:23 PM
Story Links
Tune into the U-Show each week at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT for a weekly recap, preview and insight into what’s happening around the USHL.
TOP STORYLINES
- Dubuque enters the week alone at the top of the league standings with an 11-3-0-0 record. The Fighting Saints are riding a six-game winning streak.
- Madison is second in the Eastern Conference with a 9-2-1-1 record. The Capitols are 8-0-1-0 in their last 10 games and have played one fewer game than Dubuque.
- Lincoln leads the Western Conference with a 10-3-0-0 record. The Stars enter a midday, midweek game against Sioux City with an 8-2-0-0 mark in their last 10 games.
U17 WORLD CHALLENGE
- Canada White, Canada Red, Czechia, Finland, Sweden and the United States (NTDP) participate in the six-team U17 World Challenge from Nov. 1-9 in Sarnia, Ontario.
- Adam Valentini (CHI/Michigan), Tynan Lawrence (MUS/Boston University) and Callum Croskery (CHI/Boston College) are representing the USHL on Team Canada White at the U17 World Challenge from Nov. 1-9 in Sarnia, Ontario.
- The USA Hockey NTDP last won the gold at the U17 World Challenge in 2022.
NHL DRAFT ELIGIBLE LEADERS
- Ryker Lee (MAD/Michigan State) leads 2025 NHL Draft eligible skaters with 14 points (5-9-14). Ethan Wyttenbach (SF/Quinnipiac) ranks second with 13 points (5-8-13) and Gavin Cornforth (DBQ/Boston College) ranks third with 11 points (6-5-11).
- Cornforth, Teddy Mutryn (CHI/Boston College) and Nicolas Sykora (OMA/Quinnipiac) lead 2025 NHL Draft eligible skaters with six goals each.
- Among 2026 NHL Draft eligible rookies, Tynan Lawrence (MUS/Boston University) leads in scoring with 10 points (4-6-10). Torkel Jennersjö (DBQ) and Landon Nycz (WAT/Massachusetts) are tied for second with eight points each.
NHL DRAFT PICK WATCH LIST
- Philadelphia Flyers prospect Heikki Ruohonen (DBQ/Harvard) has 10 points in 14 games (4-6-10).
- San Jose Sharks prospect David Klee has 9 points (6-3-9) in 12 games. Klee, Vegas Golden Knights prospect Lucas Van Vliet (DBQ/Michigan State) and Colorado Avalanche prospect Will Zellers (GB/North Dakota) have six goals each.
- New Jersey Devils prospect Mikhail Yegorov (OMA/Boston University) is 2-4-0-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .905 SV%.
NHL PRELIMINARY PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
- NHL Central Scouting published its preliminary players to watch list for the upcoming NHL Draft featuring 96 players with USHL ties. Of that group, 64 players are on active USHL rosters, 26 are on affiliate lists and six are former USHL players in the NCAA. The USHL averaged four players per team, more than any other junior league in North America.
PLAYER STREAKS
- Landen Gunderson (SC/Western Michigan) is on an 11-game point streak with 16 points (3-13-16), recording a point in every game this season.
- Ethan Wyttenbach (SF/Quinnipiac) and San Jose Sharks prospect David Klee (MUS/North Dakota) are on eight-game point streaks with 11 and nine points, respectively.
TOP TEAMS
- Madison and Dubuque are the only teams ranked inside the top five for average goals for and against per game.
- Madison ranks 2nd in goals for per game (3.92) and 1st in goals against (2.38).
- Dubuque ranks 4th in goals for per game (3.71) and 5th in goals against (2.64).
- Top Power Plays: Lincoln Stars (28.9%), Green Bay Gamblers (25.7%) and Madison Capitols (25.0%)
- Top Penalty Kills: Dubuque Fighting Saints (89.4%), Fargo Force (88.1%), Waterloo Black Hawks (86.9%)
USHL IN THE NEWS
- USHL Players of the Week
- USHL Teams Raise More than $85K for Cancer-Related Causes
- USHL President & Commissioner Glenn Hefferan on Frankly Speaking (The Daily Faceoff)
- USHL President & Commissioner Glenn Hefferan on Morning Cuppa Hockey (The Daily Faceoff)
- FloHockey: USHL Well Represented on NHL Central Scouting List
NHL PICKS
- There are 27 NHL picks on USHL rosters with 11 of 16 USHL teams claiming at least one selection
- Six teams in the league have multiple NHL draft picks rostered: the Dubuque Fighting Saints (5), Green Bay Gamblers (5), Sioux Falls Stampede (4), Muskegon Lumberjacks (3), Lincoln Stars (2) and Youngstown Phantoms (2).
- 15 different NHL teams have a USHL pick in the league this season.
PATH TO PRO
- 195+ Alumni on 32 NHL Opening Night Rosters
- 910+ Alumni on NCAA 2024-25 DI Rosters
- 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.
- Macklin Celebrini (CHI/San Jose – 2024) is one of four other first-overall picks with USHL lineage: Owen Power (CHI/Buffalo – 2021) Jack Hughes (NTDP/New Jersey – 2019), Auston Matthews (NTDP/Toronto Maple Leafs – 2016) and Rick DiPietro (NTDP/New York Islanders – 2000)
- Multiple players who played last season in the USHL signed NHL entry-level contracts including: Matvei Gridin (MUS/Calgary Flames), Ilya Protas (DM/Washington Capitals), Julian Lutz (GB/Utah Hockey Club) and Juraj Pekarcik (DUB/St. Louis Blues).
USHL IN THE NCAA
- More than 365 players in the USHL are committed to play NCAA Division I college hockey, accounting for 80% of all players in the league.
- The conferences with the most committed players include:
- NCHC: 85+
- Big Ten: 80+
- Hockey East: 75+
- The teams with the most committed players include Michigan, Harvard and UMass
- Michigan: 17
- Miami: 16
- Michigan State: 15
- 270+ USHL alumni played in the NHL during the 2023-24 season and 12 USHL were named NCAA First-Team All-Americans.
- Macklin Celebrini (CHI/Boston University) won the Hobey Baker Award, Greg Brown (DUB/Boston College) won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year and Kyle McClellan (OMA/Wisconsin) won the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA Goalie of the Year.
- The USHL claims 8 of the last 10 Hobey Baker winners and has represented 88% of American Hockey Coaches Association (ACHA) First-Team All-Americans in the last five years.
ANNIVERSARY SEASONS
- 40th Anniversary Season: Madison Capitols*
- 30th Anniversary Season: Green Bay Gamblers
- 25th Anniversary Season: Chicago Steel, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Tri-City Storm
- 15th Anniversary Season: Dubuque Fighting Saint
*Madison left the USHL in 1995 before rejoining in 2014.
CHL/USA Prospects Challenge
- The inaugural CHL/USA Prospects Challenge will take place Nov. 26-27 in London and Oshawa, Ontario. The two-game series will feature first-year draft-eligible players for the 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.
For up-to-date stats and streaks, review the USHL Daily Report.
The USHL sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau,Chad Demers and former owner of the Tri-City Storm, Kirk Brooks.
