Share your You Tube Videos! May 10 2012
Spartan existence May 10 2012
Boston Jr. Bulldogs: Goalie Theut could be one of organization’s best ever May 08 2012
Eastern States Hockey League: Philadelphia Revolution undergo full makeover May 04 2012
Submit Your Hockey Videos! USAJuniorHockey.com is now taking video submissions to publish online for its video page. The magazine will publish approved videos submitted by fans. Share your highlights and video clips from your team or organization! Start an internet buzz about your videos. They may go viral! Click here to fill out the submission [...]
Southern Oregon follows up Nationals year with move to Western States League for upcoming 2012-13 season By Joshua Boyd Like gold prospectors of old, dozens of young men crossed mountain and stream following the promise of fortunes to be made. This particular group called themselves the Southern Oregon Spartans. Ironically, the fortunes came in the form of college commitments to schools [...]
Boston Jr. Bulldogs general manager Mike Addesa wanted to give his 2012-13 players a little break after the end of this past season. One player, in particular, wasn’t having it. “Jake Theut [pronounced “Toyt”] is an extremely dedicated athlete who trains very hard and really goes above and beyond,” said Addesa. “At the end of [...]
There’s a whole new movement in Philadelphia. Several changes have been made in the ranks of the Revolution junior hockey organization, as new coaches are at all levels from the Eastern Junior League to the Empire to the Eastern States Hockey League squad. The latter team, which finished 2-33-1, saw its coaching change with just [...]
May 10, 2012
USAJuniorHockey.com is now taking video submissions to publish online for its video page. The magazine will publish approved videos submitted by fans.
Share your highlights and video clips from your team or organization! Start an internet buzz about your videos. They may go viral!
Click here to fill out the submission form. Approved videos will appear on the site each week.
May 10, 2012
Southern Oregon follows up Nationals year with move to Western States League for upcoming 2012-13 season
By Joshua Boyd
Like gold prospectors of old, dozens of young men crossed mountain and stream following the promise of fortunes to be made. This particular group called themselves the Southern Oregon Spartans.
Ironically, the fortunes came in the form of college commitments to schools mostly back east, another couple thousand miles back to from where they came or even more towards the sunrise.
It was in the small city of Medford, Oregon, where these players developed into the athletes that the colleges from Minnesota to Massachusetts were looking for. This all happened under the watchful eye of head coach Mike Stanaway and team owner Forest Sexton.
“A few years ago, this program was at the bottom of the barrel,” said Stanaway. “Now, we’ve risen to become one of the premier programs with what we’ve been able to accomplish in terms of winning the championship of [the Northern Pacific Hockey League].”
The team not only won its first Cascade Cup, but with that, the Spartans took part in the USA Hockey Tier-3 Junior Nationals. All of this success has helped lead no less than 14 players from this year to college commitments, mostly into the NCAA Division 3 ranks.
Sexton believes that the new direction for the team, specifically its move to the Western States Hockey League, should lead to an even brighter future for the organization.
On April 28, the Spartans and fellow former NORPAC member the Seattle Totems were admitted to the WSHL for 2012-13, along with the Ontario (Calif.) Avalanche and the Tulsa Jr. Oilers.
“With the addition of the Southern Oregon Spartans, and other new teams added during this off-season, the WSHL will dress 20 plus teams in the 2012-2013 season,” said Ron White, commissioner of the WSHL. “The WSHL is pleased to add an experienced team such as Southern Oregon Spartans with knowledgeable ownership and playoff experience.”
“One of the most successful components for a successful Tier-3 program is moving kids on – that and
good coaching,” said Sexton. “The WSHL is a great venue for our kids to be seen and advance. Also, the WSHL is affiliated with AAU [Amateur Athletic Union], and I believe AAU might prove to be a better venue for Tier-3 junior hockey.
“Nothing against USA Hockey – they do a fine job at what they do, but for Tier-3, I believe AAU is the way to go,” Sexton added. “No disrespect to USA Hockey – if it weren’t for USA hockey, we wouldn’t have what we have today.”
The rules and regulations of AAU sports allow for more foreign, or import, players.
“That is very good for the quality of play and the development of these kids,” Sexton said. “It hasn’t all played out yet, but there is a higher level of selfgovernance under the current program than what Tier-3 had been doing to this point.”
The Spartans are moving from a league that had eight teams to the WSHL with more than double that amount.
“That’ll be great for the team,” said Joey White, the team’s second-leading scorer with 26 goals and 75 points in 41 games.
“It’ll be a better experience, especially traveling to California. The WSHL is a growing league and it is getting better every year.”
White will not be joining the Spartans in their new endeavor, as he is off to join Worcester (Mass.) State University. White, a NORPAC Second Team All-Star, will be joining teammate Mike Leskun and former Spartan Shane Harrington in Worcester.
“One of my biggest goals growing up was to play at that [NCAA] level,” said White. “Their assistant coach was scouting at the Western States League Showcase – us and Seattle were invited to play there – and he talked to me after our games there, and again at Nationals.
“Coach Stanaway had everything to do with my commitment,” White added. “He put my name out
everywhere he could. That’s his thing – getting the guys where they want to go. He got 14 of our players college offers, and that’s a huge success.”
Franchise renovation
“Our story is every junior team’s story,” said Sexton. It all started in 2009, when Sexton and business partner Troy Irving purchased the defunct franchise of the Rogue Valley Wranglers.
“They’d been here two and a half years and won three games. We kept the team here in the interest of keeping hockey in Oregon,” said Sexton. “We took a broke franchise and were second place in the NORPAC’s Pacific Division in our second year.”
Indeed, the Spartans went from an 8-40 record in 2009-10 to a 36-14 record in 2010- 11.
All of a sudden, hockey fans in Medford had a new favorite team. And the Spartans love their community. Sexton believes in a lot of community involvement, as he was once a member of that community.
“I was just a fan,” he said. “I was active in the youth hockey ranks in the Rogue River valley. Keeping a junior team here was essential for keeping hockey going.”
The Spartans joined forces with the RRRink, in Medford, adding 350 seats out of the junior team’s own pocket, as well as filming platforms to broadcast their games online through Fasthockey.com. That way, budget-conscious college coaches across the country can see any Spartans home game they want to scout, from the comfort of their home or office.
“We also did a lot of community outreach to create awareness for the program. We’d see people all the time who didn’t know there was a rink in Medford,” said Sexton. “Hockey speaks for itself – if you get someone to go to a game, they’re hooked.”
Players are hooked on the experience as well – they have their own locker room at the RRRink, a custom bus and access to the off-ice fitness facilities at Southern Oregon University, where they can work out alongside NCAA Division 1 and 2 athletes. Strength and conditioning is a requirement three times a week, along with three 90-minute on-ice practices per week.
“It’s been a real joy to be involved with the junior program. Now, we want to take it to the next step and be able to be one of the best – if not the best – hockey teams on the West Coast,” said Sexton.
They were at least the best in the NORPAC this year. Although Seattle (34-4-3) edged out the Spartans (34-8-0) in the regular season, the Spartans left no doubt as to who was the team to beat in the postseason.
The Spartans went 6-1 in the playoffs. After a first-round bye, they met the Yellowstone Quake in a knock-down, drag-out semifinal round. Southern Oregon beat Yellowstone, 7- 6, in Game 1 before Yellowstone won Game 2, 6-4, to make things real interesting.
“We looked at each other and said we have to get back to playing our hockey,” said Stanaway. “We looked at areas to improve upon going into the next game and ended up winning the next two.”
The Spartans beat Yellowstone 5-3 in Game 3 and 10-4 in Game 4 to advance to the finals.
At this point, with Seattle waiting in the wings, the Spartans were able to look back and take inspiration from how they rebounded from a tepid start to become a league finalist.
“Right from the start of the season, it took our team time to adjust,” said Stanaway.
“With only a few returning players and a new coach, it was like a whole new team. We only had a handful of players from the previous year. We probably dropped a couple games we shouldn’t have as the players were getting used to playing with each other.”
The great migration Stanaway joined the team from the Central Wisconsin Saints of the Great Lakes Junior League this season.
“I was fortunate to get the [Southern Oregon] position and hit the recruiting trail hard,” said Stanaway. “I brought in a lot of players from across the country, but the core came from the Midwest – Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin. I saw it as a fantastic experience, not only for myself, but the players playing in Southern Oregon with an incredible fanbase. We had players coming from teams where there may have been 10 or 15 people in the stands, to playing in front of a packed house.”
Connor Quinn was one of these Midwestern kids, a 1992-born Yorkville, Ill., resident who held down the Spartans blue line throughout 2011-12, and promises to do so again this coming season.
“It was a great experience out there,” said Quinn. “The coaches and the organization’s owners take care of us pretty well. Moving away from Chicago, I didn’t know what to expect, but we had 14 kids get NCAA D-3 offers and 12 other kids are coming back.
“I had played against Coach Stanaway’s team and he told me ‘I have plenty of college contacts. I can get you there,’” Quinn added. Quinn has already committed to Northland College (Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association) for the 2013-14 season.
“I was really skeptical at first, as I’m from Chicago so it was a huge move for me,” said White. “I decided to go out there. I know Coach Stanaway is a very successful coach who has moved players to higher levels, and that’s what I’d been looking for. The fans out there were terrific. Needless to say, it was amazing.”
What was also amazing was the team’s 19- game winning streak from Nov. 19 to mid- February.
“You could really see the turning point,” said Stanaway. “The guys began believing in what they were here to do and came together on the ice, day in and day out. We became a team that went into games knowing what we needed to do to win.”
White proved to be a leader, as the team captain, from the moment he hit the ice.
He joined with leading scorer Tim Talty (33 goals, 83 points in 38 games) and Mike Leskun (35 goals, 62 points in 41 games) on the team’s very productive top line.
“We got those three together early on and they found some chemistry – just look at the points they put up,” said Stanaway. “Joey gave 110 percent every time he touched the ice. Tim was a quiet leader, consistent on the scoresheet. Leskun was a presence because of his composure on and off the ice.”
The top defensive pairing of Luke Nickels and Nick DeSimone “played well together,” while Quinn was the top defenseman in the playoffs. He had come in with Nationals experience as a member of the Chicago Hitmen.
The team also brought in key cogs during the year in defenseman Alex O’Leary (a draft pick of the NAHL’s MinoTauros) and forward Anthony Golio (who played part of the year in the Manitoba Junior League).
“They helped solidify our team for the playoffs,” said Stanaway. During the regular season, Seattle had won four games and Southern Oregon had won three to give the Totems the slight edge on that series. In the Cascade Cup finals, each game was decided by just one goal in each game. Game 1: 2-1, Spartans. Game 2: 4-3, Spartans; Game 3: 5-4, Spartans. Zach Woodman ended up going 6-0 in the Spartans net through the playoffs. From there, the whole team boarded a bus to Rochester, Minn., to go up against the best of other Tier- 3 teams.
“The Nationals were a learning experience for our guys. For all but one of our players [Quinn], it was their first time there,” said Stanaway. “We didn’t play the caliber of hockey we played in the NORPAC playoffs. Anything after that was the icing on the cake, but a lot of our guys learned that in a situation like a national tournament, you can’t take a game off or a shift off. Then you hope you get a little puck luck, as well.” “We made it to Nationals and that was our biggest accomplishment,” said White. “We made that the goal at the beginning of the year”.
Now, a new year in a new league faces the team and the Spartans are trying to bring together the best squad they can to make noise right away in the WSHL.
“I’m here [in Chicagoland] helping Coach Stanaway recruit kids,” said Quinn. “I told them ‘these are the facts, and if you want to come out to Oregon, Coach Stanaway will get you somewhere.’ He teaches the game and he’s helped me grow as a person. The way he built this year’s team, there was no stigma if you were a rookie – everyone was equal. The older guys are leaders, but the younger guys also become leaders.”
Quinn and O’Leary will be among the top returning players for the 2012-13 Spartans, as well as defenseman Matt Pipkins, forward Connor Bowman and Golio. There is a chance Talty and DeSimone could be back, along with forwards Scott Dunham and Sam Holeczy and the goalies Woodman and Derek Moser, if those players don’t move up to a new level.
For those players interested in becoming a Spartan, there will be a tryout camp held from June 22-24 in (of all places) the town of Oregon, Wisconsin. More information can be found on the website sospartans.com. Who knows how high a new Spartans team can climb?
“For me, the big story with us is going from being the 78th-ranked Tier-3 team in the country to being in the top 20,” said Sexton. “[Irving and I] had never owned a hockey team, but we worked hard to put together a great place for kids to play, and they responded and the community has responded.
“I feel like we’re any junior hockey team,” he added, “ and anybody can do this.”
May 8, 2012
Boston Jr. Bulldogs general manager Mike Addesa wanted to give his 2012-13 players a little break after the end of this past season.
One player, in particular, wasn’t having it.
“Jake Theut [pronounced “Toyt”] is an extremely dedicated athlete who trains very hard and really goes above and beyond,” said Addesa. “At the end of the year, in our closeout meetings, I told the guys ‘take time off, get away from the game.’ Jake called me on the second day and told me he was already taking shots and working on three things I wanted him to work on.
“I told him ‘You don’t want to push it,’ and Jake said, ‘No, I do.’”
Fitness and athletics (hockey, in particular) are singularly what drive this 1993-born Washington, Mich., resident.
“I’m just a driven athlete,” he said. “Everyone has to work on something in their game, no matter which level of hockey you are at. I like to win and I’m fully dedicated to doing that. I know you’re going to lose, but I hate to lose. I’m willing to sacrifice my summer nights – I’d rather skate with NHL guys during the summer.”
Indeed, he is already taking shots from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Jeff Petry and Tampa Bay prospect and defenseman Daniel Milan.
“It’s two different worlds, junior to pro, and skating with those guys will make me even better,” he said. “If I can stop those shots, I’ll be able to stop junior quality shots as well. To me it’s more of a challenge, and I accept that challenge. I’m not just going to cave in because they’re NHL players.”
Addesa sees Theut as very simply “the goalie of the future” for the Bulldogs.
“I think he has outstanding potential in his second year of junior, and I see him someday being an outstanding college goaltender,” Addesa said. “Out of the six goalies on both our Atlantic and Metropolitan League teams last year, he was the youngest and the one whom I think has the most potential.”
“Coach Addesa knows his hockey, so it’s an honor when someone of that magnitude in hockey says something like that about you,” Theut added. “To me, it means more hard work, sacrifice and dedication.”
Theut describes himself as technically a hybrid goalie. This off-season, he’ll work mostly on his cardio endurance.
“I was taught through my younger years that you want to stay clear-minded in the third period,” he said. “Keep your body maintained, so you’ll be mentally sharp and not tired.”
Taking slapshots from NHL players can only help in the mental sharpness department.
May 4, 2012
There’s a whole new movement in Philadelphia.
Several changes have been made in the ranks of the Revolution junior hockey organization, as new coaches are at all levels from the Eastern Junior League to the Empire to the Eastern States Hockey League squad.
The latter team, which finished 2-33-1, saw its coaching change with just four games remaining in the tumultuous 2011-12 season.
“There are a lot of high expectations for our younger teams and our EJHL team,” said Justin Grevious, who took over late in the season and had a couple close games against the playoff-bound Jersey Wildcats before the season to forget was all over.
Grevious, who spent most of the year as an assistant coach with the EJHL Revs, believes he has the few right players back from last season and a new attitude throughout the program that will see a turnaround for next year.
“It’s like a cruise ship – you can’t make the turn in one day. You start making the turn at one point and it’ll be a big turn,” said Grevious. “You need someone to devote the time and be committed to changing the culture. We finished the year with 12 players. We had a penalty issue with a ’91 and I benched him and we had 11 players. I’m not here to mess around.”
Grevious has no hard feelings towards the 2011-12 Revolution, but knows a new direction is needed.
“That team was a very average team, skill-wise, but I would never question the heart of that team,” he said. “The team I inherited was not of my selection, but we try to make the best of what we have. The guys really enjoyed the last couple of games of the season.”
He saw a spark of what could be when the team outshot the Patriots, 29-8, in the first period of their Feb. 5 game.
“That’s incredible, for 20 minutes,” said Grevious. “Fortunately, I’ll be able to salvage a few character guys from last year. Uncharacteristically for a team at this level, I have about 90 percent of my team signed and delivered at this point.
“I feel I have the right guys in place to take the team where it needs to be – our goal is to win, yes, but more to promote players and develop guys for the EJHL,” he added. “I’m not a junior coach solely committed to winning championships, but with the guys I have, I believe we could have a .750 winning percentage next year.”
Grevious sees his team as having five high-end skill players, with 15 other players who will find and fill their roles.
He especially likes the play and character of ’93-born defenseman Connor Higgins, of Fawn Grove, Pa.
“He’s a very vocal player and a fringe Empire League player – and he will get some touches in the Empire this year,” said Grevious.
Grevious expects to be ranking Higgins regularly somewhere between 1-5 on his team, as all Revs coaches are expected to do for the purposes of moving players up and down between the three teams as needed.
“We submit evaluations to our general manager [Chris Kanaly] about who’s producing, who’s not, who’s moving, who’s not, why they’re moving, why they’re not,” said Grevious. “That’s something that needed to happen. A lot of junior organizations can take that model to what they’re doing.”
The team has some “projects” in terms of 1996-born players for the future of the Revolution’s EJHL team.
Andrew Bily, one such ’96, had 14 points in 36 games as a 15-year-old for this past year’s Revs squad. Grevious expects him to produce even more in Year 2, along with ’96-born defenseman Zachary Aimone.
“He’s got a very high skill set. He’s someone I took on to develop over this next year, year and a half,” Grevious said.
The team will certainly have a new look beyond these players and a few more.
“A lot of the players I intentionally did not ask back,” Grevious said. “From what I could diagnose from the stats, the Revolution led the ESHL in penalty minutes by about 300 [1,122], which is pitiful.”
The very definition of Revolution, according to Webster’s Dictionary, “a sudden, radical, or complete change.”
The 2012-13 season may not see a sudden change in success, but if Grevious has his way, the change will certainly be complete and radical.
May 4, 2012
What could be better than an overall record of 45-3-0-1 in just your second year as an organization?
How about nearly half a dozen of the players from that team coming back to look for similar success for the third year?
Florida Jr. Blades general manager/head coach Tad O’Had is happy to report that five players (two ’93-born and three ’95-born) are returning for the 2012-13 season.
“We are returning a strong foundation of veterans after a season that ended in the National semifinals,” said O’Had.
Josh Koerner, a ’93 from Montgomery, N.Y., was the team’s third-leading scorer last year, putting in 39 goals and 77 points in 39 Empire Junior League games.
“Josh was one of the fastest players in the Empire and had a season-high 77 points last season returns to provide leadership, skill, speed and determination,” said O’Had.
Chaise Howard is a ’95 forward from Estero, Fla., also home of the Jr. Blades. Like Koerner, Howard was also good for better than a point-per-game last year, posting 27 points in 24 Empire League games.
“He was an offensive specialist and is returning to have a breakout season,” said O’Had.
Add another player who “batted 1.000 or better” last year in ’95 Troy Degler, who racked up 35 points in 33 Empire Junior League games.
“One of the shiftiest players in the Empire League is returning,” said O’Had, of another local Estero product. “He averaged over a point per game and continues to develop and mature physically on and off the ice.”
Jon Davidson, a ’95 from Kissimmee, Fla., was very close to the point-per-game average (27 points in 29 games).
“He’s an offensive shutdown guy and a returning leader with an excellent work ethic,” said O’Had.
The team is also getting back one of its goalies that split the season in Eric Sugrue. The ’93 from Naples, Fla., was fourth among all Empire League goalies in goals against average (2.11).
Talk about a great foundation to start from. The Jr. Blades do not believe in an “off-season,” either as they continue to build their 2012-13 team.
“The Blades have already scouted seven showcases and are loading the team for a run at the league title and Nationals,” said O’Had. “We continue to strive to be the best organization possible. We are utilizing the off-season to identify our weaknesses and to destroy them.
“We have a special organization and group of young men in southwest Florida and we are going to continue the tradition of success on and off the ice,” O’Had added.
