USHL Chicago Showcase

[GR3343]

After reading about the Xposure tourney, thought I'd chime in about the USHL Showcase. Not a bad tourney thus far. Competitve games, very good talent, and is being heavily scouted from what I've seen. As always, there's a few question marks as to why a kid is here, but overall, I've seen some very talented players and the pace of the games is much, much quicker than anything I saw at the high school level last season. Alot of Big players with speed. Has been a very good experience for my son to have. Getting a chance to see where he stacks up vs. others from around the country that are the same age. Well worth the trip.

[PASTRAPIDSFAN]

After reading about the Xposure tourney, thought I'd chime in about the USHL Showcase. Not a bad tourney thus far. Competitve games, very good talent, and is being heavily scouted from what I've seen. As always, there's a few question marks as to why a kid is here, but overall, I've seen some very talented players and the pace of the games is much, much quicker than anything I saw at the high school level last season. Alot of Big players with speed. Has been a very good experience for my son to have. Getting a chance to see where he stacks up vs. others from around the country that are the same age. Well worth the trip.

Is your boy the only one from our area there.

[GR3343]

After reading about the Xposure tourney, thought I'd chime in about the USHL Showcase. Not a bad tourney thus far. Competitve games, very good talent, and is being heavily scouted from what I've seen. As always, there's a few question marks as to why a kid is here, but overall, I've seen some very talented players and the pace of the games is much, much quicker than anything I saw at the high school level last season. Alot of Big players with speed. Has been a very good experience for my son to have. Getting a chance to see where he stacks up vs. others from around the country that are the same age. Well worth the trip.

Is your boy the only one from our area there.

I believe so. There's only 8 Minnesotans total I think. Many of the other Minn. kids declined due to the possibility to play Advanced 16's. Bad choice in my book, been a great time out here.

[hockeyguts]

Does or can anybody list the minnesota kids in the 1990 showcase?

[GR3343]

Does or can anybody list the minnesota kids in the 1990 showcase?

Back a page there's a '90-'91 roster link.

[hockeyguts]

Sorry I probably should of mentioned that my computer sucks and wont let me see PDF pages, so the link didn't work for me. I was just wondering who the Minnesota kids were for the '90 showcase because I heard there are not as many goning this year.

[thiscrazygame]

I believe so. There's only 8 Minnesotans total I think. Many of the other Minn. kids declined due to the possibility to play Advanced 16's. Bad choice in my book, been a great time out here.[/quote]


I was watching the 16's this weekend and don't think it was a bad choice for the kids that made the final 54 cut. There were scouts from several colleges and about 4 or 5 USHL teams,

[GR3343]

Sorry I probably should of mentioned that my computer sucks and wont let me see PDF pages, so the link didn't work for me. I was just wondering who the Minnesota kids were for the '90 showcase because I heard there are not as many goning this year.

Not sure which are 90's and which are 91's, but here's what I could find glancing through it. I may have missed a couple.

Trent Caspar - Eagan
Joshua Gaughan - Buffalo
Kyle Forte - Shattuck
Charlie Wilson - Shattuck
Stepen Hickey - Shattuck
Andrew O'Leary - Shattuck
Joel Scattterelli - Rogers
Corey Volk - Elk River
Ryan McElhone - Elk River
Michael Webb - Holy Angels
Ben Holker - Mahtomedi
Joe Graveline - St. Thomas
Zach Johnson - Mound West Tonka
Steve Theis - St. Cloud Apollo
Jeff Lesmister - Anoka
D.J. Vandercook - Farmington
Tyler Voight - Roch. Lourdes
Mike Pieper - Warroad.

Like I said, I may have missed a few. More Minnesotans in this group than in the '92 group, but that was because of the Advanced 16 Tourney.

[RedLineReport]

I believe there were only three Minnesotan's participating in the 92 Showcase...

Gehrt--Woodbury High School
Ford--Eden Prairie Bantam
Merritt--Grand Rapids High School

[mnb327]

Careful, might be Exposed vs. Exposure, for Minnesota Kids they have been watched so much in Model, Advanced, Elite I/II, Xposure and most importantly HS season what more can be seen.

Plus most college guys are in Florida getting sun not watching players now anyway.

Do the math at gas 3.40 a gallon to and around Chicago, Hotels and Meals then fee to play.

Hope it is good because not good $ investment.

[GR3343]

Plus most college guys are in Florida getting sun not watching players now anyway.

Do the math at gas 3.40 a gallon to and around Chicago, Hotels and Meals then fee to play.

Hope it is good because not good $ investment.

I'll speak from personal experience. It was a great $ investment for several reasons. The trip at $3.59 per gallon was worth every penny due to the enjoyable ride I had with my family, the hotel was decent and comfortable with a nice breakfast spread, the hockey was very well played for the most part and as I stated before, faster paced than any high school game I saw this past season(and GR played a pretty nice schedule), my son was exposed to an element he had never really been around, he was pushed to his absolute limits on the ice - and succeeded, he met some great kids from other parts of the country, as far reaching as Seattle, Alaska and California, he made some solid contacts with USHL personel and was highly complimented by several scouts as well as the director of central scouting. It also gave him a vision of what he wants, and what it may take to achieve that goal. We all went into the trip with an open mind and got more out of our dollar than we expected.

Oh, and for the record, there were USHL scouts from each of the 13 teams in the league as well as some colleges. I may not be 100% accurate with this statement, but I believe that the assistant coaches from all of the teams were the ones who coached the individual squads.

If you had a bad experience or are just spouting off about something you may have heard, you're making a mistake. In my opinion, the USHL is a class act and ran a first rate scouting/exposure camp regardless of what anyone else thinks.

[fivehole628]

Sorry I probably should of mentioned that my computer sucks and wont let me see PDF pages, so the link didn't work for me. I was just wondering who the Minnesota kids were for the '90 showcase because I heard there are not as many goning this year.

Not sure which are 90's and which are 91's, but here's what I could find glancing through it. I may have missed a couple.

Trent Caspar - Eagan
Joshua Gaughan - Buffalo
Kyle Forte - Shattuck
Charlie Wilson - Shattuck
Stepen Hickey - Shattuck
Andrew O'Leary - Shattuck
Joel Scattterelli - Rogers
Corey Volk - Elk River
Ryan McElhone - Elk River
Michael Webb - Holy Angels
Ben Holker - Mahtomedi
Joe Graveline - St. Thomas
Zach Johnson - Mound West Tonka
Steve Theis - St. Cloud Apollo
Jeff Lesmister - Anoka
D.J. Vandercook - Farmington
Tyler Voight - Roch. Lourdes
Mike Pieper - Warroad.

Like I said, I may have missed a few. More Minnesotans in this group than in the '92 group, but that was because of the Advanced 16 Tourney.

Joe Carney- Delano
'90

[HOFam'r]

Plus most college guys are in Florida getting sun not watching players now anyway.

Do the math at gas 3.40 a gallon to and around Chicago, Hotels and Meals then fee to play.

Hope it is good because not good $ investment.

I'll speak from personal experience. It was a great $ investment for several reasons. The trip at $3.59 per gallon was worth every penny due to the enjoyable ride I had with my family, the hotel was decent and comfortable with a nice breakfast spread, the hockey was very well played for the most part and as I stated before, faster paced than any high school game I saw this past season(and GR played a pretty nice schedule), my son was exposed to an element he had never really been around, he was pushed to his absolute limits on the ice - and succeeded, he met some great kids from other parts of the country, as far reaching as Seattle, Alaska and California, he made some solid contacts with USHL personel and was highly complimented by several scouts as well as the director of central scouting. It also gave him a vision of what he wants, and what it may take to achieve that goal. We all went into the trip with an open mind and got more out of our dollar than we expected.

Oh, and for the record, there were USHL scouts from each of the 13 teams in the league as well as some colleges. I may not be 100% accurate with this statement, but I believe that the assistant coaches from all of the teams were the ones who coached the individual squads.

If you had a bad experience or are just spouting off about something you may have heard, you're making a mistake. In my opinion, the USHL is a class act and ran a first rate scouting/exposure camp regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Ditto..gas is now $3.67...and honestly i was very leary coming into it...My experience is that this tourney is much much better than Xposure...Saw three scouts cuddled around the fireplace during xposure. Xposure at least this season was a mess in my humble opinion. At least this tournament is fun and ALL the kids are involved..the coaches are great and the staff cares because this is their livlihood while exposure is just another fundraiser for someone and some little ole lady collecting $25 from parents to watch. The play in Chicago is very clean and the USHL guys are very concerned about player health. I see guys jotting notes all over the place and my son has talked with several scouts something he never did in any USA Hockey event....it gives a kid hope if nothing else to keep developing...Not sure everyone feels that way coming away from a USA Hockey event...I have spoken with several who feel exactly the opposite because little or no attention is given to kids still developing while all the scouts drool over the ness's and budish's of the world.
No one has any forsight and see's anything but goals. It is my experience there are several kids who will end up better if they are motivated to do so...

Point is that if you're going to charge someone $300.00 plus you might want to make sure every kid is given an evaluation and things to improve on...or at least put some phony jackets on and walk around with a note book...my kid played well at Exposure...nobody knew...nobody cared...people have noticed here and I feel as good about it as I have at anytime in hockey.

They are upfront about fundraising but there were a dozen or so kids who made teams because of their showcase camps...If nothing else it is a refreshing change to the political frustrations involved in other tryouts...kids are shuffled from line to line and all get an opportunity to play with several combinations...you don't have some guys stacking lines and making sure some kids get opportunities others dont. it happens...I'll never be convinced otherwise...

[hcky09]

I will have to agree last year we did USHL Chicago and this year Exposure because we thought it would be a lot cheaper and worth the money. Well it turns out very disappointed we did not return to Chicago this year even though it would have costed more it was worth the money. Several scouts, which very minimal seen at exposure. Were very concerned with kids and development and lots of great play very talented players. Exposure to me was several teams thrown together a couple teams with high end talent and lots of money and then they charged to get in. Next year will return to Chicago.

[Can't Never Tried]

So anyone know how the players from MN did in Chicago this past weekend?

[HOFam'r]

So anyone know how the players from MN did in Chicago this past weekend?

you should know...you were there! I thought the Minnesota kids did well and must admit that MN guys seem smarter than the East coast kids when playing hockey. Your kid played well other than having skate issues early in the last game.

I thought the tournament was well run and a good experience.

[Can't Never Tried]

So anyone know how the players from MN did in Chicago this past weekend?

you should know...you were there! I thought the Minnesota kids did well and must admit that MN guys seem smarter than the East coast kids when playing hockey. Your kid played well other than having skate issues early in the last game.

I thought the tournament was well run and a good experience.

I was ? whew!! that's great then because I had this awful dream.... that I was watching the Grand March at Prom Sat. night at it was really boring, and then I noticed my kid was wearing a tux with his skates on and tripped when the blade broke

[HOFam'r]

So anyone know how the players from MN did in Chicago this past weekend?

you should know...you were there! I thought the Minnesota kids did well and must admit that MN guys seem smarter than the East coast kids when playing hockey. Your kid played well other than having skate issues early in the last game.

I thought the tournament was well run and a good experience.

I was ? whew!! that's great then because I had this awful dream.... that I was watching the Grand March at Prom Sat. night at it was really boring, and then I noticed my kid was wearing a tux with his skates on and tripped when the blade broke

LOL...yeah okay...you must have been getting video feeds from your wife...

[mnb327]

During National USA events scouts(college or junior) are prohibited from communicating with kids, assume same is true at district/state level events, they all including college coaches wish they could but can't also college coaches not in attendence see kids during year and don't waste time in Chicago in April.

[O-townClown]

Do the math at gas 3.40 a gallon to and around Chicago, Hotels and Meals then fee to play.

Hope it is good because not good $ investment.

Wow, what do you care how someone else spends their money? He did ask for opinions, but even if someone blows a few grand on a weekend like this it isn't much compared to what some folks pay for hockey, vacations, and/or entertainment.

If folks are looking to hockey as an 'investment' I'm afraid they're in it for the wrong reasons.

[GR3343]

Do the math at gas 3.40 a gallon to and around Chicago, Hotels and Meals then fee to play.

Hope it is good because not good $ investment.

Wow, what do you care how someone else spends their money? He did ask for opinions, but even if someone blows a few grand on a weekend like this it isn't much compared to what some folks pay for hockey, vacations, and/or entertainment.

If folks are looking to hockey as an 'investment' I'm afraid they're in it for the wrong reasons.

Well put. My family went for several reasons. 1. Mini-vacation, good time to get out of town and relax. 2. Great opportunity for the kid to see what else is out there. As far as an investment, we've turned trips like these into family time and have gotten a great return on our $.

[HOFam'r]

During National USA events scouts(college or junior) are prohibited from communicating with kids, assume same is true at district/state level events, they all including college coaches wish they could but can't also college coaches not in attendence see kids during year and don't waste time in Chicago in April.

Maybe MNB327 runs USA Hockey events??? I am glad my kid went and so is he...I can say that kids were looked at closely by the league...while many of them will never play in the league some will and that's all anyone can ask is a legit chance...this is legit exposure while at least this season the exposure camp was not very good. I spent money on both and think the Chicago trip was many times more valuable...I think that is a legit assessment since after all I did spend the time and money to attend both..

[Can't Never Tried]

So how did this come out for the MN players? did anyone get offered anything or get any feedback on how they did?

[post21]

Here are the '93 Minnesotans going at the end of May. I may have missed a few.

Connor Girard Edina Bantam
Bennie Walker Edina Bantam
Andrew Capra Edina Bantam
Matthew McNeely St. Thomas Academy Varsity
Travis Boyd Hopkins High School
Austin Caspar Apple Valley
MICHELLE COTRONEO Hill Murray
Craig Duininck MN Blades
Eric Freschi Jefferson
Evan Peterson Lakeville North
Jeff Spellmire Blommington Jefferson
Joseph LaBate Holy Angels Varsity
Nick Weiler Shattuck St. Marys
Kyle Krueger Prior Lake
Cullen Hurley Academy Holy Angels
Kevin Szopa Shattuck St. Marys
Dylan Dailey ShattuckSt. Marys
Lenny Caglianone Shattuck St Mary's
Matt Hansen St. Cloud
Brandon Reinholz St. Cloud
Peter Traber Shattucks St Marys
Kevin Schulze White Bear Lake
Blake Dochniak Stillwater MN
Michael Sit Edina Bantam
Charlie Sampair Mahtomedi
Ben Ostlie Edina
Ben Bahe Hill Murray
Garrett Patrick Hudson HS
Max Birkinbine White Bear Lake

[GR3343]

So how did this come out for the MN players? did anyone get offered anything or get any feedback on how they did?

Merritt from GR was talked to by director of Central Scouting. He was told that he had a tremendous week and left his mark on many of the scouts. He was also spoken to several times by the assistant coach of the Lincoln Stars who indicated he would like to see him in their training camp as early as this summer. Whether that means anything or not will remain to be seen.