Roster unveiled for 2013 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game

Press Release

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey announced today the 40 players who will skate in the second annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, which will be held Sept. 26 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., home of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins.  

The game features 40 of the top American prospects eligible for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Twenty-eight players appear on NHL Central Scouting's "Futures List," which highlights players that have potential to be selected in the first three rounds of the draft.

"This event has quickly grown into a great opportunity for America's best young players to showcase their skills at a national level," said Jim Johannson, USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations. "The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a terrific partner in putting on this game, which will feature the future stars of the NHL."

Among the 24 forwards are Kevin Labanc (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Shane Eiserman (West Newbury, Mass.), who were members of the U.S. squad that earned the silver medal at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's Under-18 World Championship. Last season in the USHL, Nick Schmaltz (Verona, Wis.) of the Green Bay Gamblers was the youngest player to receive USHL All-Rookie Team honors, while Seamus Malone (Naperville, Ill.) helped the Dubuque Fighting Saints capture the Anderson Cup and the Clark Cup as the regular-season and playoff champions in the USHL. This summer, Schmaltz, Keegan Iverson (St. Louis Park, Minn.), Austin Poganski (St. Cloud, Minn.) and Dominic Turgeon (Cherry Hills, Colo.) helped the U.S. Under-18 Select Team place second at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

The blue line corps includes Jack Dougherty (Cottage Grove, Minn.), Aaron Haydon (Plymouth, Mich.) and Ryan Mantha (Clarkston, Mich.), who were members of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that finished second at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Keegan Ford (Waunakee, Wis.) contributed to the Dubuque Fighting Saints winning the Anderson Cup and Clark Cup as the regular-season and playoff champions in the USHL.
In net, Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif./Boston College) and Blake Weyrick (Ojai, Calif.) received silver medals with Team USA at the 2013 IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship, while Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio) and Weyrick backstopped the U.S. Under-18 Select Team to a second-place showing at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
Thirty-three players have ties to the United States Hockey League, the top junior league in America, including 22 players from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.
For ticket information click here.

Notes: Pittsburgh Penguins alumni Mark Johnson and Joe Mullen will be the head coaches for the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game. Danton Cole and John Gruden of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program will serve as assistant coaches ... Follow @USAHockey and @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for information regarding the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game and join the conversation by using #AAPG ... Goaltender Thatcher Demko and defenseman Tony DeAngelo (Philadelphia, Pa.) attended USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp in early August ... Players selected to compete in the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game were chosen by USA Hockey in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting ... Thirteen states are represented on the roster. Minnesota leads the way with nine, while New York is second with five. California, Illinois and Michigan have four apiece. Other states include Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.


 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)