Draft Eligibles 2013: Is Quebec Remparts winger Adam Erne the next great Connecticut born player?

By Tom Zulewski
Posted on 04/02/2013 at 1:00 pm

Like many elite hockey players across North America, living away from home is nothing new. In fact it’s the norm. For New Haven, Connecticut native and Quebec Remparts winger Adam Erne, being on the road is something he has grown accustomed too. So how does a kid from Connecticut wind up playing in one of the premier junior hockey leagues in the world? When Erne was 13 years old he moved from New England to California to play with the elite Los Angeles Kings Selects program. In fact, he actually billeted with the family of Tri-City Americans goalie Eric Comrie …

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The Stars and Stripes Starting Six: Flyer targets from the USA U-18 team

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 02/26/2013 at 1:00 pm

Here are six players on the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) Under-18 squad I believe the Philadelphia Flyers should target in the 2013 and 2014 NHL Drafts. Goalie: Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) We will start out in net with the most impressive player on the ice for the USNTDP Under-18. Demko is still a junior in high school, but is so talented and “mature beyond his years” as Coach Don Granato puts it, that he is in an accelerated program to earn the required high school credits before heading to Chestnut Hill. It says something about the …

College Hockey Roundup: Roy nets hat trick in Beanpot Debut; York inducted in Hall; UNO in hunt for WCHA title

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 02/06/2013 at 9:00 am

Born in 1952, the Beanpot enraptures the city and all those towns with alumni in New England and beyond on the first two Mondays of February with a four-team tournament boasting some of the nation’s elite talent. Standing in front of their stalls, Boston University, Boston College, Harvard, and Northeastern players don their respective sweaters, accepting the responsibility to protect their university in the Battle of Boston. Men become immortals with heroic performances in a city richer in tradition than its chowder. While the Terriers and the Eagles, and occasionally the Crimson, have traded turns hoisting the tournament trophy, Northeastern …

College Hockey Roundup: Penn State prevails in Philly; Former Team Comcast player shines at BC

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 01/23/2013 at 9:00 am

All eyes were back on the ice on Saturday in the City of Brotherly Love. After a grueling wait, NHL fans got their wish. However, Penn State against Vermont in the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff stole the spotlight. As fans donning the colors of their favorite Pennsylvania NHL team filed out of the Wells Fargo Center, others were on their way in representing the entire state with their blue and white. After 19,994 hockey-starved fans attended the first Flyers home game of the season, a second crowd were treated to what hopes to be more than just a curiosity. An …

College Hockey Roundup: BC Recruit Demko shines; Quinnipiac keeps unbeaten streak alive

By Tom Zulewski
Posted on 01/16/2013 at 9:00 am

Remember the name Thatcher Demko. Demko, a Boston College commit who plays goalie for the U.S. Under-18 team, stopped all 23 shots that were thrown his way as Team USA beat Penn State 3-0 on Saturday to salvage a split in a weekend exhibition series. The San Diego native has been excellent so far this season in exhibition games against Division I schools. He made 35 saves in 2-2 tie against a highly touted New Hampshire squad back on December 9 and made 39 saves on October 26 against a powerhouse University of Minnesota team that features the likes of Nick Bjugstad …

From left to right: Alex, Matt, and David Carle (and Gus!)

Behind the Crest: Matt and Alex Carle & James and Brendan van Riemsdyk

By Kim Pollock
Posted on 06/28/2012 at 11:00 am

Young hockey players learn and are guided by a number of different people throughout the course of their careers. They are aided by coaches, teammates, and fellow players as they develop and pursue their dream of making it to the NHL. For a majority of players, though, the help and the coaching starts at home, long before they join so much as even a peewee league. For some, they’re learning from someone who truly does know best — either a current player or a veteran of the sport. This is the case for Alex Carle and Brendan van Riemsdyk, brothers …