Category Archives: Junior
Poway’s Herrman making the grade as first-year player in USHL
November 3rd, 2016If you’re a kid growing up playing ice hockey in California, the lure of playing in a top-level junior program remains strong. Tougher, faster, stronger: it appears to be the route taken by many players to major college programs and even the National Hockey League. Poway’s Rory Herrman has taken that path, and appears to…
Motivated Hamacher eyeing success in USHL rookie season
October 28th, 2016Jacob Hamacher’s stock continues to rise. The 19-year-old winger had a breakout season last year in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and that success has translated to the Corona native making the jump this season to one of the premier franchises in the United States Hockey League (USHL), the Dubuque Fighting Saints….
Successful on the ice, Kraus brothers now winning as junior, youth coaches
October 20th, 2016Brotherly competition helped push Tim and Kevin Kraus to the peaks of youth and junior hockey. That and their experiences in the game, which started in California in the 1990s, are helping both now as coaches. Tim (pictured below), 29, who played five seasons of pro hockey – parts of three with the Ontario Reign…
Revamped Sabers aim to avenge dismal WSHL campaign
September 16th, 2016As the San Diego Sabers limped towards the finish line last season, general manager Jim Cavataio knew things had to change. So Cavataio started jettisoning players prior to the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) trade deadline – which included a deal to ship his goaltender and son Brody to Ontario – with his sights set…
Five with California ties named to USA Hockey Prospects Game
August 31st, 2016USA Hockey announced today the 42 players who will compete in the fifth annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game set for Sept. 22 at Wells Fargo Center, home of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. “This event provides some of the best U.S. players eligible for next year’s NHL Draft the opportunity to showcase their talent on…
WSHL’s Avalanche stay in-house, tab O’Rourke new bench boss
August 13th, 2016The Ontario Avalanche didn’t have to look far to find their next head coach. Rob O’Rourke, who has spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the 18U AAA Avalanche, will make the jump to the junior ranks for the 2016-17 season. O’Rourke inherits a team that finished fourth in the Western Division…
Yorba Linda’s Nieto tandem compiles 2015-16 seasons to remember
August 12th, 2016What’s almost 12 and a half feet tall, weighs more than 400 pounds and stops nearly everything shot its way? If you guessed an imposing creature in a summer blockbuster monster movie, try again. If you guessed the goaltending Nieto brothers of Yorba Linda, give yourself a gold star. Lest you think we’re exaggerating, realize…
Jr. Ducks alum Urch signs with NOJHL’s Gold Miners
August 8th, 2016The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) have signed forward Taylor Urch for the upcoming 2016-17 season. Urch, an Anaheim native, comes to the Gold Miners from the Anaheim Jr. Ducks 18U AAA team that won a California state championship this past spring. During the last nine years, Urch…
Michigan-bound Slaker finds opportunity, success in USHL
July 26th, 2016When the expansion Bloomington Thunder searched for building blocks, it found an important one in Jake Slaker. The University of Michigan commit emerged as a force up front for the United States Hockey League club, helping it reach the Clark Cup Eastern Conference final in its second season. “We’ve been leaning on Jake to be…
All roads lead west in David’s climb up coaching ladder
July 22nd, 2016A chance meeting at a USA Hockey camp in Colorado Springs three years ago and a few informal dinners later planted seeds for the biggest coaching move yet in Californian Oliver David’s ascending career. It was there that David, who had just taken a job as an assistant coach with Dubuque of the United States…