The USHL and its member clubs released their 30-man rosters today as well as affiliate list. The teams are force to trim their 30-man rosters down to 23 by October 3rd after the USHL Fall Classic in Pittsburgh, PA.
We analyzed the player pool to see where the 30-man roster players are coming from and what their ages are. We also gave a brief team-by-team breakdown of their roster construction. NZ will have 6 scouts at the USHL Fall Classic to evaluate the USHL, U16 and U14 divisions.
League Breakdown
| Team | HS | Prep | U16 | U18 | USHL | NAHL | WCAN Jr | ONT Jr | Tier 3 | Euro | QC AAA | ON AAA | NCAA | CHL |
| Cedar Rapids | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Illinois Flying Aces | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chicago Steel | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Des Moines Buccaneers | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dubuque Fighting Saints | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Fargo Force | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Green Bay Gamblers | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lincoln Stars | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Madison Capitols | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muskegon Lumberjacks | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Omaha Lancers | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sioux City Musketeers | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sioux Falls Stampede | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tri-City Storm | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Waterloo Blackhawks | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Youngstown Phantoms | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 38 | 43 | 27 | 25 | 189 | 58 | 23 | 16 | 6 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Percentage | 8.1% | 9.1% | 5.7% | 5.3% | 40.1% | 12.3% | 4.9% | 3.4% | 1.3% | 6.6% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 1.5% |
These figures can be used as an educational tool for players and parents and also USHL Front offices to allocate scouting efforts appropriately. What is probably the most interesting is that players coming out of high school and prep school account for over 17% of the 30-man rosters while players coming directly out of Midget U16 and U18 account for only 12%.
The highest percentage is USHL returners who account for 40% of the league this year. The next highest is the NAHL at 12% and then Prep at 9.1%, High School at 8.1% and Europe 6.6%.
If we look deeper as to the “why” we arrive at this allocation we can see some telling signs.
- Players coming out of Canadian junior hockey only account for 8% of the total 30-man roster player pool. A lot of this is due to the import rules where the league only allows 4 imported players (+2 Canadians). Another reason would be that the USHL is trying to compete against their local CHL programs and therefore leads to a lower conversion rate of draft picks to active players.
- While the NAHL is a large junior league of 24 teams, all of the other junior leagues in the US are Tier 3 status and all of those teams put together account for less than 2% of the USHL 30-man player pool.
- While the league average shows the overall look at where players are coming from in the league; each team varies in where they focus their recruiting efforts. Central Illinois for example doesn’t have a single player out of midge hockey last year while Youngstown has 7 of them. Madison is made up of 17 USHL returners while Fargo has only 8. Chicago Steel has 0 Canadian junior players (non-CHL) on their 30-man roster while Central Ilinois has 5.
- Every team in the league has at least one Prep, NAHL and USHL returnee.
Age Breakdown
| Team | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 00-01 | 97-98 |
| Cedar Rapids | 0 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
| Central Illinois Flying Aces | 0 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Chicago Steel | 2 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| Des Moines Buccaneers | 0 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Dubuque Fighting Saints | 0 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Fargo Force | 0 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 18 |
| Green Bay Gamblers | 1 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| Lincoln Stars | 0 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| Madison Capitols | 1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| Muskegon Lumberjacks | 0 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| Omaha Lancers | 1 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 17 |
| Sioux City Musketeers | 1 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Sioux Falls Stampede | 0 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Tri-City Storm | 0 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| Waterloo Blackhawks | 0 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 13 |
| Youngstown Phantoms | 1 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Totals | 7 | 69 | 159 | 177 | 59 | 76 | 236 |
| Percentage | 1.5% | 14.6% | 33.8% | 37.6% | 12.5% | 16.1% | 50.1% |
Every team must have at least three U18 players (2000 and 2001’s) and no more than five 20 year old’s (1997) per USHL rules.
The age breakdown shows that the U18 players only represent 16% of the league while NHL Draft over-agers represent over 50%. We can see that some teams like Omaha, Fargo, Madison and Lincoln tend to have higher percentage of older players on their rosters while teams like Green Bay, Sioux City, Chicago and Waterloo tend to be much younger. Some interesting takeaways from the data:
- Only 7 players (1.5%) of 16 year old’s are on 30-man rosters
- There are nearly as many 18 year olds as 19 year olds (33.8% vs. 37.6%) and nearly as many 17 year olds as 20 year olds (14.6% vs. 16.1%).
- While 50% of the league being 19 or older is significant, it also shows that nearly half the league is 18 years old or younger which would most likely make it the youngest junior league in the United States this year.
Team by Team Analysis:
Cedar Rapids – 25 of their 30 players are 18 and 19 years old; they have a lot of new faces with only 16 players with junior hockey experience. They have 7 HS/Prep players, 3 U18’s and 4 Europeans. There 12 USHL returnees is within the league average.
Central Illinois – 22 of their 30 players are 18 and 19 years old with 4 being 17 and 4 being 20. They have a slightly lower percentage of USHL returners (11) but 23 of their 30 players have junior hockey experience. The other 7 players are coming from HS/Prep as Central has no midget players from either US or CAN.
Chicago – The only team with 2 players in the 2001 age group on their 30-man roster. They have the league lead with 8 players aged under 18. From a personel perspective they have 2 players out of the CHL and are the only team with 2 players out of Midget AAA in Quebec. The defending champions have the league lowest in USHL returners with 7 and only have 9 players with junior hockey experience.
Des Moines – 24 of their 30 players are aged 18 or 19 while 3 are 17 and 3 are 20. They have a balanced recruiting strategy with 6 HS/Prep, 4 from midget hockey, 12 USHL returners and 19 of 30 players with junior hockey experience.
Dubuque – Same as Des Moines they have 24 of 30 players aged 18 or 19 with 3 players aged 17 and 3 players aged 20. They only have 2 players out of HS/Prep and tied for league lead in 7 NAHL players with 21 players with junior hockey experience not counting 3 Europeans and a former CHL player.
Fargo – 21 of 30 players are between the ages of 18 and 19 while 4 players are 17 and 5 players are 20. They only have 8 USHL returners but they make up for it with 7 out of the NAHL and a total of 19 players with junior hockey experience.
Green Bay – 22 of 30 players are between the ages of 18 and 19 while 3 are 17 and 4 are 20. They also have our highest ranked ’01 defenseman in North America who is one of two 2001 born defenseman to make the 30-man roster. They have 11 USHL returners, 5 NAHL players and a total of 20 players with junior hockey experience.
Lincoln – The most balanced team in age with six 17 year olds, five 18 year olds, nine 19 year olds and seven 20 year olds. They have 13 USHL returners and 19 players with junior hockey experience not including 2 former CHL players.
Madison – 19 of 30 players are between the ages of 18-19 which is second lowest in the league. They have 4 players at 17 years old and 6 players aged 20. They have unique roster construction in that they have 0 players coming out of Canada, Europe and only 2 players out of Prep/HS. They lead the league in 17 USHL returners and 22 players with junior hockey experience.
Muskegon – While they have 20 of their 30 players between ages 18 and 19, they lead the league in number of 17 year olds with 7. They also have 3 players aged 20. They have 13 USHL returners and took players from junior hockey in Ontario, Western Canada and the NAHL to get 21 players with junior hockey experience not including 2 players out of Europe.
Omaha – 21 of 30 players are between the ages of 18 and 19 with 1 player at 16 years old, 3 players at 17 years old and 4 players 20 years old. The Lancers are second only to Chicago with number of Prep/HS and Midget players with 10 and only 11 USHL returners. However, 15 of their 30 players have junior hockey experience including a former college player and a CHL player.
Sioux City – 19 of 26 players are between the ages of 18 and 19 with a 16 year old, four 17 year olds and two 20 year olds. They only have 11 USHL returners and 15 total players with junior hockey experience. However they have 3 players coming out of Europe and 7 players coming out of the midget, high school and prep school ranks.
Sioux Falls – 22 of 30 players are between the ages of 18 and 19 with 4 players at age 17 and 4 players at age 20. They are second in the league in USHL returners with 15 and added players from NAHL, Ontario and Western Canadian junior leagues to get 22 players with junior hockey experience not including 4 Europeans.
Tri-City – 24 of 30 players are aged 18 or 19 while 4 players are aged 17 and 2 players are aged 20. Similar to Sioux Falls, they have 15 USHL returners, 20 total players with junior hockey experience and 4 draftees coming from Europe. They have 5 players out of HS/Prep but not a single player from midgets.
Waterloo – 19 of 30 players are between the ages of 18 and 19 with a league high 7 players aged 17 and 4 players aged 20. While they have 13 USHL returners, they only have one other player out of the NAHL with junior hockey experience. However, that doesn’t include a former NCAA player and and CHL player. They have a league high 7 players out of High School hockey and 3 more out of prep.
Youngstown – An even 10 players aged 18 and 10 players aged 19 to make 20 of 30 players in that age group. They have one 16 year old, four 17 year olds and five 20 year olds. A balanced roster with at least one player coming out of High School ,Prep, U16 Midget, U18 Midget, USHL, NAHL, Ontario Juniors, Western Canada Juniors, Tier 3 Juniors and Europe. They still managed 18 players out of 30 with junior hockey experience not including 2 Europeans.
Photo Credit: USHL
