Chicago Steel a proving ground for NHL hopefuls
The road to the NHL skates right through Fox Valley for one local hockey team - or so they hope.
The Chicago Steel has been skating in the USHL since 2000 and this season moved to the Fox Valley Ice Arena for its home games.
The United States Hockey League is the top junior league in the U.S., with players age 20 and younger. The USHL is amateur, allowing players to then compete in NCAA college hockey - and of course dream of making it to the NHL, someday.
Based in Chicago, the USHL is the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league in 2015-16. A record 37 players were chosen in the 2015 NHL Draft and more than 375 players on team rosters last season committed to NCAA Division I schools.
"I think this is the best junior league in the world. The competition is incredible," said Steel head coach Dan Muse. "You have top players from the United States, and also from around the world, who want to come here and play in this league. I can already see this early in the season that every game is going to be a dogfight. You cannot take any (opponent) lightly.
"This is an unbelievable place for players to develop, an unbelievable place and level (of play) for fans to watch this game. These guys are hungry and determined - and it really is a pure form of the game."
The Steel is off to a 4-8-1-1 record through 14 games after beating conference leader Dubuque Fighting Saints 4-1 on the road Saturday.
The Steel next plays at home at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Youngstown Phantoms, with a rematch at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Fox Valley Ice Arena.
"We have a fantastic group of young men who are extremely determined, excited to be coming to the rink every day - and they come ready to work. I'm excited about where we can be by the end of the season," Muse said.
The Steel play mostly weekend games through early April. The Sioux Falls Stampede are the defending Clark Cup champions, while Youngstown won the Anderson Cup as the 2014-15 regular season champions.
Chicago plays in the nine-team Eastern Conference, along with rivals Bloomington Thunder, Madison (Wis.) Capitols and Dubuque (Iowa). The eight-team Western Conference features such perennial powers as the Lincoln Stars and Omaha Lancers.
The Steel's biggest strength this season is team speed and goaltending, Muse said. Daniel Vladar and John Lethemon will split the Steel goaltending duties. Vladar has allowed 19 goals in 8 games, and his 1-4-1-1 record includes a shutout. Lethemon has allowed 17 goals in 7 games and carries a 3-4-0-0 record.
The NHL Central Scouting's list of the top USHL players eligible for the 2016 NHL Draft features three Steel skaters: left wing Max Zimmer, center Tanner Laczynski, and defenseman Matt Kiersted. Zimmer, a Minnesota native, has committed to play for the University of Wisconsin.
Jake Jaremko (8 goals, 4 assists in 14 games) and Laczynski (2G/10A in 13 games) lead the Steel in scoring.
"There's not a single guy (on the team) who I can say that we don't trust," Muse said. "Guys like (forward) Marc Johnstone, who might not (appear) on the scoresheet as much as some other guys, but he's made major contributions every time he's stepped on the ice. So, when you have guys like that throughout your entire lineup, it's exciting."
The Steel defense is mixed, with some smaller players "who can really skate," Muse said, along with others who play more of a physical game.
The Steel in late-August won the bronze medal at the Junior Club World Cup, held in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The Steel captured the bronze in front of 3,000 fans to secure a record fourth consecutive medal for the USHL and USA Hockey, a Junior Club World Cup record. Laczynski scored the game-winning goal and earned game MVP honors.
"There is a very long list of positives that came out of that trip, with (team) chemistry at the top," Muse said. "To have an experience like we did - traveling together, eating all of our meals together, and competing in an international tournament - I don't know if there's a better way for a group of individuals to come together and really start to become a team than a trip like that.
"I think that (trip) was a huge advantage for us to start the year and it will (continue) to be a huge advantage for us as we move through the year."
Steel at-a-glance
Here are a few more facts about the Chicago Steel and the USHL:
Top 3 former Steel players: Andy Miele, 2006-08; Tom Gilbert, 2000-02; and John Moore, 2007-2009.
Top 3 former USHL players: Max Pacioretty (Sioux City Musketeers, 2006-07), David Backes (Lincoln Stars, 2001-03), and Joe Pavelski (Waterloo Black Hawks, 2002-04).
•Top 3 oldest USHL teams: Waterloo Black Hawks (founded in 1962), Sioux City Musketeers (1972), and Des Moines Buccaneers (1980).
Noteworthy coaches: Jon Cooper, head coach of Tampa Bay Lightning, holds the all-time winning percentage in the USHL. He coached the Green Bay Gamblers from 2008-10. P.K. O'Handley is the longest acting coach in the USHL, having coached 784 games from 2002-15.
Still students: The Steel players are still student-athletes. They stay with host families in the area and attend school, even high school for some.
Player age-range: 16 to 20.
Steel's new home rink, Fox Valley Ice Arena: "I think this is a great location for a junior hockey team, the right location for us," Chicago head coach Dan Muse said.
- Ross Forman