JHR: Having been drafted to play in the OHL and having the OJHL as an option, what made you consider the USHL?
Lomberg: Foremost, it was the skill level in the league.
My advisors and coaches really pushed the USHL option. I definately was thinking about playing in the OJHL just because it was a lot closer to home, but at the end of the day its all about developing and improving your skills. My family, advisors and I thought the USHL was the best place to do that.
I choose the USHL mainly because it is really similar to the OHL and you can maintain your eligibility to play college hockey in the NCAA. I have committed (verbally) to play for the University of Maine Black Bears.
JHR: How did the Muskegon Lumberjacks find you?
Lomberg: They scouted me at the 2011 Muskegon Winter Showcase. Hill Academy entered the tournament, likely because Frank Pietrangelo, one of our coaches, used to play for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL.
Muskegon is such a beautiful town. The arena was awesome and the facilities were great. The coaching staff and ownership were nice and welcoming to me. I knew I wanted to be a Lumberjack right there and then.
I developed a lot of skills and got a lot stronger with Hill Academy. I think I’ll be able to step into USHL action and contribute right away.
The NCAA
JRH: Having committed to playing at Maine have you written the SAT’s?
Lomberg: Yes I’ve written the SAT’s. Academics are very important to me. I plan on majoring in Business. But this coming season in Muskegon I’m going to be completing my high school online. I only need 4 more credits because I took two summer school courses.
Nothing new there. The USHL is still what it was before - an opportunity for someone to play high level hockey while not compromising their NCAA eligibility. The arcticle really concerns the OJHL more than the OHL. No question the USHL is better hockey than the OJHL, but that's been known for some time.
Remember - the USHL can only have 2 imports per team. So it's not like there's going to be a mad rush of players crossing the border to play in the league.
im no expert on the subject, but is the USHL anywhere near the skill level of the OHL? correct me if im wrong but i just cant see it. it is my understanding that the USHL serves the purpose of giving kids a place to play before college much like the BCHL does but not trying to prep kids for the pro level like the OHL or WHL does.
im no expert on the subject, but is the USHL anywhere near the skill level of the OHL?
Yes.
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correct me if im wrong but i just cant see it. it is my understanding that the USHL serves the purpose of giving kids a place to play before college
You are wrong. It is a highly skilled league that allows US elite players to play at a higher level than Midgets or T2 Juniors without jeopardizing college eligibility.
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...much like the BCHL does but not trying to prep kids for the pro level like the OHL or WHL does.
The USHL has had over 200 players drafted into the NHL over the last 10 years - on par with the "Q". It's also had several of its alumni make NHL teams as FA's.
It's a somewhat problematic exercise to compare the USHLwith the CHL. Players in the USHL tend to be a year older so the offset of stars, 18-19 in USHL versus 17-18 in the CHL, is noticeable.
The USHL is a more, for lack of a better word, "patient" league than those in the CHL. Players aren't "busts" @ age 17 in the USHL as the teams rely more on the 18 and 19 year olds to carry the play.
The USHL has had over 200 players drafted into the NHL over the last 10 years - on par with the "Q". It's also had several of its alumni make NHL teams as FA's.
It's a somewhat problematic exercise to compare the USHLwith the CHL. Players in the USHL tend to be a year older so the offset of stars, 18-19 in USHL versus 17-18 in the CHL, is noticeable..
Point B is a reason to skew point A. If a 20 year old in the Q doesn't get his pro contract, he's basically done. If a 20 year old in the USHL doesn't get a pro contract, he's got 4 years in college to prove he's at least ECHL quality. Not to discount anything, but one would think a person would then put together that their play in college actually helped them make the pros, not the USHL, comparitively.
I think the whole USHL drafted player totals are fooey to be completely honest. I get why USHL fans bring them up(it seriously helps their CHL/USHL argument), but if you remove the NTDP from the numbers(and one SHOULD...as these kids do NOT play a 60 game USHL schedule...even though they've only been in the USHL for what..2 years? It's still added about 18-20 players to that "total") and go on PURE USHL players being drafted, I'm quite sure the numbers would tumble quite a bit.
Point B is a reason to skew point A. If a 20 year old in the Q doesn't get his pro contract, he's basically done. If a 20 year old in the USHL doesn't get a pro contract, he's got 4 years in college to prove he's at least ECHL quality.
A Q player can still play college in Canada - I have a friend who is an asst @ McGill and they are all over the QMJHL for players - and he can still be invited to pro development camps which all teams have now.
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Not to discount anything, but one would think a person would then put together that their play in college actually helped them make the pros, not the USHL, comparitively.
A valid point and one I loosely subscribe to. However, there is a counter school of thought which believes that college play is often a step down and it's only a handful of high profile programs from which such players emerge.
There is also a school of thought which believes that the USHL simply pays lip service to being a pro development league and that a more accurate statement would be that it's a step in the development of pro players. Frankly, tho, it's the same for the CHL. A large % of the players drafted, no matter from what league, aren't going to step on NHL ice as a player. FWIW, I agree with that POV.
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I think the whole USHL drafted player totals are fooey to be completely honest.
Well...you are arguing in the face of reality. Those players WERE drafted.
Here's a list that I've found in the meantime and there are several very good players on this list [feel free to double check my numbers]:
I get why USHL fans bring them up(it seriously helps their CHL/USHL argument), but if you remove the NTDP from the numbers(and one SHOULD...as these kids do NOT play a 60 game USHL schedule...even though they've only been in the USHL for what..2 years? It's still added about 18-20 players to that "total") and go on PURE USHL players being drafted, I'm quite sure the numbers would tumble quite a bit.
the "NDTP" issue is certainly a valid one for this year's draft but looking back it does not hold true every year.
That link is quite deceiving. When I hear the term, "drafted out of..." I think, the league they are drafted out of. A number of those players were drafted a year or two after they played in the league, either moving on to college or jumping the border. I mean, heck, if we are taking guys who play a season or half a season in a specific league into consideration, you might be shining the NAHL's shoes too. That list also seems to be a "whos who" of players who left the USHL to play in the CHL after being drafted, that might suggest something.
That link is quite deceiving. When I hear the term, "drafted out of..." I think, the league they are drafted out of. A number of those players were drafted a year or two after they played in the league, either moving on to college or jumping the border. I mean, heck, if we are taking guys who play a season or half a season in a specific league into consideration, you might be shining the NAHL's shoes too. That list also seems to be a "whos who" of players who left the USHL to play in the CHL after being drafted, that might suggest something.
My understanding is the list was put together as a compilation of those drafted the year that they had played in the USHL. I can check on that.
And there were players who jumped to CHL after they were drafted...John Carlson and John Gibson being recent notables in that regard.
Black Bears future roster taking shape By Nathan Fournier Published: 23rd November 2011
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The freshmen class for 2012 is starting to take shape for the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team.
Ryan Lomberg, last week, signed his National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Maine next season.
“It feels awesome to finally be official,” said Ryan Lomberg on signing his National Letter of Intent. “I pretty much had my mind made after I visited Maine for the first time. I fell in love with the school and the atmosphere.”
My understanding is the list was put together as a compilation of those drafted the year that they had played in the USHL. I can check on that.
It's not. Patrick Sharp was drafted in 01 out of Vermont.
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And there were players who jumped to CHL after they were drafted...John Carlson and John Gibson being recent notables in that regard.
Guys like Carlson, Kane, Gagner, leaving the USHL to go to the OHL can also be perceived as an indication that the OHL has a better level of competition.
Guys like Carlson, Kane, Gagner, leaving the USHL to go to the OHL can also be perceived as an indication that the OHL has a better level of competition.
Or just that they believed they've better opportunity to be noticed and get drafted higher in CHL. That's why, say, Grigorenko moved to CHL from Russian MHL... All indications (if we compare progress points-wise) show that Gagner or Grigorenko, in terms of collected points, follow the same pattern as equally talented guy in his 2nd CHL year....
So what is it exactly the OHL should sorry about.....going back to the original thread.
Are the HoSangs or McCanns of the world going to jump over the Sioux City all the sudden.
Not likely, and when they can be on TV 55- 60 games a year why would they.
London could very well have 65 broadcasts this season with playoffs and just came off a National TV broadcast Friday night on Sportsnet available coast to coast. Can you get that in USHL league where scouts can watch you play from airport lounge on their tablets.
So what is it exactly the OHL should sorry about.....going back to the original thread.
Are the HoSangs or McCanns of the world going to jump over the Sioux City all the sudden.
Not likely, and when they can be on TV 55- 60 games a year why would they.
London could very well have 65 broadcasts this season with playoffs and just came off a National TV broadcast Friday night on Sportsnet available coast to coast. Can you get that in USHL league where scouts can watch you play from airport lounge on their tablets.
The OHL is just getting bigger and bigger.
Oh yea?! Well, a Cedar Rapids TV station is showing like 5-6 really grainy Dubuque Fighting Saints games!*
*assuming the feed actually works. It only did for the first game and 1/2 of the third game. Didn't work at all for the second scheduled game...
So what is it exactly the OHL should sorry about.....going back to the original thread.
Are the HoSangs or McCanns of the world going to jump over the Sioux City all the sudden.
Not likely, and when they can be on TV 55- 60 games a year why would they.
London could very well have 65 broadcasts this season with playoffs and just came off a National TV broadcast Friday night on Sportsnet available coast to coast. Can you get that in USHL league where scouts can watch you play from airport lounge on their tablets.
The OHL is just getting bigger and bigger.
I believe every game in the USHL is streammed on the web on ppv. Thats a major recruiting tool for the O and the W to have a regional tv deal to go along with the national sportsnet deal
