USHL Prepares for Season of Change

By JASON LOWENTHAL

This offseason has been a bit hectic for the United States Hockey League, which saw significant change to its structure in the past couple months. Today, we take a look into some of the major changes to the nation’s lone Tier I junior hockey league that will take effect this upcoming season.

New Commissioner

The USHL welcomed Bob Fallen as president and commissioner of the league in June 2014. With nearly three decades of experience in marketing, publishing, sales, media relations, and management, Fallen replaces former president and commissioner Skip Prince, who has assumed a senior advisor position and will remain on the USHL administration. Fallen most recently worked for Reebok-CCM Hockey. He becomes the third commissioner for the USHL in the last 20 years.

Champs Go Dormant

After capturing their second Clark Cup title in team history last season, the Indiana Ice were granted dormancy for the upcoming season. Players from the Ice entered a dispersal draft this offseason, but the team will remain a Member Club in the USHL. The Steel selected defensemen Zach Osburn, forward Nick Kunin, and the rights to right wing Tyler Andrew with their dispersal draft picks.

Madison Capitols

The USHL welcomed the Madison Capitols as one of two new teams to the league back in November 2013.  Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter is a member of the team’s ownership group. Former Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) head coach and general manager Luke Strand was named the team’s head coach in its return to the league. The Capitols will call the Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center home for the 2014-15 season. The Steel will meet up with Madison for the first time on Nov. 2.

Bloomington Thunder

The Bloomington Thunder will join the Steel as a second USHL team in the state of Illinois. Dennis Williams, former head coach of the Amarillo Bulls in the North American Hockey League, will assume the same position with Bloomington in its inaugural season. The team will play their home games at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The Steel will play host to Bloomington in the home opener Oct. 3.

New Coaches

The USHL will see five new head coaches behind the bench this season, including Luke Strand and Dennis Williams, who will take over expansion teams in Madison and Bloomington. The other three newcomers are Dave Allison, Chris Hartsburg, and Pat Mikesch. Allison, most recently an assistant coach of the 2013-14 Midwest Division champion Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League, was named the 14^th head coach in Des Moines Buccaneers team history. He has to his name head coaching experience at the IHL, ECHL, UHL, OHL, AHL and NHL levels. Hartsburg, 34, returns to the USHL as the Lincoln Stars’ fourth head coach in team history. He guided the OHL’s Erie Otters to a 52-win season last year after only registering 19 victories the prior season. The Green Bay Gamblers announced Mikesch as the team’s eighth head coach in team history. Mikesch was already on staff with Green Bay as an associate head coach and director of player personnel. He also has served as an assistant coach at Michigan Tech.