Stepan stories

In case you missed it ...

Here is my story on Minnesota State's latest recruit, Zach Stepan, who says the No. 1 reason he chose Minnesota State was to be close to his family (his mom recently moved to Rochester). But other factors included the chance to play with his "best buddy" Teddy Blueger, with whom he was on a line at Shattck-St. Mary's School, and his good impressions and credentials of MSU coach Mike Hastings.

Stepan says that Ohio State gave him his "full release," which means there were no restrictions on his landing place once he decommitted. "They gave me my full release on my papers," he said. "THey were nice enough to let me be closer to my family and let me play where I wanted to play. I really appreciated that. It was more of a family thing than anything else. I have nothing against (OSU's new coach Steve) Rohlik."

This wasn't in the story, but when I asked Mike Hastings if he's thought of pairing Stepan with Blueger (they were quite successful on a line together at Shattuck), the coach said he's made no promises. "I'm sure there will be a day when they knock on my door and say, 'Coach can we talk? ... But it's a two-way street."

Here is Minnesota State's release about Stepan. He will be part of a class of seven freshmen, which includes his Waterloo Black Hawks teammate Mike Huntebrinker.

Earlier this week, I wrote a column about Stepan's commitment and how that should create even more excitement about the next year's Minnesota State team. And the excitement ought to be there regardless of what conference the Mavericks are playing in or what their home schedule looks like. Too many people get hung up on MSU's opponent rather than the home team. And next year the home team's going to be pretty darn good.

This week Stepan was one of 40 forwards and defensemen selected for the U.S. World Junior Team evaluation camp, which will take place in August in Lake Placid, N.Y. If he makes that team, he will be the first MSU player to do so (Blueger was the first to play in the World Junior Championships, playing for Latvia last year). He'd also play against his Minnesota State teammates in an exhibition game in Mankato scheduled for Dec. 17. So that could be fun.

Stepan will have a busy summer. He's moving to Mankato at the end of the month and taking two classes as he begins offseason workouts. He'll attend the Nashville Predators' prospect camp in July and the U.S. World Junior camp in August.

Buckeyes' loss is Mavericks' gain

predators.nashville.com

Minnesota State landed a prized recruit on Thursday, as Zach Stepan opted for the Mavericks after decommitting from Ohio State, U.S. Hockey Report reported. Apparently, Stepan, who signed with OSU in November, decided not to be a Buckeye after that school fired coach Mark Osiecki last month.

So who is Zach Stepan? A 5-foot-11, 165-pound center from Faribault, he was third in the United States Hockey League in scoring this past season with 78 points, including 32 goals. The 19-year-old was a third-round draft pick of the Nashville Predators last summer after his second season on the Shattuck-St. Mary's prep team where he was teammates with MSU's Teddy Blueger. He compiled 129 points in two seasons for that team.

He is the cousin of another Shattuck product, the New York Rangers' Derek Stepan, who played college hockey at Wisconsin.

In an article on the Predators' website, Nashville assistant general manager Paul Fenton said: "When Zach Stepan was available in the draft we knew we had a very intelligent, two-way player that we couldn't pass up. He thinks through the game and sees the ice better than a lot of players that were available at that point."

The only two players in the USHL with more points than Stepan this season were his teammates Taylor Cammarata and Justin Kloos, both of whom are Minnesota recruits. Stepan was also third in the USHL in shots on goal with 221 in 56 games.

That's a pretty darn good get for the Mavericks and coach Mike Hastings. I hope to have more on this in the near future.

UAH coach quits; UAA AD fired

Wednesday was a newsy day for the WCHA (we can stop calling it the "new" WCHA, right?) and not necessarily a good one for the schools involved.

In the afternoon, Alabama Huntsville announced that coach Kurt Kleinendorst has resigned after one year on the job. Remember, he got the position just before last season started after Chris Luongo stepped down. However, despite helping get the Chargers into a more stable situation with WCHA membership (even with a ) college hockey is not Kleinendorst's passion. Previously, he was a head coach in the AHL and an NHL assistant and scout.

"This has been a great experience for me — my first in collegiate sports," he said in a UAH press release. "I've grown to really respect the college game. This is just about me being true to myself, and my passion is for pro hockey."

Huntsville went 3-21-1 last year as a D1 independent last season, including a loss and a tie against Minnesota State. It will be interesting to see who the Chargers hire to take the program into the WCHA.

Meanwhile, in Anchorage, Alaska, the folks there were on Day 61 without a Seawolves hockey coach (still shooting for June 15!), and they decided to fire athletic director Steve Cobb due to distractions caused by criticism of Cobb, UAA Chancellor Tom Case said in a press release.

It's a mess in Anchorage. Dave Shyiak was fired as head coach on March 29, and the search since then has been a circus. First, four finalists were brought on campus for interviews in late April/early May. But an outcry from boosters and alumni — including a vote of no-confidence in Cobb by the Alaska State Hockey Association — caused the search to be suspended and restarted. Since then, there was an open forum for interested and passionate parties to express their views on the program and even a letter from Alaska's governor telling UAA to "take a stand" on athletic issues. Oh, did I mention that it came out that Shyiak had been accused of hitting a player with a hockey stick and that there had been an investigation into that by Cobb two years ago?

Whew.

As for Cobb, he's going down swinging. Besides threatening a lawsuit, he got out the flamethrower, saying University of Alaska President "Patrick Gamble may be mentally ill." He said Gamble has given the university to a lobbyist and "a few local scoundrels," which is "by definition insane and I intend to prove it in court."

Cobb has not been afraid to speak his mind. When six teams broke away from the WCHA two years ago to form the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Cobb called their plan a "sneaky back-door deal."

So which program — Huntsville or Anchorage — is more stable right now? Two years ago, Huntsville's program was on the brink of elimination, only to get a last-second reprieve. Financial commitments and a spot in a conference have righted the ship, even though it's looking for its fourth coach in five years. Then there's Anchorage, which has bungled its coaching search after firing Shyiak following eight losing seasons.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/05/29/2919938/uaa-fires-athletic-director-cobb.html#storylink=cpy

Mid-May news, notes

Minnesota State unveiled its 2013-14 schedule on Tuesday (you can see the full slate of games in this blog's right-hand column). After playing a TBA exhibition game at home during the first week, the Mavericks will open the season Oct. 11-12 at Providence. I'm guessing that will be a matchup of a couple of ranked team; should be a good one. Their home opener is the following week (Oct. 18-19) against Connecticut. MSU will begin the "new" WCHA season Nov. 1-2 at Bemidji State.

When the Mavericks take the ice at the Verizon Wireless Center in five months, expect to see some changes to the arena. The most significant change will be the size of the rink, which will go from Olympic-size (200x100) to one that is at or closer to the width of an NHL sheet (200x85). There also will be much-needed new boards and safer glass and a new floor and ice-making system. Preliminary work is underway but the main renovation is scheduled to begin sometime in June. Other changes officials hope to have in place by the start of the season include modernized concessions and new (purple) seats. For sure, the seating around the narrowed rink will need to be reconfigured.

Connecticut will come to Mankato with a new coach, having recently hired Boston College assistant Mike Cavanaugh. That's one of several coaching changes we've seen this spring, including Denver (Jim Montgomery) and Ohio State (Steve Rohlik). Maine and Alaska Anchorage are still searching for their new coaches, and the long wait (especially at the mess that is UAA right now, certainly gets one thinking about how well Minnesota State's search went 13 months ago.

At Anchorage, not only did the school suspend and then restart its coaching search process after interviewing four finalists following complaints from alumni and others in the hockey community, but now there is a report that recently fired coach Dave Shyiak has been accused of violently striking one of his players with a hockey stick during a practice.

MSU award winners

Minnesota State announced its team award winners on Sunday night, and there were no big surprises. Here are the awards:

• Eriah Hayes was named team MVP after a 20-goal, 16-assist senior season. The forward and co-captain had 12 power-play goals, which ranked second in the nation and moved up to 10th on the Mavericks' D1-era career scoring list.

• Junior defenseman Josh Nelson won the Unsung Hero Award for his consistent play and career-high numbers (5-9—14). I thought he might win Most Improved but that went to ...

• Freshman forward Taylor Herndon took Most Improved honors, as he performed admirably when Eli Zuck went down late in the season. (I always wonder what that award means. Is it improvement from one season to the next or over the course of a season. In this case, it was the latter.)

• Best Hustle or Hardest Worker went to defenseman Tyler Elbrecht. The senior co-captain also won this award in 2010-11 and has set a standard for what hustle and hard work mean at MSU.

• Star of the Year. This is based on the Three Stars of the Game Awards given out after every home game Points are given for the first second and third stars, and sophomore center Matt Leitner was at the top of the list at the end of the year. He edged Hayes, sophomore forward Johnny McInnis and freshman goalie Stephon Williams. Leitner finished the year as MSU's leading scorer with 47 points, including 30 assists.

Read MSU's release on the awards here.

Hayes finishes strong

The AHL's Worcester Sharks finished their season over the weekend, and they — and their parent club, San Jose in the NHL — had to be pleased with what they saw in now-former Maverick Eriah Hayes.

Hayes played in Worcester's final seven games and ended up with three goals and an assist. He also had four penalty minutes and 26 shots on goal, including a Sharks season-high 10 shots on goal on April 13.

Not too shabby, but not too surprising.

I'm guessing Hayes can be a very good player in the AHL. Will he be able to make the jump to the show and be the next MSU alum to get a banner at the Verizon Wireless Center? I wouldn't be against him.

A look at the recruits

NAHL photo

Wednesday was the first day of the spring signing period, and Minnesota State inked a pair of Nelsons — Josh's younger brother Casey Nelson, a defenseman, and unrelated center Jordan Nelson. They will help make up a class of six incoming freshmen for the fall.

Read more about them and coach Mike Hastings' emphasis on defensemen (including midseason transfer Blake Thompson, there will be four new D — five, when you throw medical redshirt Mat Knoll in there — and 10 total) for next year here.

Meanwhile, here's a look at all six recruits, some a few comments Hastings made in an interview on Wednesday. ...

• Casey Nelson, D, Johnstown Tomahawks (NAHL): Josh's brother (pictured) is a 6-foot-3, 180-pounder (Josh is 6-0, 180) who had 10 goals and 22 assists this past season and led all NAHL defensemen with 189 shots on goal. "We need some help at the back end, and I think Casey's  going to do that," Hastings said. "He can play power play, kill penalties, play even strength. He's got good length at 6-3. I think he's a guy who can give us a little more offensive flare from the blue line.

• Jordan Nelson, F, Fargo Force (USHL): He had 17 goals and 16 assists and was plus-10 in 56 regular-season games. The USHL playoffs began this week, and Fargo is playing Waterloo. Hastings compared Nelson to Eli Zuck, and there will be an opening at that center spot with Zuck graduating. "We hope he can step in and play a role down the middle," Hastings said. "We want that to be a position of strength for us." ... "He can skate, and he's got a little offense to his game. He plays with an edge, and he's able to defend."

• Mike Huntebrinker, F, Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL): Going into the playoffs, he had 18 goals and 24 assists in 46 games. He missed time early in the year with a wrist injury and closed the regular season with 12 points (6-6) in 10 games, including an eight-game win streak. "He's had a good second half," Hastings said. "You look to see players who make an impact at the most important time of the year, and I think he's done that."

• Carter Foguth, D, Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL): A 6-2, 210-pound defensive defenseman, Foguth had 2 goals and 3 assists and was -5 in 59 games. Hastings called him "a big body who will be hard to play against."

• Sean Flanagan, D, Penticton Vees (BCHL): The 6-1, 170-pound defenseman had 6 goals and 12 assists in 18 games between Penticton and Salmon Arm this regular season and 1 goal and 4 assists in 13 playoff games so far. "A puck distributor," Hastings said, Flanagan had 31 points a year ago. "We're trying to improve our ability to move pucks from our goal line to their goal line and make plays in all three zones."

• Cole Huggins, G, Coquitlam Express (BCHL): He went 22-23-1 with three shutouts this season. He ended up with a .905 save percentage and a 3.41 goals-against average.

"We're going to ask the young guys to come in and contribute immediately," Hastings said. "Our freshmen had an impact on our program last year, and our freshmen have to come in and make an impact next year."

The Mavericks graduate five players: forwards Zuck and Eriah Hayes, defensemen Tyler Elbrecht and Evan Mosey and goaltender Phil Cook.

Here's how the roster will shape up for next season:

Forwards (15): Zach Lehrke, Johnny McInnis, Chase Grant, Matt Leitner, Jean-Paul LaFontaine, J.P. Burkemper, Max Gaede, Charlie Thauwald, Teddy Blueger, Dylan Margonari, Brett Knowles, Bryce Gervais, Taylor Herndon, Mike Huntebrinker, Jordan Nelson.

Defensemen (10): Josh Nelson, Zach Palmquist, Brett Stern, Jon Jutzi, Nick Buchanan, Mat Knoll, Blake Thompson, Carter Foguth, Sean Flanagan, Casey Nelson.

Goalies (3): Stephon Williams, Evan Karambelas, Cole Huggins