Elite Prospects Hockey

 The Miami Redhawks recently received verbal commitments from forward Cody Murphy (Cedar Rapids/USHL) and Shane Berschbach (Indiana Ice/USHL) who are both Elite Prospects Alumni. Elite Prospects Director Don Harkins knows both of them well. Harkins while the GM of the Ohio Bluejackets drafted Murphy in the 2007 USHL Draft and again in the 2007 USHL Futures Draft and had his eyes on Bershbach for sometime and was ready to Draft him in the 2008 USHL Draft but Ohio ceased operations. "They are both good players but different" added Harkins. "Shane has tremendous vision and skill and slows the pace of the game down, while Cody is a high energy forward with great speed, work ethic and grit" added Harkins. "I called Shane during and shortly after the 2007 USHL Futures Draft and told him that I was very interested but had to fill other needs but to keep working hard and that hopefully we could draft him in the 2008 USHL Draft" stated Harkins. "I actually tried to sign Shane during the season last year but he decided because of school, etc. to play out his year in Midget with Little Caesar's and hope for the best in the Draft". "I told Jim Paliafito (Director of Player Personnel/ Indiana Ice) that he got the steal of the Draft, by getting Berschbach in the 7th round" "I had Shane slated for one of my two second round picks, I had acquired multiple 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks as part of the Jimmy Hayes trade, but it didn't work out with us ceasing operations" It has however worked out well for Murphy and Berschbach and both will be heading to Harkins Alma Mater in Oxford, Ohio

 The 2008 Nike Bauer AAA International Invite was played this past weekend in Chicago featuring many of North Americas stars of tomorrow. "Kevin (Mann) does a great job with this event" said Elite Prospects Director Don Harkins. "It is a can't miss event for our scouts to narrow down our short list of invitations to be sent out to prospects for our 2009 Elite Prospects Showcase" added Harkins. The Nike Bauer AAA International Invite has become the top in season tournament while the Elite Prospects Showcase continues as North Americas Top "Elite" Showcase in the Spring. "We limit the number of teams (5 or 6 per division) and this ensures the top quality of our player prospects competing" said Harkins. "Pat Kane and Jonathan Toews never played against each other in youth hockey but did at the Elite Prospects Showcase, while Kane competed for Harkins' USA Team and Toews played for Jon Calvano's Western Canada Team. "The Nike Bauer & Elite Prospects Showcase are great for hockey" said Jon Calvano. Calavano helps organize and coach various teams from Western Canada who come every year to the Elite Prospects Showcase in Detroit, Michigan in April. 

Elite Prospects Alumni John Tavares (Oshawa Generals / OHL) and Jared Cowen (Spokane Chiefs / WHL) head up the 2009 NHL Draft Class along with other alumni who are "A" rated players Brandon Maxwell, William Wrenn, and Drew Shore (US NTDP), and Tyson Barrie (Kelowna Rockets / WHL). Other Elite Prospects Alumni who were rated are "B" Players Kevin Lynch (US NTDP), Kenny Ryan (US NTDP), John Ramage (US NTDP), Mike Cichy (Tri-City / USHL), Zach Golembiewski (Indiana / USHL), and Joe Zarbo (Tri-City / USHL). "C" rated players are AJ Treais (US NTDP), Sam Calabrese (US NTDP), Kevin Albers (Green Bay / USHL), Cody Murphy (Cedar Rapids / USHL), Steve Spinell (Fargo / USHL), and Jeff Teglia (Omaha / USHL). NHL Central Scouting will release its midseason rankings of the 2009 draft-eligibles in January, followed by its final rankings in April. The 2009 NHL Entry Draft will be held on June 20-21 in Montreal, QUE.