General | 11/6/2024 9:19:57 AM
Since its inception, the United States Hockey League (USHL) development model has been holistically and intentionally aligned with the student-athlete experience.
The USHL remains the world’s premier development path. All aspects of the League are focused on preparing athletes for collegiate and professional hockey, inclusive of on-ice, academic and character development.
The USHL claims more than half of NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey players, while producing more NHL draft picks than any other league in the world over the past eight seasons. The USHL prepares players by providing them exposure, resources and experiences that empower young men for peak success.
USHL IN THE NEWS
PATH TO PRO
- 195+ Alumni on 32 NHL Opening Night Rosters
- 910+ Alumni on NCAA 2024-25 DI Rosters
- With ten first-round selections and 49 total picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, the USHL has developed the most draft choices of any junior hockey league since 2012.
- The USHL has produced more selections than the OHL, WHL and QMJHL for eight straight years.
- The USHL’s ten first-round selections in 2024 tied a league record previously set in 2016. It marked the 16th consecutive year the USHL has had multiple first-round picks and extended the run to 20 years with at least one selection.
- Macklin Celebrini (CHI/San Jose – 2024) is one of four other first-overall picks with USHL lineage: Owen Power (CHI/Buffalo – 2021) Jack Hughes (NTDP/New Jersey – 2019), Auston Matthews (NTDP/Toronto Maple Leafs – 2016) and Rick DiPietro (NTDP/New York Islanders – 2000)
- Multiple players who played last season in the USHL signed NHL entry-level contracts including: Matvei Gridin (MUS/Calgary Flames), Ilya Protas (DM/Washington Capitals), Julian Lutz (GB/Utah Hockey Club) and Juraj Pekarcik (DUB/St. Louis Blues).
USHL IN THE NCAA
- More than 365 players in the USHL are committed to play NCAA Division I college hockey, accounting for 80% of all players in the league.
- The conferences with the most committed players include:
- NCHC: 85+
- Big Ten: 80+
- Hockey East: 75+
- The teams with the most committed players include Michigan, Harvard and UMass
- Michigan: 17
- Miami: 16
- Michigan State: 15
- 270+ USHL alumni played in the NHL during the 2023-24 season and 12 USHL were named NCAA First-Team All-Americans.
- Macklin Celebrini (CHI/Boston University) won the Hobey Baker Award, Greg Brown (DUB/Boston College) won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year and Kyle McClellan (OMA/Wisconsin) won the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA Goalie of the Year.
- The USHL claims 8 of the last 10 Hobey Baker winners and has represented 88% of American Hockey Coaches Association (ACHA) First-Team All-Americans in the last five years.
