Summer In The Studio…

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USHL teams have been talking with Moorhead goaltender Michael Bitzer leading up to this month’s Entry Draft.

Bitzer said as of a week ago, the Fargo Force isn’t one of those teams.

“I have not talked to Fargo,” Bitzer said. “But I have talked to teams from both conferences.”

Bitzer, 18, is expected to be taken in next Tuesday’s Entry Draft, which serves as a way for teams to rebuild their rosters for the upcoming season. Goaltenders are always a popular commodity and Bitzer has worked himself into be one who could get drafted.

He took Moorhead to the Minnesota state hockey tournament in March and in the process was one of the event’s stars. He was a first-team all-state selection and a first-team all-tournament selection after leading Moorhead to a fourth place finish.

Bitzer was also named the Herb Brooks Award Winner for Class 2A and won the Frank Brimsek Award for Minnesota’s best senior goaltender. Having already signed a tender with Alexandria (NAHL), he got a chance to play juniors going 3-0 with a 2.00 goals against average.

“It was a great time,” Bitzer said of his NAHL experience. “Bunch of great guys and they made it easy to come in and play right away. I went down there to get a couple starts but I got to play right away.”

The three wins surely helped Bitzer improve his stock and has possibly added to what could be a murky future.

Alexandria announced weeks ago it was moving to Brookings, S.D. for next season. Then on a week ago, coach Doc DelCastillo said he was taking the head coach position at Hamline University.

Bitzer said DelCastillo texted the entire team thanking them for what turned out to be his last season.

“As for the whole thing, it is crazy and it puts another loop in things,” Bitzer said. “He gave me a chance to play right a way and gave me an opportunity.”

Bitzer said he’s going to use the next few months to think about his future and come up with a plan which works best for him.

He’s said on numerous occasions his goal is to play college hockey and both the NAHL and USHL provide that avenue. The NAHL told The Forum last week 66 percent of its players committed to a college, whether it be Division I or Division III.

The USHL said that two years ago all but six of its 300 players – or 98 percent – had a commitment to a Division I school.

Eleven of the 15 teams eligible for the USHL Entry Draft are losing their starting goaltenders to college next season creating a need for someone who could come in and play either right a way or to a successor in waiting.

The last two Brimsek Award winners – Omaha’s Alex Lyon (Yale) and Fargo’s Zane Gothberg (North Dakota) – were drafted into the USHL. Lyon became a starter in his first season while Gothberg was a backup his first season and in his second year, emerged as a strong favorite for the USHL’s Goaltender of the Year.

The Force are one of those teams with goaltender as Gothberg heads college next season while this year’s No. 2, Reed Peters, is set to be next year’s starting goaltender.

Having two goaltenders in their system, there may or may not be a need for the Force to bring in Bitzer.

Either way, he’ll end up somewhere. Whether its Brookings or the USHL remains to be seen.

“Whatever happens in the next month or so, happens,” Bitzer said. “We can only wait and see what opportunities come my way. We’ll make a decision from there.”

One Week…

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If it feels like its been one interesting week in Sioux Falls, you might be on to something.

The Stampede fired head coach Kevin Hartzell after six seasons on Monday and on Friday the team hired former North Dakota assistant Cary Eades and he will be introduced at a press conference at 3 p.m.

Eades tweeted around 10:45 a.m. he would be taking over the position.

What Eades will inherit will be one of the more promising yet intriguing teams in the United States Hockey League next season.

The Stampede finished last in both the USHL and the Western Conference in a year marred by a lack of offensive production. Sioux Falls struggled offensively scoring a league-worst 127 goals while its defense and goaltending gave up 215 goals after establishing itself as one of the better defenses earlier in the year.

Sioux Falls could return up to 16 players including goaltender Charlie Lindgren and Todd Skirving, who finished fourth on the team in points with 25 last season. That group also includes former Moorhead forward Eric Brenk.

The team also made six selections in last week’s USHL Futures Draft taking St. Mary’s Prep forward Cody Milan with the ninth overall selection. One of the team’s selections was Fargo South defenseman Andrew Blumer, who said last week he will stay in high school for one more season before making the jump to the USHL.

Eades, before being released by North Dakota, served as an assistant for 15 years and was promoted to associate head coach back in the 2006-07 season. Before coming to North Dakota, he spent 11 seasons as the head coach of Warroad (MN-HS) and won three MInnesota state championships.

This will be Eades’ second stint in the USHL as he was the former head coach/general manager of the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the early 1990s. Eades went 86-46-7 in his time in Dubuque.

The Merchant of Portland…

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The father of National Team Development Program defenseman Seth Jones said Wednesday it was a “no-brainer” for his son to go to the WHL.

Former NBA forward Popeye Jones said there were a lot of items which helped his son decide if he wanted to spend next season with the Portland Winterhawks. Jones, 17, chose to play for the Winterhawks on Monday ending a tug-of-war for his services between the WHL’s premier franchise and the University of North Dakota.

“He put a lot of thought into it,” Popeye Jones said. “He did not want to choose a college early like a lot of kids do. We told him if you are not sure, to keep your options open. If a college is planning on you coming there, back it up. As parents, we felt it wouldn’t be a good thing to do and he didn’t think so either.”

Jones choosing Portland over North Dakota brought an end to one of the more publicized recruiting battles in recent hockey history. The 6-3, 205-pounder is projected to be the No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick in next season’s NHL Draft.

Popeye Jones said what made Portland stand out was the reputation of coach Mike Johnston, who has turned the team into one of Major Junior’s elite over the last few seasons.

Another thing, Popeye Jones said, that helped was the fact his son could continue his education while playing in the WHL.

“There is a great academic program there,” he said. “It was really important to us becuase he’s not playing in college. We want him to get a degree and get into a strong academic program. He’s a smart kid and skipped a year of high school and that in itself lets everyone know that as a family, we put education ahead of sports.”

Popeye Jones added his son wanted to stay in the United States and it is another reason why Portland made sense.

Jones’ rights were owned by the Everett Silvertips (Wash.) and were later traded to Portland further solidifying the chances he’d be staying in America.

Staying in the United States, playing for one of Major Junior’s elite franchises, having a 72-game regular season schedule coupled with producing four first-round draft picks since 2010 is what helped put Portland over North Dakota, Popeye Jones said.

“I think will all the success Portland has had,” Popeye Jones said. “And the guys they’ve developed, it was a no-brainer for him to go there.”

Popeye Jones did add that his son did enjoy his visits to North Dakota.

Though there is one question that remains for the Jones’ family. Will it be enough to convince Caleb Jones to follow his brother?

Caleb Jones was taken in the third round by Portland in last week’s WHL Bantam Draft.

Like his brother, he is a defenseman and is currently playing midget hockey in the Dallas Stars’ youth program. Popeye Jones said Caleb was a different player than his older brother describing him as “bigger and more physical.”

“He’s still trying to decide,” Popeye Jones said about Caleb’s future. “He’s a very mature kid also as is Seth and that is what he’s thinking about right now. One thing that he’d love to do, is playing in Ann Arbor. That is his goal right now.”

Should Caleb Jones follow his brother to the NTDP, which fosters what is considered to be the nation’s best talent, it appears it may not be a problem for Popeye Jones.

Popeye Jones said he was impressed and grateful for everything the NTDP did for his son’s development on the ice and way from it during his two-year stay.

He said the NTDP was everything Jones wanted it to be and more given the demands the program has on its players from an academic viewpoint as well as the mindset it takes with development.

“For me and Seth may say something different, but any kid that has the chance to go to Ann Arbor and go to the NTDP, it’s a great program,” Popeye Jones said. “It is everything as a player that Seth wanted and everything as parents we wanted. The education aspect, even the grind of it. I don’t mind the grind of it and for a young kid, that is important. Seth’s billet mother was wonderful and he also lived with Quentin Shore (Denver) and they’ve been good friends for a long time. All of that has been great for him. The gains he has made while he was there were great. He was around 170 pounds and is leaving at 205 and the strength training and hockey training of Coach (Danton) Cole, they ride kids pretty hard there and they are very disciplined there as well.”

Dawned On Me…

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Coming back to Moorhead and leading a program which gave him his start would be a dream for Ryan Kraft.

But that’s all it is and will be. A dream.

Kraft said Tuesday afternoon he looked into applying for the opening but has opted against it. Moorhead has been without a boys hockey coach for the last week after longtime coach Dave Morinville resigned after a 15-year tenure.

Kraft said he notified Moorhead activities director Don Hulbert he would not be taking the job.

“I am interested but at the same time, I have a wife and three small children,” Kraft said by phone. “You are not just talking about moving a person. You are talking about selling a house, buying a new house, a complete lifestyle change. You are talking about a whole realm of issues that have been talked about by me and my wife. At this time, we are not ready to make that change.”

Kraft, 36, played at Moorhead and as a senior enjoyed one of the best individual seasons in school history scoring 84 points (44 goals, 40 assists) in 27 games during the 1993-94 season.

He went on to have a four-year career at the University of Minnesota and after his freshman year was drafted by the San Jose Sharks. Kraft had a seven-game stint with the Sharks that was sandwiched by stints in the ECHL and AHL. He played the last few seasons of his pro career in Germany before retiring in 2010.

Kraft now lives in Lakeville, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb, where he is a personal skating coach and an assistant at Lakeville North. He had been an assistant with the Hastings girls hockey program during the 2010-11 season.

“We feel we have all the elements in place to put together a good program,” he said about Lakeville North. “Not just one that wins games but one that sends players to the next level.”

Kraft said he received quite a few phone calls last week after Morinville announced he would be resigning.

Taking over the Moorhead program was something he had to think about.

Aside from it being his alma mater, Moorhead has gone on to establish itself as one of Minnesota’s prominent yet at times, most hard-luck program having finished second a record seven times without a state title victory at the Minnesota state tournament.

Moorhead reached the state tournament this season where it upset title front-runner Eagan and finished fourth.

“I played for Terry Cullen and I loved playing for him,” Kraft said. “If it were me hiring, he’d be the prototypical guy and have him do the thing all over again. I think the program needs a kick in the butt. Not to say Dave Morinville didn’t do a great job. He did a tremendous job but there is always time for a change and its type of change the Moorhead program needs.”

He added the next head coach should be a former alum and/or someone who is willing to put the time into making Moorhead a winner.

“I know they are looking for a teacher/coach combination and filling a teaching position is something I know they are considering,” Kraft said. “If it were me and I had a list of 10 candidates, I’d pick the best one to do the job for hockey. There are so many great teachers at Moorhead, they don’t need another one. But they need someone to run a great program because hockey is what puts Moorhead on the map.”

Portland Song…

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Defenseman Seth Jones finally answered the question on the minds of many junior and college hockey fans across North America.

Would it be Portland and the Western Hockey League or North Dakota and the NCAA? Turns out Mr. Jones is headed to the Pacific Northwest after all. The National Team Development Program defenseman said Monday he would be playing in the WHL next season forgoing his college eligibility.

His younger brother, Caleb, was drafted by Portland last week in the WHL’s Bantam Draft with the 64th overall pick.

Jones’ decision, in regards to junior hockey, was a landmark choice for the season given his potential. Many NHL scouts and pundits have projected Jones to either be the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.

At 6-3, 205 pounds, the 17-year-old Jones has shown in various USHL games and international competitions why he’s so coveted. His smooth skating stride, ability to deliver a heavy check, his crisp passing and powerful slapshot are the qualities he has become known for.

He scored 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 20 games for the NTDP’s U-18 team which had a light USHL schedule compared to other teams which play 60 games. The NTDP’s U-18 team faces a schedule comprised of international competition, college exhibition games and the USHL regular season.

Jones’ decision takes him to a Winterhawks franchise which has certainly been dominating the WHL as of late. The Winterhawks have won 40 or more games the last three years and in the process have produced four first round picks since 2010.

This season has also allowed the WHL to continue its reputation of being a league which grooms defensemen as up to six blueliners could go in the first round of this year’s NHL Draft.

Jones’ rights were initially owned by the Everett Silvertips, a struggling franchise also in the WHL. His rights were traded weeks ago further fueling the idea he would bypass North Dakota for a chance to play in what might be the hottest spot for Major Junior.

Losing the shot at Jones adds to what has been a hard year for North Dakota’s recruiting class, which opened the season as arguably one of the best in the nation.

NTDP forward Stefan Matteau, who played alongside Jones this year, announced he was decommitting to play next season in The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where his father is an assistant coach. North Dakota then took another hit two weekends ago with forward Miles Koules declaring his intentions to play in the WHL next season with Medicine Hat.

The two departures combined with losing Jones takes what was an impressive-looking recruiting class and adds a bit of a tarnish even if next year’s incoming class will include up to five players such as Fargo Force goaltender Zane Gothberg (Boston Bruins), who is the frontrunner for the USHL Goaltender of the Year.

One player who is still committed to North Dakota is Green Bay Gamblers defenseman Jordan Schmaltz. Schmaltz, who is expected to be a second-round pick this summer, has been linked several times with a move to the Ontario Hockey League as the Windsor Spitfires have allegedly made aggressive advances towards getting him.

Spitfires general manager and former Colorado Avalanche forward Warren Rychel said in The Windsor Star earlier in the season the team would be making a run for Schmaltz and that going Major Junior would be better for his development.

Out The Door…

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For so long Kevin Hartzell was considered to be an example of the United States Hockey League’s stability among coaches.

Not anymore.

Hartzell was fired by the team on Monday after his seventh season resulted in a season where youth, a lack of scoring and the loss of elite talent resulted in the Stampede faltering and finishing last in both the Western Conference and the USHL.

The former University of Minnesota captain completed his 14th season as a head coach. His career was one of the most successful in the USHL having amassed more than 400 wins while winning two Clark Cup trophies and two Anderson Cup titles as well.

He previously coached the defunct St. Paul Vulcans for six seasons where he won 195 games, according to the Stampede’s website.

Hartzell between his stops in St. Paul and Sioux Falls established himself as one of the league’s best coaches. Coming into the 2011-12 season, he had won 30 or more games in four of his five seasons.

This year wasn’t as kind to Hartzell who led the Stampede to a 17-36-7 mark as he coached one of the league’s most inexperienced teams.

Sioux Falls’ season started rough when brothers Ryan, Connor and Mike Reilly (Minnesota) all left to play for Penticton (BCHL) joining up with Mario Lucia (Notre Dame/Minnesota Wild), a 2010 Stampede Entry Draft Pick, spearheading one of Junior ‘A’s most prolific team.

If the Reillys and Lucia had stayed, it could have very well been the difference between finishing last or making the playoffs in a Western Conference where talent, regardless of experience, paid dividends.

Yet Sioux Falls struggled offensively scoring a league-worst 127 goals while its defense and goaltending gave up 215 goals after establishing itself as one of the better defenses earlier in the year.

Forwards Kyle Rankin (Princeton) and Justin Selman (Michigan) tied for the team lead in points with 34. They finished in a tie for the league’s 59th leading scorer as three players in the league had more goals then the two had points put together.

All of this resulted in the Stampede being a dismal minus-283 on the season while racking up 1,020 penalty minutes, the fifth-most in the USHL.

Whoever replaces Hartzell walks into a team which does have a strong future depending upon how players develop.

Sioux Falls could return up to 16 players including goaltender Charlie Lindgren and Todd Skirving, who finished fourth on the team in points with 25 last season. The team also made six selections in last week’s USHL Futures Draft taking St. Mary’s Prep forward Cody Milan with the ninth overall selection.

Hartzell becomes the sixth head coach to be fired in the league this year and the most recent since the Indiana Ice fired former Yale assistant Kyle Wallack prior to the start of the Clark Cup Playoffs.

In all, 12 of the USHL’s 16 teams have hired new head coaches in the last season either due to coaches leaving for college jobs or being fired.

With You Friends…

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Fargo Force chief scout Jesse Davis told the team’s website on Sunday defensemen  Dominic Racobaldo and Taylor Richart will be back next year.

The Force had a story on their blog looking at the college options of players such as forward Dave Gust, Racobaldo and Richart. Gust, who will be back next season, told Slightly Chilled during the playoffs he’d hope to have a decision made by the summer.

Having Racobaldo and Richart return adds to what could be an experienced defense which could have a hard time allowing any new faces to break into the frame.

Racobaldo was part of an early season trade with Omaha and his addition gave the Force a physical edge which it showed against Lincoln in the second round of the USHL Playoffs.

Richart, who played at Blaine (MN-HS) with Force forward Jonny Brodzinski (St. Cloud State), gave the Force a consistent top-4 defenseman with offensive upside. His 16 points were third among the team’s defensemen.

The Force, barring any changes, will lose two defenseman in captain Brian Cooper (Nebraska-Omaha) and Willie Corrin (Minnesota-Duluth).

It appears next year’s defense could feature Richart, Racobaldo, Justin Wade (Notre Dame), Neal Goff, David Mead and Taylor Fleming among its returning players practically giving the Force six defensemen to roll with.

Those six defensemen, assuming that’s what the Force have by the time training camp starts, would give the team one of the most experienced and potentially promising blue lines in the USHL next season.

Wade developed into the stay-at-home, shutdown defenseman many had expected this season and still can continue his development. Fleming and Goff, both first-year players, developed throughout the year with Goff being extremely vital in the playoffs in a forward-defenseman hybrid role. Racobaldo and Mead added a physicality the team was lacking earlier in the year while Richart could be a culmination of all those assets.

The Force will also be adding 16-year-old defenseman Butrus Ghafari (Western Michigan) to next year’s roster. Ghafari was the team’s first and only tender signing this season. Tender signings, per league rules, prompt teams to dress a player in a specified amount of games meaning Ghafari would feature frequently for the Force.

Ghafari, who is already 5-11 and 185 pounds, will feature in at least half of the team’s games next season.

Having Ghafari would give the team seven defensemen already and that’s not even including the much-talked about Charlie Pelnik (North Dakota).

Pelnik was the Force’ tenth overall in last season’s Futures Draft and was expected to play for the team this season until it was determined he needed more development before coming to the Force.

Pelnik, who is 6-4 and 185 pounds, spent this season at Shattuck-St. Mary’s (MN-HS) where he played in 44 games and put up 11 points.

Ghafari and Pelnik are two of three defensemen the Force had on its affiliates list this year who could come in and play next season. The other, Dante Suffredini, played 26 games for Detroit Honeybaked this season.

Of course all that could change as the USHL Entry Draft is on May 22.

The Entry Draft allows teams will holes to fill for the upcoming season or the foreseeable future. It appears the Force should have quite a bit to work with at defense for next season but it’s possible the team could still draft more defensemen.

Man Machine…

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Most kids who were taken in Tuesday’s USHL Futures Draft were probably huddled around a computer with family watching to see where they’d be taken.

Some were probably doing whatever they normally do on a Tuesday. Andrew Blumer falls under that category as he was playing in a high school baseball doubleheader when he was drafted by the Sioux Falls Stampede in the sixth round.

“I asked my dad during the game for a Gatorade and he showed me the news of where I had been drafted,” Blumer said. “Being drafted was great. I was dehydrated so getting the Gatorade was great too but the getting drafted was huge and exciting.”

“Huge” is something that could easily describe the 6-5 Blumer, who was a defense at Fargo South this season. “Exciting”, in the case of Sioux Falls, is something the team hopes Blumer can be when he arrives to the team.

Blumer was on the radar earlier in the year of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. It is a program which fosters what is considered to be the nation’s best talent and trains them for two years in the hopes of being America’s future NHL stars.

He didn’t receive an invite from the NTDP and if he would have, he’d have been the third player in North Dakota’s history to play for the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based program.

Even still, Blumer is happy with knowing he has a chance to play and develop in the USHL, which two years ago sent 98 percent of its players to Division I colleges.

“College hockey is a great accomplishment,” Blumer said. “I’ve always wanted to play at North Dakota and it has always been my dream. If baseball takes me there or hockey takes me there, it is a dream I want to pursue.”

Blumer, who is a pitcher and a shortstop, said he’ll play next season – his junior year – for the South/Shanley co-op and then look at making the jump the USHL.

He wants to play one more year so he can have a chance to work on a few items such as his speed before heading into the USHL where he will see undoubtedly faster, stronger and better talent.

Blumer’s approach is similar to many drafted in the Futures Draft. Nearly half of last year’s first-round picks didn’t play in the USHL as the Futures Draft is seen as a chance for younger players to develop and then in a year or two, advance to the league.

“I am a big guy and cannot move that fast and the game was faster this year than it was in bantams,” said Blumer, who has a year of high school hockey under his belt. “At first, it was really fast jumping from bantams to high school but I thought I got used to it. I am not 100 percent of the way there and I want to come back next year and improve getting faster and quicker and hopefully slowing down the game and making better decisions.”

When the time comes for Blumer to arrive in Sioux Falls, he could be walking into what could be a good situation.

Sioux Falls was the youngest and least experienced team in the league. They finished with the worst record in the Western Conference but appear to have the pieces in place to be better next season.

The Stampede, which also have former Moorhead forward Eric Brenk, also had a strong Futures Draft and in two years could be a realistic threat to win the Western Conference.

“I didn’t think I was going to get drafted to tell you the truth,” Blumer said. “But it all worked out. I had never talked to (Sioux Falls). I had talked to some other guys but I am glad they drafted me.”

Better Man…

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A few weeks ago during a Fargo Force game, I was having the usual back-and-forth with NHL scouts.

Those guys are apt for discussing anything hockey-related. Doesn’t matter what the topic is. We were talking about something and out of the blue one of them asked about Waterloo Black Hawks forward Taylor Cammarata (Minnesota).

Specifically, the scout asked when am I going to do the story on how “amazing” the Waterloo forward has been as a rookie this year. I responded that I actually did that story but there’s a story no one knows that really tells it all about Cammarata.

This got him intrigued and with that, here is the story you don’t know about Cammarata.

Anyone who has read this blog since November knows my mother was diagnosed with cancer and I took time away from this thing to go visit her in Florida.

Several people – Force parents, Force officials, officials within the USHL, officials within USHL teams, parents of players in the league and total strangers – were all extremely kind and gracious by saying they were thinking and/or praying for my mother.

When I got back to Fargo practically every kid on the team wanted to know how she was doing and the same goes for the Force’s coaching staff and front office.

But of all the players in the USHL, Taylor Cammarata was the only one who emailed me about it.

Let that sink in for a second.

The NHL scouts that heard this story didn’t let it sink in as they were stunned to hear about this. It generated one of those, “you’re making that up” or “you’ve got to be screwing with me” looks.

Yeah, I write for a living but even I couldn’t make that one up. He really did send an email – most likely between school and practice – to let me know he was hoping my mother was getting better from cancer.

And no, I am not screwing with you.

Here’s a 16-year-old who I’d interviewed only once and he’s emailing me to see how my mother is doing and to let me know that he and his family are praying for her.

Very rarely will you ever read a column on this blog regarding the personal interactions I have with people within this league. As a journalist, I feel the storyteller should never be the story or even involved in the story unless its for something like a column. Even then, make it about the subject.

This is not one of those times.

Cammarata has certainly impressed many with what he’s done this year.

A year ago, he was the No. 1 overall pick in the USHL Futures Draft. Now, he’s a 60-plus point scorer in a league often dominated by older, more experienced players who are considerably taller and bigger.

Yet here he is – all 5-6 and a 146 pounds – and he’s a series away from leading the Black Hawks to the Clark Cup Finals. Pretty impressive then again, this is the same kid who did score 170 points in Midget AA at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and last season scored 139 points for Shattuck’s U-16 Team.

On the ice, there is an expectation with him that he could be one of the better talents to play in the USHL in recent years. And let’s be honest, if he scored 69 points (27 goals, 42 assists) as a rookie, it’s fair to suggest he could have a 100-point season next year.

Off the ice is what makes Cammarata, in this case, different than most of his peers.

Those differences are what will ultimately define Cammarata throughout his young and promising career.

And those differences are what made this the greatest story about Taylor Cammarata you didn’t know.

Until now.

Out There On The Ice…

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Fargo Force defenseman Brian Cooper (Nebraska-Omaha) was invited on Thursday to the NHL’s Central Scouting Draft Combine.

Cooper, 18, was one of 13 USHL players invited to the camp which starts at the end of May in Toronto. Eighty-eight North American players (78 skaters, 10 goaltenders) were invited along with 17 European players (14 skaters, three goaltenders) to the combine.

In all, it is considered to be the best collection of players eligible for the NHL Draft.

The combine will run May 28 through June 2 giving NHL teams a chance to meet and speak with potential prospects.

Quite a few NHL teams have spoken with Cooper, who in the last three years has emerged as a possible third-or-fourth round pick in this summer’s draft.

The 5-10, 180-pound defenseman was the Force’s team captain and played a different style than he’s showed in the past. A young defensive corps made Cooper more of a stay-at-home defenseman who wasn’t involved much in the rush like had been in previous seasons.

Cooper finished the season with 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists) in 55 games and a plus-16 rating in 55 games this year. He also represented Team USA at the World Junior “A” Challenge for the second year in a row.

He captained the team to a bronze medal.

Cooper came to the Force as a 15-year-old and in his three-year career put up 70 points (20 goals, 50 assists) while amassing 293 penalty minutes in 161 career games while playing in a Clark Cup Finals as a rookie.

In all, he was a member of three playoff teams. He finished this year’s USHL Playoffs with three points in five games as the Force were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by the Lincoln Stars.

He’s currently a senior at Fargo South where holds a 3.8 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society. After graduation, he’ll go to Nebraska-Omaha and has said he would pursue being a podiatrist if his hockey career does not work out.

Cooper is one of several Force players eligible for this year’s draft.

Defenseman Justin Wade (Notre Dame) along with forwards Austin Farley (Minnesota-Duluth), Jay Dickman, Nate Arentz and Dominic Toninato (Minnesota-Duluth) are all also eligible for the draft.