September 2010 - Rubber Magazine

CaliRubber.com 3

From the Editor: 

Orange County worthy 

of NAPHL acceptance 

The folks at Orange County 

Hockey Club received some 

good news last month, as its U18 

team was accepted into the North 

American Prospects Hockey League 

(NAPHL). 

It’s only in its second season, 

but the NAPHL, a 38-team Midget 

and Bantam league backed organizationally 

by the North American 

Hockey League (NAHL), the only 

Tier II Junior A league in the U.S., 

has already mustered up some serious 

clout in the junior, collegiate and 

professional scouting circles. 

For OC Hockey Club, it’s more 

proof the young program is heading 

in the right direction and a deserving 

opportunity for Jim Burcar and 

his crew to expose their kids to top 

competition across the country. 

OC Hockey Club isn’t the only 

California team in the NAPHL; the 

San Jose Sharks boast squads at the 

U18, U16 and U14 levels, while the 

California Titans will ice a team in 

the U16 bracket. 

You can read more on OCHC’s 

promising developmental agenda on 

Page 13. 

The Pacific District Select team 

demonstrated just how strong 

hockey is in the West, finishing as 

the runner-up at the 2010 Multi- 

District Select 14 Festival at Kent 

State University in Kent, Ohio, over 

the summer. 

Not too bad for a first-year invitee. 

The festival brought together 

some of the top 1996 birth-year 

players not chosen for the U.S. 

National Festival from the Atlantic, 

Michigan, Mid-Am, Southeast, Massachusetts 

and Pacific districts for a 

competitive experience. 

Five players - Sean Lincoln 

(Orange County Hockey Club), 

Hiroki Takahashi (San Jose Jr. 

Sharks), Austin Elchinoff (Jr. 

Sharks), Franklin Newman (LA 

Hockey Club) and Joseph Sriprajittichai 

(California Heat) - represented 

California on the 17-man 

roster. 

The Pacific Selects opened the 

tournament with a shootout loss to 

Dave 

Werstine 

the Atlantics, but rebounded with 

wins over the Southeast and Mid- 

Am districts to reach the finals. In 

the title game, the Pacific team fell 

to Michigan. 

“We proved worthy to be invited 

back,” said Pacific head coach Jeff 

Noviello. “It was a great experience.” 

Noviello, a longtime coach in the 

Anaheim Jr. Ducks program, was 

aided by assistant Scott Yath and 

team leader Travis Frisk. 

Congratulations go out to one 

of my hockey friends, Bobby 

Walls, on an award long overdue. 

Walls, of the ECHL’s Ontario 

Reign, recently won the league’s 

Athletic Trainer of the Year Award, 

as voted by the league’s trainers. 

Walls, whom I’ve known since 

his days with the now-defunct 

minor-pro Long Beach Ice Dogs, has 

been a staple of many a locker room 

over the past decade or so. 

“Bob is committed to the players, 

the team and helping us continue 

to be a premier destination in the 

ECHL,” said Reign coach Karl Taylor. 

Agreed. Walls has proved to be 

as hard-working, dedicated and caring 

as any in the business. 

In the spirit of giving, we here at 

California Rubber are beginning 

a new promotion in which we’re 

offering up free hockey prizes every 

month. All that you, the reader, 

need to do is register at CaliRubber.com 

(see more on the contest on 

Page 18). Good luck!. b 

California Rubber Magazine is published by: 

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10 times a year, once monthly September through May 

and once in the summer. 

Postmaster: send address changes to: 

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Publisher: Brian McDonough, brian@goodsportmedia.com 

Senior editor & web editor: Dave Werstine, dave@calirubber.com 

Senior designer: Jennifer Hron, hron@goodsportmedia.com 

Inline editor: Phillip Brents, phillip@calirubber.com 

California Rubber Magazine 

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On the Cover: From left, Ice Station Valencia skaters Chris Alexander (Express Mites, In-House), Joey Allegrini (Pee 

Wee A Express), Dylan San Augustin (Pee Wee A Express) and Justin Lebeouf (Pee Wee A Express) 

Cover Photo / Jayne Oncea - Fast Jayne Photography 

Santa Clarita, CA - Phone: (661) 317-3774 - FastJaynePhotography.com 

TWIN KILLING 

Sisters Lindsay, left, and Cortney Reyes, who won bronze medals 

in the Atom Platinum division with the 949 Anarchy, were two 

of many Californians to take home hardware from this summer’s 

NARCh Finals in San Jose. See story on Page 20. Photo/Photography66.com 

Contact Dave Werstine at dave@calirubber.com 

4

CrossIceAd_RubberMag_Layout 1 8/17/10 8:26 AM Page 1 

Selanne Youth Foundation Brings Opportunity 

Emerging charitable endeavor is helping open doors for local kids 

By Dave Thorpe 

The Teemu Selanne Youth 

Sports Foundation may be 

in its infancy, but it’s already 

making an impact and has high 

hopes of building on its early 

success in order to help more 

kids in the future. 

Right now, the centerpiece 

of the foundation is the Teemu 

Selanne Celebrity Golf Classic, 

which will take place on Nov. 

22 at the Coto de Caza Golf 

and Racquet Club in Orange 

County. 

The club boasts a pair of 

18-hole golf courses designed 

by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. 

The North Course was named 

one of the nation’s top 25 tracks 

that were built in 1987 by Golf 

Digest Magazine. 

Leo Fenn and Tom 

Howhannesian, along with 

Selanne, who recently re-signed 

with the Anaheim Ducks, are 

the co-founders and co-directors 

of the Foundation. Fenn and 

Howhannesian are working 

with Selanne to make sure the 

foundation grows. 

“Last year, the golf tournament 

was an unbelievable success,” 

Fenn said. “Teemu broke 

his hand in a (hockey) game a 

few days before the event, and 

he still showed up for the entire 

golf tourney and went to the 

dinner. He’s amazing; he loves 

to give back to the community.” 

Selanne, from Helsinki, Finland, 

has a very successful and 

far-reaching foundation back 

home called the Finnish Flash 

Foundation. 

“We want this foundation to 

be like that one, but here in the 

U.S.,” Fenn said. 

Several former hockey 

players took part in last year’s 

fundraising golf tournament 

with Selanne, including Randy 

Burridge, Dave Karpa, Craig 

Johnson, Ian Turnbull, Guy 

Hebert and Jim Fox. 

“It was a great turnout last 

year, and we’re looking to build 

on that,” Howhannesian said. 

The foundation is looking to 

bring in not only more hockey 

players, but also athletes from 

other sports and celebrities. 

“It’s a brand-new foundation 

and the support has been 

great from the hockey community; 

they are all enthusiastic, 

humble, great people,” Howhannesian 

said. “But we also want 

to expand it. The foundation 

is going to grow in a way that 

hopefully we can’t even fathom. 

We want to put the foundation 

on the map and have enough resources 

to make a huge impact.” 

The foundation already has 

raised money for the Anaheim 

Jr. Ducks and the JSerra High 

School hockey program. It has 

also been able to send young 

players to prestigious hockey 

camps around the country. 

The foundation is committed 

to helping a larger number 

of programs and kids in the 

future, and it all starts with the 

second annual Teemu Selanne 

Celebrity Golf Classic, which 

promises to be a grand event. 

The foundation is in the 

midst of planning a poker and 

pairings party on Nov. 20 - the 

Saturday night before the 

Monday golf tournament - at a 

high-end hotel in South Orange 

County. There also will be live 

and silent auctions. 

“We want to open it up and 

bring more people in to have 

this experience,” Howhannesian 

said. “The goal is to make it an 

inviting event with the average 

person walking away from 

the tournament having gained 

something, like a great experience 

and the satisfaction giving 

brings.” 

With two courses at Coto de 

The Anaheim Ducks’ Teemu Selanne has always been front and center when it comes to community 

involvement. 

Caza Golf and Racquet Club, 

there’s room for 288 players and 

the foundation expects to fill 

all the spots. Last year, the golf 

tournament had 174 participants. 

“We are looking to create an 

atmosphere of giving and fun, 

for the general public and great 

athletes,” Howhannesian said. 

Selanne helps through his 

own participation and character, 

which also figures to be on 

display. 

“Teemu is an incredibly 

charitable guy, particularly 

with kids,” Howhannesian said. 

“He gives so much to kids; he’s 

so personable and humble. He 

transcends society with his 

character and play on the ice. 

He has a free-giving spirit.” 

The foundation hopes 

Selanne’s free-giving spirit rubs 

off on everyone. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity 

for us to raise a lot of 

money for the kids and provide 

them opportunities they 

normally wouldn’t have,” Fenn 

said. b 


Perfect 10 

Hockey continues to thrive as Ice Station Valencia celebrates milestone season 

By Dave Werstine 

When Ice Station Valencia opened 

its doors a decade ago, the thought 

was to give the people in the Santa Clarita 

Valley a haven for everything ice. 

With three sheets of it and programs 

from everything from hockey to curling, 

Ice Station Valencia is certainly the 

entertainment complex that originators 

had hoped. And more. 

“Pretty much anything you can do 

on ice, we offer it,” said Scott Allegrini, 

the director of hockey operations at ISV, 

which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary 

of serving the public starting in 

October. 

With an NHL-sized rink that holds 

more than 1,200 spectators for hockey 

games and other skating spectacles, an 

Olympic-sized rink and the pint-sized 

Pond rink, Ice Station Valencia runs the 

most comprehensive hockey program in 

Southern California and is host to figure 

skaters, speed skaters and curlers. ISV 

also holds public session skates, broomball 

games, bumper car races and an assortment 

of other community activities. 

“We opened the doors 10 years ago 

and we’re still growing,” said Allegrini. 

From the beginning to now, the focal 

point of Ice Station Valencia continues to 

be its vast hockey program. 

ISV is the only arena in Los Angeles 

County to give opportunities to every 

hockey player, from beginners, to novice, 

to advanced, to juniors, to college and 

adult. 

“We’re one of just a few facilities in 

California to give you all of that, from 

beginning to end,” Allegrini said. “We 

didn’t have a Junior A franchise when 

the rink first opened, and we didn’t have 

tier hockey back then, either. We’ve 

come a long ways since we had teams 

in five or six divisions when we first 

opened.” 

The rink’s steppingstone program 

begins with Hockey Tots 

skating classes and the 

Little Tykes Hockey 

Program, which 

introduces hockey to 

children ages 6 and younger 

in a fun environment on the perfectly 

sized Pond ice surface. Most of the 

equipment is provided on a loaner basis, 

allowing kids a chance to take a look at 

the sport without parents spending a lot 

of money. 

Players then graduate to the Mini- 

Mite program, which is designed with 

the intention of developing players 7 and 

under in a team and league atmosphere, 

and the in-house Valencia Youth Hockey 

League. 

For those players looking for a bigger 

challenge and more development to their 

games, the next move could be the traveling/club 

level, where Ice Station Valencia 

is home to the Valencia Express and 

California Heat. 

The Express, which will field seven 

teams in the A or B divisions this sea- 

Now 10 years old, Ice Station Valencia is not only 

home to hockey, but figure skating, speed skating 

and curling as well. 

son, is designed to provide a competitive, 

fair, fun and positive environment 

that promotes player development and 

character of those wishing to compete at 

a higher level of competition. 

The Heat, with six teams at the 

tier level (AA or AAA) this year, is the 

next destination for budding hockey 

stars. The club is an alliance established 

between the Valencia Express and the 

West Valley Wolves associations to keep 

stronger players in the Los Angeles 

County North Valley area, and its mission 

is to compete annually for national 

titles. 

“You always have to have a steppingstone,” 

Allegrini said. “You 

start with the in-house 

league and learn to 

skate. If you don’t have 

that, the kids will go 

somewhere else. We want to 

try to develop as many local kids as 

we can.” 

Upon the completion of a youth 

career, the most serious of players have 

a chance to play for the Valencia Flyers, 

the rink’s Junior A entry in the Western 

States Hockey League (WSHL). 

This year, the Flyers will a play 

42-game schedule - 21 of them at Ice 

Station Valencia - against Western Division 

foes the Bay City Bombers, Phoenix 

Polar Bears, Boise Jr. Steelheads, Bakersfield 

Jr. Condors, Fresno Monsters 

and Arizona Redhawks. 

“This is our headline program when 

it comes to hockey,” Allegrini said of the 

Flyers, who have competed out of ISV 

since their inaugural 2001-02 season, 

first at the Junior B level and the last 

four at Junior A. “It’s been really successful. 

We haven’t won a championship, 

but we always have a competitive team. 

We’ve made the playoffs more times 

than not.” 

Other options for players as they 

grow a little older are the high school 

league and the College of the Canyons 

program. 

The Ice Station High School Hockey 

League regularly provides fast, hardhitting 

games with the added thrill of 

school rivalries. The arena is consistently 

at capacity during these games, 

which normally include teams from the 

Valencia area, Saugus, Canyon Country, 

Newhall, Antelope Valley, Bakersfield, 

West Valley and Burbank-Glendale. 

The College of the Canyons program 

is a destination for student-athletes 

moving on after high school who would 

like to continue playing a high level of 

competition. 

The Cougars play in the Pacific 

Collegiate Hockey Association (PCHA), 

a statewide league, and the American 

Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), a 

national organization. They’ve been consistently 

ranked among the top teams 

in the state and have finished as high as 

fifth in the nation. 

The final destination for all hockey 

players, whether they started when they 

were 6 or 16 - or even 32 - is the adult 

league. 

Ice Station Valencia provides one 

of the finest and largest adult hockey 

programs in So Cal, the Valencia Senior 

Hockey League. With more than 400 

members, the circuit offers two seasons 

(Spring-Summer and Fall-Winter) per 

year in six divisions: Levels I, II, III, Upper 

Novice, Novice and Over 40. 

“We can keep you going as long 

as possible,” Allegrini said of the vast 

hockey programs offered at ISV. “We 

think in the long term here. Whether 

you starting playing youth hockey or not, 

you always end up in adult leagues. We 

see lots of that: Little Billy who started 

playing here 10 or 15 years ago comes 

full circle.” 

Ice Station Valencia recently experienced 

its first real hockey success story 

when Shane Harper signed with the 

NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers in May. A 

Valencia native, Harper is the first ISV 

player to sign an NHL contract. 

“It took 10 years, but he’s the first 

one to go that route,” Allegrini said. 

The news regarding Harper, who 

led the Ice Station High School Hockey 

League in scoring in 2005 and his 

Valencia High team to the championship, 

should send a message to all those 

currently playing at ISV and yearning to 

follow in his footsteps: Yes, you can do it. 

“To see him have success like that, 

it helps keep the dream alive,” Allegrini 

said. 

ISV, which holds numerous youth 

tournaments during the year, also has 

incorporated a new hockey-specific gym, 

the Performance Hockey Academy training 

center, and has a full-service pro 

shop, Zero Celsius, for hockey players’ 

many needs. 

“For the kids, it’s a huge benefit 

for them. It’ll give a huge advantage to 

those who use it,” Allegrini said of the 

training center. “It’s open for everyone. 

It’s open to the mom whose kid is 

practicing and has an hour and a half to 

kill.” b 

6


LA Hockey Club / LA Selects 

California 2000s show 

well at Brick tourney 

The California 2000s proved to 

be one of the stingiest teams at 

this summer’s Brick Invitational 

tournament, a premier hockey event 

held annually in Edmonton for players 

10-and-under in North America. 

Led by goaltender Mattias Sholl, 

the California all-stars allowed just 

nine goals in five games to finish with 

a 2-3 mark, establishing themselves 

as one of the showcase’s best defensive 

clubs. 

“That was a very interesting 

statistic to note for our team,” said 

Andrew Cohen, program director for 

the California Brick team. “We didn’t 

have a lot of offensive punch this year, 

but I was amazed at the character 

displayed by our team in their end of 

the ice.” 

While Sholl was solid it net, 

he received plenty of help from his 

teammates: Californians Ben Becker, 

Slava Demin, Noah Kim, Duke 

Fishman, Jamie Cates, Nicholas 

LAHockeyClub.com • LASelects.com 

HOCKEY CLUB 

Kent, Drake Usher, Ryan Yoshida, 

Harrison Schreiber, Josh Harburn 

and Ryan Antonakis; and Zac Sirota, 

Erik Middendorf, Ryan O’Reilly, 

Pierre Forget and Ryan Savage, all 

of whom hail from out of state. 

“It was a team effort,” said Igor 

Nikulin, who capped off his 12th year 

coaching with the California entry. 

“The level of play by some of these 

players at 10 years old is very similar 

to what we see at the Pee Wee AA level 

here in SCAHA.” 

Craig Johnson, a former NHLer, 

joined the coaching staff this year and 

was amazed by the caliber of play at 

Brick. 

“I heard about the tournament, but 

once I got to Edmonton and witnessed 

the skill level, the speed of play and the 

event itself being much more than just 

a hockey tournament, it was everything 

advertised,” he said. “I look forward 

to being there next year with the ‘01 

team.” b 

Mite/Mini-Mite Inhouse 

Every Saturday and Sunday beginning 

September 2010 – March 2011 

First 4 weeks are free for first time 

students through our Glacial Garden 

“LEARN TO PLAY HOCKEY program. 

For complete information 

Email us at: LAHockeyInfo@aol.com 

www.lahockeyclub.com 

8

Ice Station Valencia 

Skating treadmill 

highlights training center 


The skill level of hockey players in 

Santa Clarita Valley will be on the 

rise soon, thanks in part to the new 

Performance Hockey Academy training 

center at Ice Station Valencia. 

The goal of the facility, run by 

Valencia Flyers’ Junior A head coach 

Trevor Sack, is to incorporate a 

hockey-specific program that focuses on 

the various aspects of off-ice training, 

such as core work, speed, strength, 

balance and acceleration, to help 

players ages 10 and up reach the next 

level. 

“This gives players a chance to 

improve their game without being 

on the ice,” said Sack. “If a player is 

working out at a gym, we thought, 

‘Why not go to a place where things are 

taught by guys who coach hockey?’” 

The focal point of the workout 

center, which opened its doors last 

month, is the new skating treadmill, a 

IceStation.net 

leading-edge tool to help hockey players 

reach skating excellence without 

stepping onto the ice. 

“This is the only skating treadmill 

in Santa Clarita,” said Sack. “The 

closest one to here is an hour away in 

Lakewood.” 

The treadmill offers players a 

chance to work on their stride (forward 

and backward) while under constant 

teaching from coaches. It gives players 

the ability to skate continuously 

without the need to turn, allowing for 

concentration on more powerful skating 

habits. It also has speed controls and 

elevates to challenge players as they 

learn. 

The training center, which will 

cater to club and junior players at Ice 

Station, is also available for outside 

players. The facility will have times for 

players to “drop in” for training. 

“We want every player to be able 

to use the equipment,” Sack said. “We 

didn’t want to create an elitist gym.”b 

JSerra Ice Lions 

Bantam team created 

as feeder program 


JSerra High has been at the 

forefront of the high school hockey 

movement since its inception in 2008. 

So it comes as no surprise that 

the San Juan Capistrano-based 

catholic school was the first to take its 

budding organization one step further 

this year with the addition of the Jr. 

Ice Lions. 

Already with varsity and junior 

varsity teams in place, JSerra felt 

adding a “feeder” team to the mix was 

a must if the program was to continue 

to move forward. 

“In order to be a pure high school 

program, which allows you to get 

into the national tournament, all 

of your players need to be enrolled 

at the school,” said Mark Russell, 

the marketing and communications 

director of the Ice Lions. “To get 20 

guys (out of a student population of 

about 1,100) who can play at that 

JSerraIceLions.org 

level is hard to do. The only way to do 

that is to create a feeder program.” 

Hence, the birth of the Jr. Ice 

Lions, who will play in the SCAHA/ 

CAHA Bantam AA level and are 

eligible for the playoffs. 

“You’ve got to have recruiting,” 

said Dave Pauluzzi, president and 

founder of the program. “The JV 

program just wasn’t enough, so we 

created the Jr. Ice Lions team to gets 

kids interested in the school and the 

hockey program and immerse them 

into our philosophy.” 

JV coach Kelly Askew, along 

with assistant Ben Frank, will guide 

the Jr. Ice Lions in their inaugural 

season. 

“We’re about forming a high 

school program - a hockey academy 

where kids will get a great education, 

become great players and better 

people,” Russell said. “We’re trying to 

create a program where players can 

skate together for four years.” b 

Anaheim Jr. Ducks - Pee Wee B2/Squirt A2 

Pee Wee B2’s, 

Squirt A2’s share bond 

By Joe Duffy 

The Anaheim Jr. Ducks’ Pee Wee B2 

and Squirt A2 teams have a special 

bond. Not only do they practice, travel 

and participate in off-ice activities 

together, they also share the same head 

coach: Leo Fenn. 

“We’re very fortunate to have a 

family atmosphere that connects our two 

teams,” said Fenn. “Our Pee Wees are 

like the big brother who looks after his 

little brother, our Squirts. I think part 

of this stems from our philosophy, which 

is to grow teams with kids that stay 

together to become not only great hockey 

players, but outstanding adults as well.” 

After sharing some very special 

moments together last year, such as 

playing in the Silver Stick regional 

tournament in San Jose and against 

each other at the Honda Center (home 

of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks), both 

teams will spend New Year’s in Ottawa, 

Canada, this year to play in the Bell 

Capital Cup, the world’s largest hockey 

tournament for players 9-to-12 years old. 

“We feel privileged to be invited to 

one of the most prestigious ice hockey 

tournaments in the world,” said Fenn. 

“It’s going to be a busy holiday season. 

Our Squirts are also heading back to 

Silver Stick in November to defend their 

Pacific regional championship title.” 

The Pee Wee B2 team includes: 

Jackson Blogg, Anthony Capraro, 

Richard Cota, Brennan Davis, Brady 

Duggan, Bowen Frabotta, Riley 

Fenn, Erik Hayton, James Hayton, 

Garrett Howhannesian, Nicolas 

Lazalde, Justin Norris, Nicholas 

Payne, Mason Pilkington (captain), 

Zach Pires, Cole Rubin and Eddie 

Wolbert. 

The Squirt A2 team includes: 

Nathaniel Acker, Gabe Ari, Matthew 

Berezowski (captain), Justin Camba, 

Devin Cetrone, Connor Duffy, 

Ian Gonzalez, Cameron Miller, 

JROC Nicolai, Trevor Pica, Ethan 

Pittman, Leevi Selanne and Jackson 

Wozniak.b 

JrDucksSqA.com - JrDucksPWB.com 

CaliRubber.com 

9

Chalk Talk: 

Let’s do our best 

to keep hockey 

growing 

Larry 

Bruyere 

It’s that time of year 

again. The days are 

beginning to get shorter, 

the leaves are turning 

colors and there’s a bit of 

a nip in the air as the sun 

goes down early. It won’t 

be long before the snow 

flies, and, once the ponds 

freeze over, we’ll be out 

there everyday shooting 

the puck around. 

No, not here in California, 

but when I was growing up in 

the Northeast, September and 

October were filled with anticipation 

and anxiety as we waited 

for good ice to appear on the 

lakes and ponds. The local town 

rink would follow suit shortly 

thereafter and “the game was 

on,” as we’d be playing hockey 

for about four months with great 

vigor. 

It didn’t matter that the 

temperature was 10-15 degrees 

below zero at times and, invariably, 

someone would get their 

tongue stuck on the goal post 

and we’d have frost-bitten feet. 

It didn’t matter that it’d snow 

all night long and we’d have to 

shovel the ice for hours just to 

be able to use the surface. It was 

such a magical time and, if you 

weren’t home doing homework 

or eating, you were surely out on 

the ice somewhere. 

That phenomenon is pretty 

much gone now, even in the 

cold parts of our country where 

hockey is such an important part 

of the culture. The proliferation 

of ice arenas across the U.S. has 

largely moved the sport indoors 

and commercialized it to the 

point where we play hockey 12 

months a year now. 

Is that a good thing? Well, 

it’s a necessary evil to keep the 

privately owned facilities open 

and, while it does help to develop 

some pretty terrific hockey talent, 

it also contributes to the 

burnout factor that has USA 

Hockey worried as it relates to 

the future of the game. 

As hockey coaches, probably 

the No. 1 responsibility we have 

to our players and to the game of 

hockey is to keep the game fun 

and exciting. It’s our responsibility 

to ensure that they really 

want to come to the rink. 

Sure, it’s necessary that we 

work them hard to improve their 

skill level, but it’s critical that 

we keep it enjoyable and exciting 

so they’ll want to come back for 

years to come. 

When we were only able to 

skate from November through 

February and the sun was our 

enemy in the springtime, we 

crammed every minute of ice 

time into those few months to be 

able to enjoy this great game for 

as long as we could. 

The participation numbers 

for youth hockey in the U.S. 

show a dramatic drop-off after 

Bantam as players are leaving 

the sport at the ages of 15 and 

16. Coaches have the most influence 

on young hockey players 

and, without that influence being 

positive, those rinks that have 

been built over the years will 

start closing and we don’t have 

any lakes or ponds to fall back 

on here in California. 

As coaches, let’s make this 

our mantra: Hockey is a great 

sport. Let’s keep it growing! b 

Larry Bruyere is the coach-in-chief of USA Hockey’s Pacific District 

and also operates Channel Islands Ice Center. 

Baker’s Experience, Passion a 

Winning Recipe for Nor Cal 

The former Shark wants nothing more than to see local hockey flourish 

By Eddie Graveline 

When Jamie Baker scored the gamewinning 

goal that propelled the San 

Jose Sharks past the Detroit Red Wings 

in the first round of the 1994 Stanley Cup 

Playoffs, he secured a permanent spot in 

Northern California hockey history. 

That goal earned the Sharks, who 

were making their first playoff appearance 

in franchise history, the respect due to a 

legitimate contender. Baker retired from 

professional hockey in 1999, but, in the 

time since, he’s continued to be an influential 

figure in the Nor Cal hockey circles. 

Baker might 

actually be busier 

now than he was 

as a player. He 

works as a color 

commentator on 

the Sharks’ radio 

broadcasts and is 

an analyst on the 

pre- and postgame 

television 

shows on Comcast 

Sports Network. 

He’s also 

become a wellestablished 

youth 

hockey coach and 

currently oversees 

the Santa Clara 

Blackhawks’ 

Midget AA team. 

He’s been helping 

out with Vacaville 

Jets program as 

well and generally 

lending a hand 

whenever and 

wherever he’s able. 

“I’m passionate 

about hockey in 

Northern California, period,” said Baker, 

an Ontario, Canada, native who played 

his collegiate hockey at New York’s St. 

Lawrence University. 

Not only has Baker not limited himself 

to working with one youth organization, 

he sees all levels of hockey as important to 

the overall growth of the sport. 

“Sharks Ice in San Jose has the largest 

adult hockey league west of the Mississippi,” 

he noted. “That’s awesome, because 

every player, no matter what level they 

reach, eventually ends up in the adult 

leagues.” 

The important thing, Baker says, is 

that hockey is growing in Northern California, 

but that doesn’t seem to be enough 

for some. 

Former San Jose Shark Jamie Baker, now a color commentator 

on the team’s radio broadcasts, has become a fixture in the 

Northern California youth hockey scene. Photo/San Jose Sharks 

“People need to be satisfied with the 

fact that it’s growing,” he suggested. 

“There’s too much focus on the end result 

instead of the journey or process of getting 

there.” 

Comparisons to Southern California 

are inevitable, but Baker doesn’t see them 

as valid. 

“It takes time to get better athletes 

playing hockey,” he explained. “We’ve 

already seen some success stories, but 

hockey isn’t the first choice for a lot of Nor 

Cal athletes. 

“What we have to realize, though, 

is that we’re just 

now seeing the first 

generation of Nor 

Cal kids that grew 

up with the Sharks 

always being there.” 

Of course, 

Southern California 

has more rinks, more 

clubs and a larger 

population. Plus, 

they’ve had NHL 

hockey for over 40 

years. 

But not one to 

complain without 

offering solutions, 

Baker has ideas 

about how to continue 

the growth up 

north. 

“There needs to 

be a lot more focus 

on skill development 

in younger players,” 

he stated in direct 

accordance with USA 

Hockey’s American 

Development Model 

(ADM). “All of the Nor Cal clubs should 

see having one of their players go on to 

play AAA for the (San Jose) Jr. Sharks as 

successful development, but they think 

of it as losing a player. We need to focus 

on the growth of the game in the entire 

region, not just our individual clubs.” 

Baker’s opinions aren’t without merit. 

The value of his guidance can be seen 

in his own family where his daughter, 

Bridget, has been invited to attend the 

North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) 

in Vermont this fall. She will play on the 

Jr. Sharks’ U19 tournament team as well. 

“I just love being around the rink and 

teaching hockey,” he said. 

And as long as he continues to do that, 

progress will be made.b 

10

San Jose Sharks 

Sharks, Fans Help Keep Local Beach Clean 

Partnership with Save Our Shores continues at a popular Santa Cruz destination 

Every bit of plastic that’s ever been 

created still exists; every water 

bottle, sand toy and beach ball ends up 

somewhere once you’re done with it. 

When plastic and trash are left on 

the beach, it ends up in the ocean where 

it accumulates in swirling seas of debris, 

the largest of which resides midway 

between Hawaii and San Francisco and 

contains approximately 3.5 million tons 

of trash. 

This is known as The Great Garbage 

Patch, and it’s roughly twice the size of 

Texas. 

On Aug. 18, San Jose Sharks fans 

came together at Cowell’s Beach to try 

and keep trash and plastic from making 

its way into the ocean. Seventy-two volunteers 

and five members of the Sharks 

organization picked up 71 pounds of 

trash and 33 pounds of recyclable materials 

on the beach. 

Together, everyone was thinking 

globally and acting locally. 

This was the third beach cleanup 

hosted by the Sharks organization since 

they adopted Cowell’s Beach in 2009. 

Working with Save Our Shores, the 

Sharks and their fans have removed 

231 pounds of trash and 63 pounds of 

recyclable materials from one of Santa 

Cruz’s most popular surfing spots. 

Following a recurring trend, cigarette 

butts were the most common item 

collected by volunteers. Since Save Our 

Shores began its trash removal programs 

three years ago, it has collected 

more than 295,000 butts from local 

beaches. This is a serious problem and, 

ironically, their solution has an unintentional 

tie-in to the Sharks. 

A young San Jose Sharks fan gets ready to comb the sand during the team’s August effort to help tidy up Cowell’s 

Beach in Santa Cruz. Photo/San Jose Sharks 

“In Santa Cruz and the city of Capitola, 

we’ve installed these BaitTanks,” 

said Laura Kasa, executive director of 

Save Our Shores. “They have a sharks 

fin on top and it says, ‘Save some fish. 

Feed me butts.’ They’ve just recently 

been up and people have already started 

using them.” 

The BaitTank stands about the 

height of a parking meter and allows 

smokers to put out their cigarettes along 

a grated plate on the front and dispose 

them by dropping them inside the receptacle. 

Kasa’s plan is to have her organization 

monitor the amount of cigarettes 

picked up before the installation of the 

BaitTanks versus the amount of cigarettes 

picked up after. Since this is only 

a pilot project that was funded by a 

grant from the State Coastal Conservatory, 

Kasa has to prove these receptacles 

work before she can apply for more. 

“They’re really unusual looking so 

people are intrigued,” Kasa said, “but 

they’re also getting the message that 

cigarette butts are toxic and harmful to 

fish.” b 

SJSharks.com 


Toyota Sports Center 

Sholl Stands Tall at Brick Tournament 

The California 2000s netminder earns all-star recognition at the summer showcase 


At the 2010 Brick Tournament 

in Edmonton over the 

summer, the California 2000s 

put together an impressive 

showing at the elite showcase for 

players 10 and under. 

And nobody had a bigger 

impact on the team than Los 

Angeles Jr. Kings goaltender 

Mattias Sholl, who was a star 

among stars at the tournament. 

Behind a strong defense, 

which included fellow Jr. Kings 

teammate Duke Fishman, the 

California 2000s went 2-3 in 

one of the tournament’s more 

competitive years, but left with 

the distinction of being one of 

the best defensive teams to have 

played in the event. 

Sholl was an integral part 

of the defense. He finished the 

tournament with a goals-against 

average of just 1.00 and an 

impressive .933 save percentage. 

For his performance, he was 

named a first-team all-star, becoming 

just the third California 

player to receive the prestigious 

honor in the 21 years of the 

Brick Tournament. 

“Mattias did really well. He 

was the standout player for our 

team,” said Igor Nikulin, who 

coached the California entry. 

“He was very good, very stable 

and very consistent. He’s not big 

- in fact he’s kind of small in the 

net - but he’s technically very 

strong. He made some crucial 

saves for us in some very crucial 

situations.” 

Sholl’s success seems to be 

just starting as he looks to follow 

in the footsteps of his father, 

Brad, a former netminder who 

played both ice and roller hockey 

professionally before becoming 

the general manager at Toyota 

Sports Center, as well as his 

brother, Tomas, a goaltender 

for the Jr. Kings’ U16 AAA 

team. 

Credit also goes to Mattias’ 

goalie coach, Jamie Storr, but 

nobody was more tickled by his 

accomplishments at the Brick 

than dad. 

“The trip and tournament 

was the best experience ever,” 

said Brad Sholl, “and Mattias 

becoming only the third California 

player in 21 years to get 

first all-star was very satisfying. 

I could’ve never imagined going 

there and him doing that well 

and having his named called out 

in front of all those people at the 

closing ceremonies.” 

In five tournament games, 

the California 2000s allowed just 

nine goals (1.80 goals per game) 

against a very tough schedule 

that included matchups with 

both teams that made the championship 

finals. 

Fishman, who scored a goal 

in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver 

Vipers in an exhibition game 

in Edmonton, was a plus on 

the blue line for the California 

2000s. His offensive, puck-rushing 

skills were a definite plus, 

said Nikulin, who has guided 

the California all-stars a dozen 

times. 

“I was really glad we had 

Duke on the roster,” said 

Nikulin. “He’s such an offensivedefenseman. 

He can carry the 

puck. He did really well. In fact, 

the defensemen overall played 

really well.” 

Coming off the team’s success 

and looking to build on it, 

Toyota Sports Center will be 

Mattias Sholl posted a stingy 1.00 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage for the 

California 2000s at this summer’s Brick Tournament in Edmonton. 

hosting a “Half Brick” tournament 

next June. 

The hopes are to bring in 

five teams from Western North 

America to join California in a 

weekend of friendly games to 

tune up for the 2011 Brick Tournament. 

“We are calling it the ‘Half 

Brick’ because normally 12 

teams are at the Brick Tournament,” 

said Andrew Cohen, the 

director of the California Brick 

program. “We want to get some 

games in against some other 

teams going to the tournament.” 

The quality of play is so 

phenomenal - sometimes a 

shock for players - that playing 

some tune-up games will help 

the team get accustomed to the 

speed and skill level before the 

opening faceoff. 

“The skill level at the Brick 

Tournament is unbelievably 

high,” Cohen said. “Just look 

at the program and you’ll see 

a list of players who are in the 

NHL who played in the tournament 

when they were 10 years 

old.” b 

ToyotaSportsCenter.com 

12

OCHC’s Core Continues to Strengthen 

A commitment to off-ice training is paying dividends for the young program 


Two years ago, Jim Burcar 

felt it was time for teams 

at the Orange County Hockey 

Club (OCHC) to work smarter, 

not harder. 

The change in philosophy 

paid dividends last season as 

15 of 17 OCHC teams made 

the SCAHA playoffs, including 

two teams that went on to win 

championships: The Midget 16 

AA team brought home a firstever 

national title and the Pee 

Wee B team claimed the CAHA 

crown. 

Burcar, owner of the 

Connor Rickabus of OCHC’s Bantam AA team takes advantage of the off-ice training at the 

Barron Hockey Academy, which is located inside the Orange County Ice Palace. 

Orange County Ice Palace, 

believes it was a program-wide 

commitment to hockey-specific 

off-ice training with certified 

athletic trainers that brought 

the club its most successful 

season to date. Before last year, 

OCHC (and before that the 

Yorba Linda Blackhawks) had 

never qualified for nationals in 

its 11-year history. 

“We always felt our teams 

at Orange County Hockey Club 

always put in the hard work to 

be successful,” said Burcar, who 

coached the national championship 

team. “We’ve really emphasized 

training the kids all year 

long. It was our second year of 

doing it and it really paid off. 

And we want to continue on 

that course.” 

Before, coaches, like Burcar, 

would take their teams in the 

parking lot of the rink before 

or after practice and have the 

players run, do some squats, 

stickhandle and maybe even 

some weightlifting - just plain 

old-fashioned hard work. 

Now, OCHC players are 

left to athletic trainers, who 

put the kids through a gamut 

of innovative off-ice workouts, 

including the skating treadmill, 

once or twice a week at 

the Barron Hockey Academy 

inside the Ice Palace to improve 

their games on the rink. Given 

the same hard work as before, 

players and coaches are seeing 

better results from the training 

routine. 

“We weren’t 100 percent 

satisfied with what was going 

on,” Burcar said of why OCHC 

adopted the off-ice training regimen. 

“It’s a big change from the 

way players trained 10 years 

ago. We put a lot of thought into 

how to train the guys. It’s been 

a game-changer in the hockey 

landscape with all of our teams 

committed to it.” 

While the training has 

helped OCHC players become 

better on the ice, that’s not 

what the off-ice has been all 

about. 

“Our approach, where we’re 

going, is an all-encompassing 

training,” Burcar said. “We’re 

training the entire athlete; not 

just a hockey player. We’re enhancing 

their whole body, foot 

speed and core strength.” 

While there are some 

extra costs associated with the 

training, it appears that So Cal 

players and their families are 

yearning for that extra competitive 

edge. 

After tryouts, OCHC had 18 

teams, according to Burcar. Of 

those, two are Tier I (18 AAA 

and 16 AAA) and five are Tier II 

(18 AA, 16 AA, two Bantam AA 

and Pee Wee AA). Next season, 

Burcar is hoping to have four 

teams at Tier I with the addition 

of Bantam AAA and Pee 

Wee AAA. 

“It shows that we’re starting 

to attract more kids and 

families that like the direction 

we’ve laid out for them, that 

we prepare them not only as 

hockey players, but train their 

bodies to be athletes,” Burcar 

said. 

But the OCHC program is 

not all about the top end. The 

club is also devoted to the advancement 

of lower-level teams 

and attracting new players to 

the sport, like the CAHA-winning 

Pee Wee B team coached 

by Sean Beaty. 

“We’re trying to grow the 

base of younger kids playing 

hockey,” Burcar said. “Younger 

teams are the future of the program 

here. We’ve adopted the 

ADM (American Development 

Model of hockey training). We 

like what USA Hockey is doing 

in terms of lots of skill development.” 

b 


A Sled Hockey Experience 

to Remember 

The chance to volunteer is a rewarding opportunity 

By Justine Duran 

walked inside the rink at Center Ice 

I in Ontario with a touch of fear in the 

back of my mind, not knowing what to 

expect. 

That first day of volunteering, we 

put ourselves in their shoes and tried 

our hand at sled hockey. The core of our 

power had to come from our arms and 

upper body in order to propel across the 

ice with small, wooden sticks. 

We lined up at the goal line preparing 

to start a drill we could usually 

master with our eyes closed, but, as it 

started, we soon realized the difficulty 

of carrying the puck with the same stick 

that helped us move along the ice. 

Towards the end of our first practice, 

a guy that looked as if he was in 

his 20s - not much older than myself 

- arrived at the rink. His name was 

Trent, and he was disabled from the 

chest down. 

Glen Trefry, the Ontario Reign’s 

Hockey Ambassador, lifted him onto 

one of the sleds as we all watched in 

awe the courage of this young man. 

The second he hit the ice, there was no 

stopping him. He quickly learned the 

ropes - certainly quicker than I had. 

There was no doubt he had that 

hockey mentality. He had no fear of falling 

over or sliding into anyone around 

him. He smiled as he sped up and down 

the ice and scored a couple of goals. All 

of us volunteers left the rink that day 

content with smiles on our faces. 

Little did we know there was more 

to come. 

The following Sunday, I pulled up 

to the rink excited, but I didn’t know 

what to expect. There were sleds lined 

up against the boards, but I knew this 

week they weren’t for us. Soon, adults 

and children in wheelchairs and on 

crutches started streaming into the 

rink. We helped each of them get onto a 

sled, and, as they were put onto the ice, 

a volunteer was assigned to a person in 

a sled. 

One little girl caught my eye and I 

immediately volunteered to assist her. 

Theresa Thompson, my teammate, 

volunteered to help her as well. The 

little girl’s name was Elina and she 

had cerebral palsy, a condition that 

limits control over your muscles. 

That made it very challenging for 

her to grip the sticks, and Theresa and 

I had no idea how to deal with a condition 

like this and didn’t know how to 

help her. 

However, Elina’s mother came onto 

the ice and gave us some tips on how 

get her moving. She even suggested we 

put her movements into a song. 

As we got a system down, she was 

unstoppable. Her smile was contagious 

and she lit up to whole building. Every 

time she smiled or laughed, her whole 

body shook with excitement. 

Her mother and dog proudly looked 

on, and the delight on mom’s face 

reminded me of when my mom watches 

my games. 

It was a look that no photo could 

capture, when something seemed so little 

could mean so much. As I took a look 

around the rink, I no longer saw strangers, 

but friends who had come together 

through hockey. All of the problems of 

the outside world were forgotten as we 

all joined together to fight something 

bigger than ourselves. 

When I first volunteered, I thought 

I was participating for disabled adults 

and children, but, in actuality, I’ve gotten 

much more out of the experience. 

I’m grateful to have been a part of it. b 

Justine Duran is a member of the 

Anaheim Lady Ducks’ 19U team. 

Elina, with Lady Duck Justine Duran, was all smiles after 

participating in sled hockey at Ontario’s Center Ice Arena. 

Photo/Photography66.com 

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Anaheim Ducks 

High School League Continues to Grow 

Five more teams, three new schools will drop the puck this season 

The Anaheim Ducks have added five 

teams and three new schools to the 

Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey 

League (ADHSHL) for the 2010-11 season. 

Joining the existing Santa Margarita 

Catholic High (Santa Margarita) 

and JSerra Catholic High (San Juan 

Capistrano) programs are Servite High 

School (Anaheim), Damien High School 

(La Verne) and Lutheran High School of 

Orange County (Orange). 

“The Anaheim Ducks High School 

Hockey League has taken a tremendous 

step forward,” said Art Trottier, general 

manager of Anaheim/Westminster ICE 

and director of the ADHSHL. “The 

addition of these five teams will help the 

growth of hockey in Southern California 

and give young players an opportunity 

to play at a high level without having to 

leave home.” 

The ADHSHL is now comprised 

of seven teams from five local schools. 

JSerra and Santa Margarita, which 

began with varsity programs, will add junior 

varsity teams while Servite, Damien 

and Orange Lutheran will debut in junior 

varsity. 

Current ADHSHL head coaches 

Dave Karpa (JSerra varsity) and Craig 

Johnson (Santa Margarita varsity) will 

be joined by: Jason Marshall (Orange 

Lutheran), Randy Burridge (Servite); 

Arne Pappin (Damien); Kelly Askew 

(JSerra junior varsity); and Dennis 

Hands (Santa Margarita junior varsity). 

All league games will be played on 

Saturdays at The Rinks - Anaheim ICE. 

A former Duck, Marshall, a defenseman, 

played 12 NHL seasons with St. 

Louis, Anaheim, Washington, Minnesota 

and San Jose, collecting 16 goals for 67 

points with 1,004 penalty minutes in 526 

career games. 

Burridge, a forward, appeared in 13 

NHL seasons with Boston, Washington, 

Los Angeles and Buffalo, scoring 199 

goals for 450 points with 458 penalty 

minutes in 706 career games. 

Pappin, who most recently served as 

a high school varsity assistant coach in 

St. Louis, spent four seasons as an NHL 

video coach from 1993-97. In 1993-94, 

Pappin was a member of the New York 

Rangers coaching staff that helped lead 

the club to its first Stanley Cup championship 

in 54 years. 

Askew played four seasons of NCAA 

Division I hockey at Rensselaer Polytechnic 

Institute (RPI) before joining the 

Canadian National Team for the 1995-96 

AnaheimDucks.com 

campaign. Following a fouryear 

stint in Europe, Askew 

played three seasons in the 

minor-pro ranks. 

Hands has spent the 

last five years in a volunteer 

coaching capacity within the 

Anaheim Jr. Ducks program. 

A Michigan native, Hands 

played college hockey at the 

University of Michigan-Dearborn 

and the University of 

Arizona. 

Launched on July 1, 2008, 

the ADHSHL is designed as 

an extension of the Ducks’ 

organizational goal of growing 

hockey talent close to home 

while also working to achieve 

California Interscholastic 

Federation (CIF) status. 

JSerra varsity began play in September 

of 2008 as the league’s charter 

member. Santa Margarita varsity joined 

JSerra as the second member of the 

league, making its debut in September 

of 2009. As the league continues to grow, 

the Ducks will continue to provide financial 

support for each team involved in the 

program. 

This year proves to be an exciting one 

With its expansion this year, the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey 

League is now made up of seven teams from five local schools. 

for high school hockey in Southern California, 

as the teams have begun practicing 

in anticipation of the season, which is 

scheduled to kick off on Sept. 11. 

The coaches and players haven’t been 

the only ones preparing for the upcoming 

season. The staff at Anaheim ICE has 

been working hard to get the ice ready, 

repainting the lines and adding each high 

school team’s logo into the ice so they can 

now truly call The Rinks -Anaheim ICE 

home. b 


16 

Parental Guidance: 

With a new season 

upon us, 

it’s time 

to set 

goals 

The most exciting time of year 

is here: hockey season. 

And there’s a lot going on 

for California hockey families 

these days with new rules, some 

changes due to clubs embracing 

USA Hockey’s American Development 

Model (ADM), new ways 

we’re looking at Mite hockey, Pee 

Wee national championships, and 

a new tier program in Nor Cal. 

Since the season is just starting, 

it’s the perfect time to set 

some goals for our young players. 

Under the new ADM, an emphasis 

is being placed on development 

rather than competition, which 

is a good mantra to keep in mind 

when mapping out these expectations. 

Instead of focusing on how 

many goals and points your kid 

scores, look at improving on their 

plus-minus rating, for example. 

Rather than focusing on the 

team’s win-loss record and standings 

within the league, look at 

how the club is improving over 

last year. 

Personal goals should be realistic 

and attainable, but not too 

easily attainable. It’s important to 

keep things challenging and interesting. 

For example, measure your 

player’s shot at the beginning of 

the season for speed and accuracy 

and work to improve on those as 

the season progresses. See how 

fast they can skate from goal line 

to goal line and work on building 

their speed. Similarly, work on 

passing and skating improvements 

such as crossovers, skating 

backwards and stride length. 

Measure each of these skills 

periodically to gauge their progress. 

Measurements can be as 

simple as a notation on a piece of 

paper tacked on a bulletin board 

or taped to the fridge. Put them 

in a place where your player can 

see them on a regular basis and 

update them as they progress. 

Also measure simple physical 

fitness abilities such as pushups 

and sit-ups and set a goal to 

increase both before season’s end. 

Other athletic milestones you can 

set are their running speeds at 

the 10- or 40-yard dash. As the 

season rolls along, add to these 

goals or change them as needed. 

Nothing should be set in 

stone, however. If you need help 

determining the skills your player 

needs to work on, this is a good 

time to utilize your coach. They’ll 

have a good idea of what your 

player needs to work on and an 

approach to improving those skills 

that will help them take their 

game to the next level. 

Most important of all is to 

work with your player on improving 

their skills off the ice; don’t 

rely on the coach to do it all. Ice 

time and dryland time simply 

aren’t enough for real skill improvement. 

Skills such as stickhandling 

and general physical 

fitness can be practiced at home 

or anywhere away from the rink, 

too. 

Finally, an important component 

to this entire development 

process is praise. Cheer just as 

loud for a good pass or feat of 

outstanding sportsmanship as you 

do for a big goal or save. 

The key to development as 

hockey players is to focus on the 

overall game and all of the little 

pieces that lead to success, not 

just scoring. b 

Cean Burgeson is a hockey parent in the 

Capital Thunder youth association. 

Cean 

Burgeson 

Selanne Foundation Answers 

Call for Estrada 

The Jr. Duck is afforded the chance to attend a summer 

camp in Minnesota thanks to the organization’s generosity 

By Larry O’Connor 

As a 12-year-old center, Zeke Estrada 

can appreciate a good assist. 

The Anaheim Jr. Ducks’ Pee Wee 

player received a helper from the Teemu 

Selanne Youth Sports Foundation this 

summer that will last a lifetime. 

Thanks to the NHL great’s newly 

established benevolent organization, 

Estrada attended a weeklong hockey 

camp at the renowned Shattuck-St. 

Mary’s boarding school in July. NHL stars 

Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and 

Zach Parise are among the Minnesota 

school’s more notable luminaries. 

“Everything about it was amazing,” 

said Estrada, who played for the Jr. 

Ducks’ Pee Wee B team last season. “(The 

coaches) were so nice.” 

Selanne, who recently re-signed with 

the NHL’s Ducks, created the foundation 

to provide children like Estrada a 

transformative experience that only sport, 

particularly hockey, can offer. 

An inaugural golf outing last December 

drew 170 duffers to Coto Decazo 

Golf Club to raise money for the fledgling 

foundation. Next year, the goal is to send 

3-5 Anaheim-area players to the venerable 

Minnesota hockey school, organizers say. 

“In starting the foundation, we said 

let’s remove some barriers for hockey,” 

said Tom Howhannesian, who helped 

start the charitable endeavor along with 

youth coach Leo Fenn and Selanne. 

“Because we live in a sunny area, we 

shouldn’t be denied the opportunity to 

have these kids excel at something that 

has typically been a Canadian or colderclimate 

sport.” 

A week at the venerable Minnesota 

hockey institution only heightened Estrada’s 

passion for the game, which was 

hardly lacking before. 

Estrada started playing hockey at 

age 5 in Homer, Alaska, where his family 

moved after living in Southern California. 

However, a trip to All World Hockey 

Camp in Anaheim two years radically 

altered the family’s living arrangements 

when Zeke was asked to play for the Jr. 

Ducks’ Squirt team. 

“We weren’t thinking about moving 

down here at all,” said Zeke’s father, 

George Estrada, who worked as the chief 

operations officer for a major Mexican 

restaurant chain in Alaska before moving 

back to California. “They were pretty 

convincing and Zeke really wanted to do 

it. 

“So, we said we’ll stay for a little bit 

and he’ll probably want to go home. We 

ended going from there to a hotel and then 

to an apartment. I’m like, ‘Wow, when is 

this kid going to want to go home? When 

is he going to get sick of it?’” 

The boy’s enthusiasm never wavered, 

which meant the Estrada clan - mother 

Patty, brother Dominik, 16, and sister 

Mikaela, 13 - eventually returned to 

Anaheim. George and Patty both work 

as operations managers at the Anaheim 

rink while Dominik also plays for the Jr. 

Ducks’ Midget A team. 

The sacrifices are worth it as their 

youngest son pursues a dream, the father 

says. 

“That’s something he’s always wanted 

to do (play for the Jr. Ducks),” George 

said. “He makes plans and he makes goals 

and he’s accomplishing them.” 

After Zeke didn’t make the Jr. Ducks’ 

Pee Wee AA team last year, his father 

suggested he play Pee Wee B for Fenn. 

The preteen responded by becoming the 

squad’s leader and captain. 

“He really came into his own,” said 

Fenn, who describes Zeke as an unselfish 

player with amazing hands. “He’s a player 

who could have made the A or AA last 

year as a Pee Wee. He’s a coach’s dream.” 

And the Estrada family is forever 

grateful for the potentially life-altering 

experience at Shattuck. 

“Obviously, we want to provide the 

best things for our children and give them 

life experiences they can cherish,” said 

George. “Sometimes that’s beyond our 

means. When people like Teemu Selanne, 

Leo Fenn, (Tom Howhannesian) and their 

foundation comes along and really makes 

one of those dreams come true for a child, 

it’s wonderful.” b 

A leader with the Jr. Ducks, Zeke Estrada described 

everything about his summer camp experience at Shattuck 

“amazing.”

North American Hockey League 

Dennis Counting on Success in New Mexico 

The LA resident plans on writing a winning script right from the start 

By Matt Mackinder 

The New Mexico Mustangs should 

taste immediate success in the North 

American Hockey League (NAHL) this 

season. 

New Mexico Mustangs owner Ken Dennis is high on what 

the NAHL offers in terms of development and exposure 

for its student-athletes. Photo/Rio Rancho Observer 

That is if ownership has anything to 

do with it, and with Ken Dennis at the 

helm, optimism is high in the town of 

Rio Rancho, N.M. 

New Mexico has hosted a NAHL 

organization in the past with the most 

recent incarnation being the Santa Fe 

Roadrunners from 2004-07. The state 

has also had professional hockey. Dennis 

understands it may be an uphill climb at 

first with a new team and a new league 

in town, but if the product is entertaining, 

the fans should flock to Santa Ana 

Star Center, the home of the Mustangs. 

“I think there’s a fair amount of 

people (in New Mexico) who don’t understand 

what junior hockey is,” said 

Dennis. “But I think once they come and 

see a game, they’ll be thoroughly entertained 

and they’ll see that this is as good 

a brand of hockey as you’re going to get. 

“The (minor pro) Central Hockey 

League (CHL) has been there and those 

players were older and were either on 

their way up or starting to wind down 

their careers. The NAHL is for kids on 

their way to college and some of these 

kids will even wind up playing in the 

NHL.” 

Dennis, a Los Angeles native with a 

long history in Hollywood doing behindthe-scenes 

work for several popular TV 

shows, including “Family Guy” and “The 

X-Files,” made one of his first moves 

once he acquired the new team to hire 

former NHL player and two-time NCAA 

national champion Bill Muckalt as New 

Mexico’s first head coach. 

Muckalt, who played his college 

hockey at the University of Michigan, 

also has a history in California as he 

coached the Valencia Flyers of the Western 

States Hockey League (WSHL) last 

season. 

“I had a chance to meet Bill when 

he was coaching out here and knew that 

he was very supportive of helping send 

players to the college level,” Dennis said. 

“He’s totally dedicated himself to Rio 

Rancho. He’s already bought a house 

there and has relocated his life.” 

As for what type of involvement he’ll 

have as a non-local owner, Dennis said 

distance is but a minor detail. 

“I’ll commute back and forth and 

will be at many of our games this year,” 

said Dennis. “I talk to our coaches multiple 

times a day. My background is in 

communication and I definitely keep in 

touch with everyone involved with the 

organization.” 

Being a native Californian, one 

would have wondered why Dennis didn’t 

look to his home state for an NAHL 

team. This year, the Fresno Monsters 

will be the first team from the Golden 

State to play in the NAHL, which boasts 

26 teams in this its 35th Anniversary 

season. 

“We had to go where there was 

opportunity and Rio Rancho offered us 

that,” Dennis explained. “In California, 

there’s a lot of competition, but not a 

whole lot of buildings. Plus, the cost of 

doing things in California is far greater 

than it is in New Mexico.” 

That said, the NAHL in non-traditional 

places such as New Mexico, 

California and Texas doesn’t mean a 

non-traditional game being played in 

those respective areas. 

“When you have hockey in places 

like that, it has to be about the entertainment 

factor,” said Dennis. “The 

game on the ice should also be good, but 

if you can keep the fans coming back and 

keep them entertained, I think you’ve 

done your job. 

“I think we can do that in Rio Rancho.” 

b 

NAHL.com 

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Californians Leave Their Mark at FIRS Tourneys 

Plenty step to the forefront as Team USA rolls to four medals 

By Phillip Brents 

The American Senior Men’s 

team captured its third 

consecutive gold medal in International 

Federation of Roller 

Sports (FIRS) competition over 

the summer in Beroun, Czech 

Republic, and Californians 

had plenty of influence on the 

outcome. 

The victorious Team USA 

squad featured four rollers from 

the Golden State: Josh Laricchia 

(Huntington Beach), Jose 

Cadiz Jr. (La Puente), Kelly 

Spain (San Jose) and goaltender 

Mike Urbano (Huntington 

Beach). 

Laricchia (three goals, five 

assists) and Cadiz (three goals, 

four assists) finished third and 

fourth, respectively, in team 

scoring while Urbano was masterful 

between the pipes with a 

1.60 goals-against average and 

.930 save percentage. 

Urbano earned the tournament’s 

Top Goaltender award 

and a berth on the exclusive 

five-man All-Tournament Team 

alongside teammate Travis 

Fudge (Springfield, Mo.), who 

was selected as the tourney’s 

Most Valuable Player. 

The Americans started out 

slow in the 12-nation tournament, 

losing a round-robin 

matchup against France, 2-1, 

and had to rally from a 1-0 deficit 

against Italy in its opening 

quarterfinal-round playoff game 

with a pair of second-half goals, 

both assisted by Laricchia, to 

remain alive in the tournament. 

Then U.S. team, finally finding 

its rhythm after repeated 

tweaks by head coach Charles 

Thuss, was unstoppable in its 

final two games. The Americans 

defeated the tourney-favorite 

Czechs, 8-3, in the semifinals 

and built a 4-0 lead on Switzerland 

in the final. 

Urbano said that, after the 

U.S. team scored its third goal 

against the Swiss, everyone “really 

started to believe.” 

“It’s always a great feeling 

to walk away from a tournament 

like that with the gold medal,” 

Urbano said. “Our veteran line 

(of Travis Fudge, Pete Messina, 

Greg Thompson and 

Jon Mosenson) really stepped 

up for us amd made a big impact 

in each and every game. 

“Myself being named to the 

all-star team and best goalie in 

the tournament was a great feeling 

and I was very honored. It’ll 

be something I’ll remember for 

quite awhile.” 

A seven-man California contingent 

also had a major impact 

on Team USA’s silver-medal 

fortunes at this year’s FIRS 

Junior Men’s championships in 

Düsseldorf, Germany. 

Campbell’s Daniel Inouye 

led the Americans in scoring 

through round-robin play with 

15 points (seven goals, eight assists), 

just ahead of Escondido’s 

Casey Escarcega, who ranked 

second on the squad with 14 

points. San Jose’s Jacob Hickey 

was third in team scoring with 

11 points, while Costa Mesa’s 

Brett Olinger ranked fourth 

with eight points. 

Corona’s Josh Winters collected 

two goals and two assists 

as a member of the team’s all- 

California first line while teaming 

with Inouye, Escarcega and 

Olinger. Together, the foursome 

collected 19 goals and accounted 

for 22 assists - about 55 percent 

of the entire U.S. offense. 

The team’s second line included 

two Californians: Hickey 

and San Jose’s Jacob Gibb. 

Huntington Beach’s Christopher 

Lowry rounded out the 

Team USA's Senior Men's squad, braced by four Californians, rolled to its third consecutive 

FIRS inline hockey world championship title this summer in the Czech Republic. Photo/Amateur 

Athletic Union 

team’s Golden State contingent. 

Overall, California players 

scored 27 of Team USA’s 36 

goals in five round-robin games - 

an impressive 75 percent total. 

“I think we (California 

players) responded quite well 

to the challenge,” said Winters, 

a returning veteran to the 19U 

U.S. squad, along with Hickey. 

“We all knew each other either 

by playing together or by playing 

against each other. We all 

pretty much knew everyone 

else’s style.” 

In the Senior’s Women 

tournament, which featured 

eight countries, the host Czechs 

defeated Canada 3-1, to win 

the gold medal, while the U.S. 

took home bronze. San Juan 

Capistrano’s Celeste Loyatho 

represented California on the 

team and made the most of her 

assignment by leading Team 

USA in tournament scoring with 

three goals and five assists. 

The Junior Women’s World 

Cup had a modest debut, with 

four teams competing at The 

Rinks-Huntington Beach Inline 

as part of this year’s Amateur 

Athletic Union (AAU) Junior 

Olympic Games in July. Team 

USA defeated New Zealand, 4-3, 

to win the championship. b 


Local Teams Mine Gold at NARCh Finals 

California stakes claim to a whole lot of medals at the San Jose-hosted showcase 


NARCh president Daryn Goodwin 

found it difficult to believe 

that the world’s largest amateur 

inline hockey tournament series was 

entering its 17th year. But all that 

the 2010 NARCh Finals (July 16 to 

Aug. 1 in San Jose) proved was that 

all roads continue to lead to NARCh 

after nearly two decades. 

And the road that leads from 

California is jammed with highperformance 

vehicles. 

Golden State teams once again 

placed themselves at the forefront 

of this year’s elite competition that 

included 4,000 athletes by finishing 

the 336-team tournament with 17 

gold, 18 silver and 21 bronze medals. 

Of the 32 divisional championships 

bestowed at this year’s NARCh 

Finals (excluding the collegiate allstar 

tournament), California teams 

advanced to a stunning 23 of those 

title games - more than double that 

of New York, the next state in line 

with 10 finalists. 

The fact that really hits one in 

the face: 12 division championship 

games were all-California matchups. 

No other U.S. state could make that 

boast. 

Moreover, of the 62 skills competition 

winners, 33 were from the 

Golden State, leaving the remaining 

47 percent divided among the rest of 

the world. 

Including the United States, 

eight nations were represented at 

this year’s NARCh Finals. Canada 

finished with three champions, well 

behind the 30 U.S. division winners. 

Impressive numbers. 

“I’m really happy with how the 

Finals went this year,” Goodwin 

said. “Even though we’re already 

considered the pinnacle in the 

sport, I think we raised the bar on 

ourselves. Everyone seems really excited 

about heading back to Florida 

in 2011.” 

California teams will have to 

add a little gas to their tanks when 

they take the super highway to next 

year’s NARCh Finals, which return 

to the East Coast with a stop at 

Germain Arena in Estero, Fla. 

But the long trek should only 

make the reward seem sweeter. 

Golden Nuggets 

The Tour Roadrunners from 

New York led all teams at this year’s 

NARCh Finals with five championship 

titles. The Tour Raw Selects 

carried the torch for California 

teams with three titles (Girls Gold, 

Women’s Platinum and Bantam 

Gold), while the 949 Anarchy (Squirt 

Club and Mite Gold) and Delta River 

Rats (Mite Club and Bantam Club) 

each skated to two NARCh championships. 

The Anarchy also collected a 

silver and bronze medal while the 

River Rats also mined one bronze 

medal. 

Earning honorable mention 

honors were the Revision Mustangs/ 

Revision Pandemonium squads with 

one first- (Atom Gold) and three 

second-place medals (Squirt Club, 

Bantam Club and Girls Gold). 

The San Diego Rockets secured 

the first freshly minted 2010 NARCh 

gold medal by defeating the 949 Anarchy, 

10-7, to win the NARCh Cub 

(6U) Division. The Anarchy’s Ean 

Somoza led everyone on the floor 

with six goals, while Carter Pauli 

paced the victors with four goals. 

The Moxy Mission Velocity 

turned in a rare “three-peat” by 

capturing the Midget Platinum title 

at the 2010 Finals after winning the 

division in 2009 and capturing the 

Bantam Platinum championship 

in 2008. The Velocity defeated the 

best from the East - Michigan’s Tour 

Bordercats - by a 6-2 score to capture 

this year’s title. Aaron Ave and 

Darren Nowick each scored twice to 

highlight the landmark victory. 

The Mission Habs, meanwhile, 

defeated the Reebok Eschelon Ducks 

HB, 7-1, in an all-California final 

to secure rights to the Division I 

(21-under) title - the So Cal team’s 

second in as many years. The Habs 

received goals from five different 

players, scoring early and often in 

running up an initial 5-0 advantage. 

Nielsson Archibal, Kyle Gouge 

and Raf Rodriguez each scored 

single goals while Travis Fudge 

and Matthew White each scored 

twice. 

Top individuals who left their 

mark on this year’s NARCh Finals 

included Mission Habs/Mission 

Axiom netminders Tommy Tartaglione 

and Jerry Kuhn, who 

earned Top Goaltender awards in 

both the Division I and NARCh Pro 

divisions, along with Raw Steel’s 

Rachel Nguyen in the Girls and 

Women’s divisions. Nguyen stopped 

40 of 42 shots in the Girls Division 

for a scintillating .952 save percentage. 

Tartaglione also won the NARCh 

Pro skills competition to complete 

an individual triple. 

Among those putting up prodigious 

numbers in the scoring 

department were the Anarchy’s 

Somoza (NARCh Cub) and Sander 

Williard (Atom Platinum). Somoza 

was all-universe by averaging a 

jaw-dropping 11.3 points per game 

while Williard racked up 22 goals 

and 26 points to win his High Scorer 

award. 

Video footage from the 2010 

NARCh Finals can be found on the 

tournament series’ YouTube channel 

(search NARChplayers). 

For complete results, visit 

NARCh.com. b 

Members of the San Diego Rockets’ 6U Cub Division 

team show off their freshly minted gold medals after 

winning the first championship at this summer's 

NARCh Finals in San Jose. Photo/NARCH 

NARCh Notepad 

NCRHA All-Stars Shine: The National 

Collegiate Roller Hockey Association 

(NCRHA) all-star tournament was back for its 

fourth year and players from the West Coast 

had a chance to showcase their derring-do on 

the floor as the Western Collegiate Roller Hockey 

League White squad defeated its all-star 

equivalent from the Great Plains Collegiate 

Inline Hockey League, 3-2, on goals by William 

Heinze, Tyler Koressel and Alex Dodt. 

Five NCRHA all-star teams competed, including 

two from the WCRHL. Also participating 

were teams representing the Eastern Collegiate 

Roller Hockey Association and Midwest 

Collegiate Roller Hockey League. 

Clay Taylor from the gold medalist 

WCRHL White squad earned Top Goaltender 

honors in the division with a .900 save percentage. 

Cyclones Denied Triple: The NARCh 

Pro Division, celebrating its 11th season, included 

a powerhouse field of 14 teams vying for 

$20,000 in prize money this year. With rosters 

loaded from the recent American Inline Hockey 

League (AIHL) season and Team USA junior 

and senior men’s squads, the talent level in 

the showcase division was at an all-time high 

since the demise of Roller Hockey International 

(RHI) in 1999. 

Six of the 14 teams were from California, 

including the LA Pama Cyclones, who were 

bidding to complete a rare “NARCh triple” after 

sweeping titles at both the West Coast and East 

Coast NARCh Winternationals. 

But this year’s championship game was 

reserved for an all-East Coast matchup as the 

defending NARCh Finals champion Tour Mudcats 

extended their dynasty with a 3-2 victory 

in the final seconds against the Mission Labeda 

Snipers from Long Island. The division was 

once again riddled by parity, with the eighthseeded 

Snipers eliminating the No. 1 and No. 2 

seeds in the playoffs to pave an avenue for the 

third-seeded Mudcats to also advance to the 

final. 

The Cyclones, seeded seventh, lost in the 

quarterfinals, 3-2, in overtime to the secondseeded 

Mission Axiom. 

With 38 seconds to play and the score tied 

2-2 in the championship tilt, the Snipers were 

assessed a penalty for goaltender interference 

to put the Mudcats on the power play. J.P. 

Beilstein, assisted by Chris Terry, scored the 

dramatic game-winner with just three seconds 

to play in regulation. 

In other words, just another typical NARCh 

moment. b 

- Phillip Brents 

20

AAU Junior Olympics a Winner in So Cal 

Roller teams from all over the world turn out for the much anticipated 

summer festival 


With more than 210 teams, 

between 2,500 and 3,000 

athletes from nine nations and 

a lot of international goodwill 

spread around Southern 

California, the AAU (Amateur 

Athletic Union) Junior Olympic 

Games inline hockey tournament’s 

first foray west of the 

Mississippi River has to be 

considered nothing less than a 

resounding success. 

By the participation 

numbers, it was apparent that 

California teams in general - 

and So Cal teams in particular 

- not only supported the AAU’s 

history-making venture, but 

embraced it. 

“We knew we would get 

good numbers wherever we held 

the tournament because we 

have AAU-sanctioned leagues 

all across the country,” AAU 

hockey chair Keith Noll said. 

The 11-day tournament, 

presented by Reebok in partnership 

with the AAU, the NHL’s 

Anaheim Ducks, Team USA 

Hockey Club and USA Rollersports, 

wrapped up July 11 at 

two So Cal rinks: The Rinks- 

Huntington Beach Inline and 

the 949 Roller Hockey Center in 

Irvine. 

Besides the large turnout 

by teams from the Golden State 

(101 in the Club Division), Noll 

was especially enthused by the 

support the event received from 

an estimated 40 international 

teams. 

“When we started looking 

at the infrastructure the NHL’s 

Anaheim Ducks possess, we 

thought to ourselves, ‘Why not 

have it out west?’” Noll said. 

“It turned out to be one of the 

largest-ever tournaments we’ve 

had. We’ve only gone over 200 

teams three times in the past. 

We have a lot of support for the 

AAU west of the Rockies, especially 

in Colorado and California. 

“Last year’s tournament 

in Philadelphia attracted 155 

teams; we lost about 30 international 

teams because of the 

Swine Flu.” 

Athletes from Canada, 

China, England, Germany, New 

Zealand, Colombia, Mexico and 

Australia joined U.S. squads in 

celebration of the sport in So 

Cal. 

“What makes our tournament 

so popular with teams 

is that we offer a five-game 

guarantee,” Noll said. “It puts 

a different spin on the game 

when, at other tournaments, 

teams might be playing in their 

third game and know they’re 

California Gold Rush 

not going to 

advance - that’s it 

for them. They’re 

going home after 

the game. 

“Everyone 

makes the playoffs 

at the AAU Junior 

Olympic Games 

and the playoff 

brackets are tiered 

so that teams play 

other teams at 

their competition 

level. Some teams 

that didn’t get a win in roundrobin 

play get an extra chance 

to get at least one win. It’s not 

unusual for teams to get in as 

many as 10 games in a division 

throughout the tournament.” 

The tournament, which 

will return to So Cal next year, 

included both club and international 

divisions and ran concurrent 

with the inaugural FIRS 

Junior Women’s World Cup. A 

total of 39 championship games 

were played, inclusive of all 

tiers. More than 120 team medals 

were handed out, including 

gold, silver, bronze and copper 

California teams and players had a major impact 

on this year’s AAU Junior Olympic Games in 

Southern California, both in the club and international 

divisions. 

California teams skated to gold medals in 10 of the 

12 AAA club divisions; four of the six AA divisions; and 

four of the five A divisions (that works out to 78 percent 

of the gold medals in the club division). Team USA 

West, driven by a horde of California talent, won championships 

in five of the eight international divisions: 

10U, 12U, 16U, 18U and Girls 18U. 

The biggest winner proved to be the Tour Raw 

Steel Selects program with championship titles in five 

divisions: Girls, Women’s, 14U AA, 12U A and 18U 

A. The Reebok Jr. Ducks Eschelon won titles in three 

divisions: 8U AAA, 21U AAA and 10U AA. Two other 

Ducks teams competing in the Men’s Pro Elite and 21U 

international divisions also claimed championships 

with the Blades (10U AAA and 16U AAA) and 949 Anarchy 

(12U AAA and 18U AA) winning two titles each. 

California gold medalists also included the Revision 

Vanquish 96 (14U AAA), Team AAU Corona 

(Girls 14U), Silicon Valley Quakes (8U AA), Revision 

Mustangs (10U A) and Labeda XDH (16U A). In all, 

11 different California programs went home with gold 

medals to place a firm stamp on diversity throughout 

the Golden State. 

Just how dominant were the California teams? 

Nineteen of the 25 players named to the 16U All- 

American Team were from the Golden State and 12 of 

20 players named to the 12U All-American Team were 

from California. 

Westminster’s Kourtney Kunichika and Van 

Nuys’ Ariane Yokoyama, a pair of gold-medal winners 

on last year’s Team USA Women’s FIRS squad, 

clearly set the standard at this year’s AAU Junior 

Olympics by winning three gold medals in one day - one 

each with the Steel Selects in the Girls and Women’s 

From left, Kourtney Kunichika, Rachel Nguyen and Ariane Yokoyama of the Tour Raw Steel Selects celebrate with 

the Girls 18U championship trophy at this summer's AAU Junior Olympic Games. Photo/Paul Martinez 

(fourth place). 

“It was fun. It was really 

sweet to make new friends and 

find out we’re really not that 

much different despite coming 

from different countries,” 

Revision Pandemonium Black 

Girls 18U goaltender Mariah 

Blackmore said. 

“A long way to come, but 

awesome hockey,” said Renata 

Gottgroy of New Zealand’s Jr. 

Women’s team. 

Besides top-notch hockey 

games (which were claimed by 

California teams hands-down), 

this year’s AAU Junior Olympic 

Games also offered players and 

fans a chance to browse through 

an expansive vendor expo and 

interactive game area called the 

“Hockey Spot,” where Ducks 

star Bobby Ryan stopped by 

for an autograph signing on 

July 8. 

Noll used the word “positive 

feedback” to describe just about 

all aspects of this year’s event, 

noting that it offered exposure 

to many new teams not familiar 

with the AAU. He said that 

next year’s AAU Junior Olympics, 

with the infrastructure 

now in place on the West Coast, 

should be, in his words, “absolutely 

phenomenal.” b 

divisions and another with the Blades 93 team in the 

coed 16U AAA Division. All the fireworks took place, 

appropriately enough, on July 4. 

In fact, with so many current and former Team 

USA standouts on the floor, many games in the Club 

Division looked like full-blown international matchups. 

The international component of the event was actually 

showcased in Team USA’s inspirational conquest 

of the four-team field in the inaugural FIRS Junior 

Women’s Cup, with the third-seeded Americans storming 

back from a two-goal halftime deficit to out-score 

the top-seeded New Zealanders, 3-0, in the pivotal 

second half to claim an unlikely 4-3 victory. 

Corona’s Elisa Pogu, an incoming senior at Santiago 

High School, represented California on the 18U 

Team USA roster. 

- Phillip Brents 


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referees, compliments of West Coast Jerseys 


Clinic session, compliments 

of LA Hockey 


More prizes available on Page 18! 

Raw Steel Celebrates 

Sterling Summer 

So Cal women come up big at AAU Jr. Olympics, NARCh Finals 


Tour Raw Steel Selects from Southern 

California captured gold-medal 

championships in both the Girls and 

Women’s divisions at the Amateur 

Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic 

Games (July 1-11 in Huntington Beach) 

and NARCh Finals (July 16-Aug. 1 in 

San Jose). 

Not bad for a bunch of ice hockey 

players out to take a spin on wheels for a 

summer get-together. 

“We started out playing roller hockey 

as kids but got into ice hockey, which 

we’ve now been playing for quite a few 

years,” said forward Kourtney Kunichika, 

a Westminster resident. “We 

all play ice hockey together but we get 

back together to play roller during the 

summer. Roller is more of a fun thing 

for us. Ice hockey is a lot more serious, 

so it’s a nice break for us to play roller 

together.” 

Summer fun equated to some serious 

hardware for these young ladies. 

Tour Raw Steel went 6-0 in both the 

Girls and Women’s divisions at the AAU 

Jr. Olympic Games, capping championships 

with victories against the New 

Zealand Jr. Women’s team (5-1 in the 

Girls division) and the Nakhon Dragons 

(7-0 in the Women’s division). 

At NARCh Finals, Raw Steel skated 

past a pair of California rivals in championship 

game encounters, defeating the 

Revision Pandemonium Black, 2-1, in the 

girls title and Team Revision, 3-1, for the 

women’s crown. 

Kunichika earned Top Scorer honors 

in the Girls division at both the AAU Jr. 

Olympics and NARCh Finals. After racking 

up 24 points, including a divisionbest 

13 assists, at the AAU Jr. Olympics, 

Kunichika continued her torrid scoring 

by collecting 11 goals and 15 points later 

that month at NARCh Finals. 

Kunichika also contributed 10 goals 

and six assists to tie teammate Laura 

Veharanta (La Verne) with 16 points as 

the Top Scorer in the Women’s division 

at the AAU Jr. Olympics. Kunichika 

racked up three goals and three assists 

in the title-game win against the Dragons 

while Veharanta contributed two 

goals and two assists. 

Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys) 

earned High Scorer honors in the 

Women’s Platinum division at NARCh 

Finals with seven goals and 18 points after 

finishing third behind Kunichika and 

Verahanta with 14 points (four goals, 10 

assists) in the Women’s division at the 

AAU Jr. Olympic Game. 

Raw Steel forward Lauren Straus 

finished runner-up to Kunichika in Girls 

division scoring with 13 goals and two 

assists. She had two goals in the championship-game 

victory over New Zealand 

while Kunichika and Yokoyama each 

collected a goal and assist. 

Goaltender Rachel Nguyen (Hermosa 

Beach) captured Top Goaltender 

honors in both the Girls Gold and 

Women’s Platinum divisions at NARCh 

Finals, posting a scintillating .952 save 

percentage to help guide her team to the 

Girls Gold title and coming back with an 

.879 save percentage to help her team 

claim supremacy in the Women’s Platinum 

division. 

Nguyen led AAU Jr. Olympic goaltenders 

in the Women’s division with a 

.949 save percentage and posted a .826 

save percentage in the Girls division, 

placing second only to New Zealand’s 

Elise Sinclair (.947). 

Tour Raw Steel, which was coached 

by Bruce Kunichika and Stan Yokoyama, 

also competed as a guest team 

in the AAU Jr. Olympics’ Girls/Women’s 

International division, going 4-0. 

So what does all this heavy metal 

mean to team members? 

“It’s great for the program,” Nguyen 

said succinctly. 

Besides oozing talent, these young 

women also have the stamina of, well... 

someone made of steel. 

Kunichika and Yokoyama each 

collected three goals medals in one day 

at the AAU Jr. Olympics, winning the 

Girls and Women’s divisions with Tour 

Raw Steel and later adding another gold 

medal around their necks with a championship 

in the coed 16U AAA division 

with the Blades 93. 

Both the Girls and Women’s Platinum 

championship games took place 

within hours on the final day of competition 

at NARCh Finals. 

College ice hockey careers are about 

to unfold for several of Raw Steel’s 

higher-profile players. Kunichika and 

Yokoyama are both headed to RIT while 

Veharanta is headed back to Providence 

College with Raw Steel women’s teammate 

Jennifer Friedman (San Gabriel). 

Nguyen is still in high school. 

“I think playing roller helps a lot in 

producing an all-around player,” said 

Blades coach Jeff Prime. “Ice hockey 

stresses finesse skills and speed while 

roller hockey brings out passing and 

shooting skills. Division I college programs 

really are benefiting now from 

players who play both ice and roller.” 

These women of Steel are shining 

examples of that. b 

Jennifer Friedman, left, and Tour Raw Steel Selects 

teammate Laura Veharanta show off the Women's division 

championship trophy at this summer's AAU Junior Olympic 

Games. Photo/Paul Martinez 

22

Picture Perfect 

Submit your favorite hockey photos to 

pictureperfect@calirubber.com! 

Be sure to include: player(s) name(s); order, if applicable (ex. from left, middle, third from 

right, clockwise from top); team name and level (ex. Bantam, Pee Wee); game and/or 

tournament name and location; and photo credit (if applicable) 

Evan Medeiros of the 12U A division’s San Diego 

Stingrays steers aside an inline puck at this summer’s 

AAU Jr. Olympics in Huntington Beach. Medeiros 

took home a Wii after winning the 12U Goalie Skills 

Challenge. 

The California 2000s proved to be one of 

the best defensive teams at this summer’s 

Brick Tournament in Edmonton. See more 

on the club’s success on Pages 8 and 12. 

Huntington Beach’s Mike Urbano, seen here with a 

Czech representative, received the Top Goaltender award 

at this summer’s FIRS senior men’s inline hockey world 

championship tournament. Photo/Amateur Athletic Union 

Hudson Fox of Puck Attack 2003 celebrates a goal at this 

summer’s NARCh Finals in San Jose. His team took home 

a bronze medal in the tournament’s Cub division. 

Megan Meyers of the Tour 

Raw Steel Selects zooms past 

a New Zealand defender 

in the Girls 18U division 

championship game at this 

summer’s AAU Junior Olympic 

Games in Huntington Beach. 

See more on the Steel’s 

summertime success on the 

opposite page. Photo/Paul 

Martinez 

The Revision Mustangs helped cement the success of 

Northern California teams at this year’s NARCh Finals by 

winning the Atom Gold division championship. Photo/NARCh 

Members of the Nor 

Cal-based Delta River 

Rats show off their 

shiny hardware after 

winning the Mite Club 

division championship 

at this summer’s 

NARCh Finals in San 

Jose. Photo/NARCh 

Vacaville Jets Squirt goaltender Kristian Rogers comes 

up with a big save during a recent tournament game 

against the Santa Rosa Flyers. Photo/Brian Bjorklund/ 

Delta Sports Photography 

From left, Theresa Tompson, Tori Polehonka and Justine Duran of the Anaheim 

Lady Ducks lend Elina a helping hand as she gets around the ice at Center Ice 

Arena in Ontario. See more on their sled hockey experience on Page 14. 

Photo/Photography66.com 

Members of the Reebok Ducks HB team hoist the championship trophy after winning the Men’s Elite division at 

this summer’s AAU Junior Olympic Games in Huntington Beach. Photo/Paul Martinez

September 2010 - Rubber Magazine

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