League Schedule Released

Although most, if not all, WCHA teams have released their individual schedules for the upcoming season, the league released its composite schedule for the 2009-10 season.

This will be the league's final season before Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha join before the 2010-11 campaign.

Hastings quits

Minnesota assistant coach Mike Hastings has left the program, according to Bruce Brothers of the Pioneer Press.

Hastings, the former longtime head coach and GM of the USHL's Omaha Lancers, has accepted a job as Dean Blais' top new assistant with Nebraska-Omaha.

"I know they were looking for a top assistant that, whoever came there, would have a great chance to take over," Lucia said, according to Brothers. "This puts him in a great position to hopefully take over one day."

Former Gopher hero Grant Potulny, who scored the game winning goal in the 2002 National Championship game in St. Paul, will take over Hastings' job on an interim basis. Lucia said a national search for a permanent replacement will begin immediately. Lucia said Potulny is a candidate, but nothing is guaranteed.

"Don's looking for the best guy," Potulny said. "If that's me, that's great. Everybody here wants what's best for Gophers hockey."

Moving to 12

After years of fear about losing their hockey program, the people of Bemidji can finally rest easy.

Kevin Pates of the Duluth News Tribune is reporting that the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has officially agreed on expansion terms with Bemidji State University and the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and that those terms will be announced this afternoon in a 5 p.m. conference call.

UNO, which recently hired former North Dakota head coach Dean Blais to lead its program, is believed to have nogotiated a pretty sweet deal with the league in return for its leaving the CCHA. It's unknown if BSU will have the same deal, considering the Beavers had almost no leverage against the WCHA.

Among the terms being bantered about: A reduced fee to join the league, immediate sharing in the playoff revenue and an earlier start to WCHA conference play. Orginally slated to begin in 2001-2012, it is believed the league will expand to 12 as early as 2010-2011. That would allow the Beavers to open their brand new arena with a full WCHA schedule.

The WCHA last expanded 10 years ago, when Minnesota State began play in the league. The Mavericks had to pay $40,000 per year for three years and were not given a share of playoff revenues during that time. It is believed UNO, and perhaps BSU, will not have that arrangement.

According to league commissioner Bruce McLeod, league teams made $91,000 apiece from the playoffs last season.

Motzko signs 6-year extension

St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko has signed a six-year extension to remain behind the Husky bench until at least 2015. The new contract will pay him more than $1 million over the course of the deal.

Motzko is 82-60-19 overall in four years in the Granite City and was named the WCHA's Coach of the Year in 2006 and a co-winner again in 2007. The contracts of sssistant coaches Eric Rud and Mike Gibbons were also renewed.

That leaves Minnesota State's Troy Jutting as the only coach in the league without a contract for next season, although sources close to the situation have admitted a deal has already been signed. Look for that announcement to officially come in the near future. The Mavericks are also seeking a replacement for assistant coach Eric Means, who became the head coach of the MSU women's team last month.

No vote on Bemidji State

Bemidji State University's presentation for admittance into the WCHA was made today at the annual league meetings in Marco Island, Fla.

League Commissioner Bruce McLeod said the presentation was well received by the league's 10 members. A vote on Bemidji's application was originally scheduled for today, but was instead pushed back to allow other schools a chance to apply for league membership. The WCHA, in order to maintain a more balanced schedule, would like to have 12 members and not 11.

"The BSU student body, faculty, alumni, and the entire community should know that the league membership came away impressed with the University's commitment to the student-athlete, both on and off the ice, the long track record of success their hockey program has achieved, the breaking of ground for the new Bemidji State Regional Events Center, and the degree of excitement throughout the community and northern Minnesota for the future of BSU Hockey," McLeod said in a release.

The league's moritorium on expansion was lifted indefinitely as the league identifies and pursues a potential 12th league member.

"The Western Collegiate Hockey Association membership today took a positive step forward in their decision to embrace possible expansion," McLeod said, "we may expand once we have completed further studies and once we have been able to identify potential members that fit the league's criteria for membership. Obviously, there are numerous issues involved in expansion, just a few of which include the transformation from a 10-team, 28-game conference schedule to an expanded 12-member team format that would still enable us to protect our natural rivalries as best as possible, and to make certain we safeguard our successful flagship event — the WCHA Final Five.

"The WCHA has a proud history of being sensitive to the issue of expansion and the plight of other collegiate hockey programs and today's development is a further indication that the Association will continue its tradition of assisting in the growth and development of collegiate ice hockey with an ultimate goal of expanding."

To read the full release, click here.

League Links (April 15)

Below is a special tax day edition of League Links:

- Kevin Allenspach writes about future St. Cloud State players and where they rank in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings for the upcoming entry draft.

- Andy Baggot has news of a young Badger recruit from the east coast, Corbin McGuire.

- Mike Chambers opines on the potential of next season's Denver squad.

- Kevin Pates cites reports from Moorhead on a potential new D1 hockey program in the Red River Valley.

- Doyle Woody reports the Seawolves have found their captain for 2009-10: former walk-on Jared Tuton.

Be sure to add the WCHA Blog to your Twitter! I will be link each new post to Twitter so you can follow along on the go.

WCHA to the NHL

I received an interesting e-mail today from Let's Play Hockey Editor and former University of Minnesota hockey S.I.D. Kevin Kurtt regarding NCAA hockey players playing this season in the National Hockey League.

According to Kurtt, 279 players who played in at least one game this season in the NHL also played college hockey.

I decided to break it down further and take a look at WCHA players who made the jump, and found that 96 league alumni played at least a game in the NHL this year.

All 10 league schools are represented in that count and all have at least two players in the NHL.

Not surprisingly, North Dakota and Wisconsin lead the bunch with 16 players apiece with Minnesota close behind with 14. St. Cloud State follows with 13 while Denver and Colorado College each have 10. Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth and Michigan Tech have five each while Alaska-Anchorage has two.

Just a note: WCHA applicant Bemidji State also has two alumni in the NHL, but that number was not figured into my total league count.

The New York Islanders had the most NCAA alums on its team this season with 19. The Minnesota Wild, with just three, had the fewest, although two of those are former WCHAers John Scott (Michigan Tech) and Craig Weller (Minnesota Duluth).

61 former college players made their NHL debut this season, with eight of the top 33 rookie scorers coming from the NCAA ranks, including former WCHA players Blake Wheeler, Kyle Okposo and Alex Goligoski (Minnesota), T.J. Oshie (North Dakota) and Kyle Turris (Wisconsin).

Kurtt predicts the number to grow, as 197 players on college rosters this season have their rights owned by NHL franchises, and a number of soon-to-be NHL Entry Draft selectees will play college hockey next fall.

Offseason League Links (April 3)

Over the course of the offseason, I am going to try and bring you a weekly listing of the goings on from around the league. I will try and make it a Friday thing, in order to quench that weekly college hockey thirst.

With any luck, it will be October before we know it.

- According to Kevin Allenspach of the St. Cloud Times, St. Cloud State has begun offseason off-ice workouts, but Moorhead natives Jon Ammerman and Brett Barta have already done their share of heavy lifting back home — helping keep the Red River Valley as dry as possible.

- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post discusses how free agency has hurt the WCHA over the years.

- Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press talks all things Maverick hockey in this Q&A.

- Kevin Pates of the Duluth News Tribune reviews UMD's recently completed season.

- Grand Forks Herald beatwriter Brad Schlossman recaps North Dakota's season ending press conference, including the decision by Chay Genoway — the WCHA's Defensive Player of the Year — to return to school next year.

- Doyle Woody of the Anchorage Daily News reports on UAA's post season awards.

In other league news, Denver forward Tyler Bozak — considered by most the WCHA's undrafted free agent prize — signed a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last season's WCHA Player of the Year, CC goaltender Richard Bachman, signed a deal last week with the Dallas Stars.