After leading the Idaho Junior Steelheads to a WSHL league Championship and a Third Place finish at the 2011 USA Hockey Nationals, nine former players have advanced this season to NCAA College hockey or the North American Hockey League.
Forwards Nate Stanley and Stephen Rock, who captained the Steelheads the last two seasons, will play for Worcester State in Massachusetts (NCAA-D-III). They will join Tyson Cox, the Boise native and captain of the first Junior Steelheads team in 2009-2010. Cox played in 25 games for the Lancers last year, scoring one goal and four assists.
In addition, five players have moved to the North American Hockey League, a Junior A Tier II league. Leading defenseman and co-captain Greg Chapman will play with the Corpus Christi IceRays.
Forward Skyler McKnight makes the jump to the Kenai River Brown Bears, and 2009-2010 Steelheads member and local Boise product, Dallas Crum, will start this season with the New Mexico Mustangs.
Goaltender Blake Mendenhall and center Matt Sanford return to their home state of Alaska to play for the Alaska Avalanche.
Forward David Fegler is at Monmouth University in New Jersey, but will not play hockey. He will play linebacker for the Monmouth football team.
Over their first two WSHL seasons, the Junior Steelheads have moved a total of 19 players up to NCAA, ACHA or Junior A Tier II hockey levels.
Article courtesy of Dick Dorfman – Jr. Steelheads play-by-play