NA3EHL Top Prospects to play on National Stage at Showcase
December 6, 2014
This week provides on opportunity for 20 NA3EHL players to come together as a team and play on a national stage. The NA3EHL Top Prospects team will compete as the 32nd team in the highly recruited NA3HL showcase at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. The NA3EHL selected the top 20 U.S.-born prospects from it’s 10 member league and will play against some of the top teams from the NA3HL from Sunday, December 7th through Tuesday, December 9th, 2014.
This season marks the fifth straight year the NA3HL will hold a league-wide Showcase, which features some of the best junior talent in the United States.
The NA3HL Showcase returns to Schwan Super Rink, where the NA3HL last held an event in 2012. The event will also feature all 32 teams from the Tier I North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL), 12 additional teams competing in the Bantam Tournament Series (BTS) and four teams competing in the girls 16U level in the debut of the Girls Tournament Series (GTS). In total, 80 teams will be at the event.
The NA3EHL Top Prospect Team will be coached by league commissioner Wayne Sheehan, New England Stars GM Dan Fontas and Lockport Express Coach Frank Vecchio.
All 31 NA3HL teams will play three regular-season games at the Showcase, which is annually one of the most well-attended and scouted events of the entire season for the league, attracting college and junior scouts alike. The Schwan Super Rink is the largest ice arena of its kind in the world. The state-of-the-art facility, a $21 million project totaling over 300,000 square feet, features eight sheets of ice under one roof. With all its varied amenities and services, the Schwan Super Rink is absolutely unique in the world of ice sport facilities.
“I think the consensus across the league is that there is a lot of excitement that this event is returning to Blaine, because it offers a great opportunity for a wide array of college and junior programs to attend,” said NA3HL Commissioner and President Mark Frankenfeld. “With the addition of the NAPHL, the NA3EHL Top Prospects Team, the Bantam Tournament Series and the debut of the Girls Tournament Series, it will add to the overall excitement of the event and we feel it will be one of those unique opportunities that allows us to celebrate the players,”
For more details on the NA3HL Showcase presented by Easton Hockey, including ticket, hotel, rental car, scouting and schedule information, visit: na3hl.com/showcase
All the games at the NA3HL Showcase will be broadcast live on FASTHockey
In addition, the NAHL Event Scouting System will debut for the 2014-15 season for the NA3HL in Blaine. The Event Scouting System is lead by Craig Barnett, Coordinator of Player of Personnel for both the NA3HL and NAPHL. Barnett’s primary role is to coordinate the scouting at all NA3HL and NAPHL events, and to promote player advancement and to supply information to NAHL, NCAA and other junior and collegiate coaches.