Every year USA Hockey has the top youth hockey prospects participate in a development camp in Upstate NY or Minnesota. These camps are called National Camps or the Player Development Camps and last one week for each age group. This is an opportunity for USA Hockey to work with the top players in the country, educate them on nutrition, skill development, game play, etc. while keeping an eye on their growth for their junior and national teams down the road. USA Hockey brings in some of the top coaches in the country from junior, college, prep school and professional ranks to coach the kids. It is a great opportunity for the players to compete against the top players in the country, learn from top coaches and USA Hockey’s development program, and make some lasting friendships. It is also a great opportunity for exposure as it is a great venue for junior and college hockey teams to scout the top players in the country.
USA Hockey has 12 different districts across the country for youth hockey. Here in the Carolinas we are in the Southeastern District, along with Virginia, Maryland, DC, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. [Link to districts:
http://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=NO&id=180122 ] Each district has a tryout in the spring and selects a group of players to represent their district at the National Camp. The boys have Select 15’s, Select 16’s and Select 17’s, while the girls start with the U14’s. [Link to development camp dates and locations:
http://www.usahockey.com/players/player_development_camps.aspx ]
This spring, RYHA and the Junior Hurricanes Goalie Program continued its strong showing by having 3 Jr. Hurricane or former Hurricane goalies, and 4 current and former skaters selected to participate in their respective National Camp:
Logan Halladay U17 - boys
Josh Greune U15 - boys
Cameron Leonard U14 – girls
Halladay has been to the camp before, joining former Jr Hurricane goaltender Sean Romeo as a multiple year participant. Romeo is now playing Tier 1 junior hockey in the USHL and has committed to play at the University of Maine following his junior career.
As well, these current and former RYHA skaters were also selected to the National Camp:
Kyle Hartman - U17 Boys
Lathe Jadallah - U17 Boys
Nick Skaluba - U16 Boys
Lewis Evans - U15 Boys
Kyle Hartman attends the camp from last season's Jr Hurricanes U16 AAA, and Lewis Evans will be attending from last season's Jr Hurricanes Bantam AAA team. Nick last played for the Cleveland Barons, and Laythe for the USHL Indiana Ice.
It takes a lot of hard work over several years to develop into a top player. Congratulations to all these players and everyone here would like to wish them luck at their respective development camp this summer.
Richard Shulmistra
Goalie Director, RYHA
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