DETROIT FIGHTING IRISH TO JOIN THE USPHL
By USPHL - March 10, 2015
It was announced this afternoon that the Detroit Fighting Irish and the Midwest Junior Hockey League membership consisting of the Traverse City Hounds, Alpena Flyers, Soo Firehawks, Motor City Monarch , Michigan Ice Dogs and Decatur Blaze will become part of the United States Premier Hockey League beginning in the 2015-2016 season. The MWJHL group will be joining a group of 13 other teams which were part of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League to form a 20 team Midwest Circuit of the USPHL. The following statement was released by the Detroit Fighting Irish.
" Today is a great day for the Detroit Fighting Irish Junior Hockey Club and for Junior Hockey in our great State which is so huge in hockey tradition in the Junior Hockey Game. Since the inception of the Detroit Fighting Irish organization our goal has remained constant to provide the best opportunities for our players and to promote the growth of Junior Hockey in the Detroit Area and the State of Michigan. We believe that our fellow partners in the MWJHL and our new partners from the MNJHL have all taken a great step in unifying the goals and the purpose of Junior Hockey. The Detroit Fighting Irish believe that the partnerships forged under the guidance of the USPHL will offer our players and every player in this league greater exposure and lead to more opportunity to advance to collegiate and Tier 1 and Tier II levels. The MWJHL under the leadership of commissioner Scott Gardiner made tremendous accomplishments and without his fore-sight and vision it would not have been possible for these partnerships to take place. We also must thank AAU especially UHU Director Ron White and AAU Vice President Keith Noll for the support and guidance that they have provided us. Our goal was always to work to unify all of the factions of Junior Hockey which we will continue to strive for for the good of the game. Today's movement brings us one more step closer"
About The USPHL
The United States Premier Hockey League of 2022-23 is the nation’s largest junior amateur ice hockey league and the only league to span the continental United States, from Maine to California, and from Florida to Washington State.
The USPHL includes over 100 organizations comprised of 11,000 players spanning the ages of 6 through 20, including Youth and Midget Division teams in the Tier 1 Hockey Federation.
Overall, across all its divisions, the USPHL see more than 3,100 alumni playing college hockey each year and more than 250 playing pro hockey, including in the NHL.
The league’s top level, the Tuition Free Tier II National Collegiate Development Conference, led all North American Tier II leagues with three players selected in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and has seen more than 200 NCAA Division I commitments since its 2017 inception. The NCDC will also expand to include the NCDC West, with teams in Colorado, Utah and Idaho for 2023-24.
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