A Season In The Life Of The USPHL

Captain

Players from multiple league levels discuss life in the nation’s foremost development model

August brings hockey players from across the world off the beaches and summer jobs and into the rinks to get ready for the 2019-20 USPHL season. 

From there, it’s a marathon – but not the typical 26.2-mile run, more like those endurance 100-milers – to the end of the season in February or March, depending on your particular level of hockey. 

USPHL hockey begins for the Midget Divisions at the end of August, and for the juniors, it begins in September. Road trips, off-ice training, educational assistance and college placement help are all part of the world outside of the rink. 

Meantime, players are working almost every weekday to get ready for the busy weekends of two – or in some cases, three and four – games. 

To get some insight on what this marathon is like from starting gun to finish line, we talked with three USPHL veterans from across the league’s footprint – from Minnesota to New Hampshire to Virginia. 

About our panel: Jake Freise is going into his fourth season with the Steele County Blades, of Owatonna, Minn.; Nick Wood is advancing from the Potomac Patriots’ Elite team to the Premier squad in this, his fourth USPHL season; and third-year USPHL veteran Cam Speck is returning for a second season as Captain of the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs in the NCDC.

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By Joshua Boyd/USPHL.com