I went with Joe Knecht last night to catch a North American Hockey League (NAHL) game in Youngstown, Ohio. The game we attended featured the Mahoning Valley Phantoms versus the Springfield Junior Blues. It was a good quality game with each team having over 43 shots on goal. Joe and I agreed that Springfield probably won the game because the “Renaissance man from Springfield” was in attendance…
I was not previously familiar with the NAHL, but I discovered that it is a developmental league that targets advanced players graduating high school that want to improve their skills to make it to the NCAA Division 1 level. Most of the players are between 18 to 20 years of age. Last season, nearly 100 players from the NAHL were awarded NCAA scholarships. I could easily see some of the Phantom players making it to the next level, including Dustin Cloutier and Alden Hirschfeld… I also didn’t realize that some top NHL players started their careers in the NAHL, including Eric Lindros, Brian Rafalski, and Doug Weight.