Preview: USHL Fall Classic East

Cranberry Township, Pa. — The 2016 USHL Fall Classic East returns to the UPMC Lemieux Center, but it will be bigger and better than it was last fall.

Each team from the USHL’s Eastern Conference will be joined the U.S. Under-18 Team and Red Bull Salzburg for games over three days, from Thursday to Saturday. All of the USHL games are part of the 2016-17 preseason schedule and will be played at one of the two rinks at the UPMC Lemieux Center.

The event will be heavily scouted by college coaches and NHL scouts. 14 players from the U.S. Under-18 Team were listed as players to watch in NHL Central Scouting’s July Futures List release.

It is still unclear if Casey Mittelstadt will play with Green Bay before and after his high school season, but he could be the most highly touted player at this weekend’s games if he does play.

Grant Mismash, Scott Reedy and Josh Norris of the U.S. Under-18 Team are three of the most well regarded players for the NTDP in terms of the 2017 NHL Draft.

Another interesting aspect to watch will be how 1998-born players look this weekend as last year’s draft emphasized a movement that NHL organizations are looking to second year eligible prospects.

In addition, the USHL will host a 14U Youth Tournament that will feature many of the top 2002-born prospects in the country. 16 of the top bantam major teams in the country will battle it out from Friday through Sunday. The tournament will be broken down into four divisions that will play a round robin format Friday and Saturday before playoffs on Sunday.

USHL Schedule

Thursday, September 15th

2 p.m. - Bloomington Thunder vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks

4 p.m. - Chicago Steel vs. Madison Capitols

6 p.m. - Green Bay Gamblers vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints

8 p.m. - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Youngstown Phantoms

Friday, September 16th

10 a.m. - Madison Capitols vs. Bloomington Thunder

1 p.m. - Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. Chicago Steel

4 p.m. - Dubuque Fighting Saints vs. U.S. Under-18 Team

5:30 p.m. - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Green Bay Gamblers

7:30 p.m. - Red Bull Salzburg vs. Youngstown Phantoms

Saturday, September 17th

10 a.m. - Bloomington Thunder vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints

1 p.m. - Madison Capitols vs. Green Bay Gamblers

4 p.m. - Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. Red Bull Salzburg

5:30 p.m. - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders vs. Chicago Steel

7:30 p.m. - U.S. Under-18 Team vs. Youngstown Phantoms

USHL Youth Tournament Participants

Pacioretty Group

1. Syracuse Nationals

2. Chicago Fury

3. New Jersey Jr. Devils

4. HoneyBaked

Eichel Group

1. Team Wisconsin

2. Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers

3. Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

4. Arizona Bobcats

Gaudreau Group

1. Westchester Express

2. Meijer AAA

3. Chicago Young Americans

4. Colorado Thunderbirds

Pavelski Group

1. Minnesota Blades

2. Buffalo Jr. Sabres

3. Belle Tire

4. Dallas Stars Elite

The full schedule of the USHL Fall Classic East Youth Tournament can be found here.