- Midwest Elite Hockey League
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The Midwest Elite Hockey League (MWEHL) is located primarily in the Midwest United States and is the premier amateur youth hockey league in the United States. Players from all over the country move to the area where the teams are located to gain exposure and skill development needed for higher levels. Many of the leagues top players go on to compete in Major Junior, Tier I Jr Hockey, NCAA Hockey[1], NHL[2], and other professional leagues. The MWEHL showcase tournaments and games are heavily scouted by scouts from the USHL, NCAA schools, and the OHL due to the convenience of seeing many top players in one game or weekend.
Contents
League format
The MWEHL acts as an umbrella organization for the league's teams which compete at various levels of youth hockey from Squirt Minor to Midget Major 18U. The league also operates three girls levels. The MWEHL is sanctioned by USA Hockey and acts as a development system for the country's top youth players[3].
League History
The Midwest Elite Hockey league launched a new Midget Major league,the Tier I Elite Hockey League for the 2008-2009 season. The MWEHL also re-aligned the league and will consist of 6 divisions of and 32 teams:
Each team will play 46 games with 2 home and 2 away inter division games as well as 6 showcases with each division hosting 3 showcases and travel to each other's showcase once.
As well as providing excellent competition for the teams within the league, the new format will also reduce the travel costs for the organizations. The Midget Major (U18) teams play a rigorous tournament schedule that will now be in part replaced by the showcases that are included in the league schedule. The new Midget league will fly under the MWEHL banner using its rules and policies. USA Hockey will monitor the new league and its development.
The MWEHL plans to expand the new format to the Midget Minor (U16) level next season and in the future to all levels.
For the 2009-2010 Season the league added an Eastern Division with the addition of five teams from the northeast US.
Tier I Elite Hockey League Teams
Detroit Division:
- Detroit Belle Tire (Taylor, Michigan)
- Detroit Compuware (Plymouth, Michigan)
- Detroit Honeybaked (Oak Park, Michigan)
- Detroit Little Caesars (Detroit, Michigan)
- Detroit Victory Honda (Plymouth, Michigan)
Chicago Division:
- Chicago Fury
- Chicago Mission
- Chicago Young Americans
- Chicago Nationals
- Team Illinois
Mid American Division:
- Baltimore Beaters
- Cleveland Barons
- Ohio Blue Jackets
- Columbus AAA1 Junior Jackets
- St. Louis AAA Blues
- Russell Stover (Kansas City, Missouri)
- Dallas Stars
West Division:
- Colorado Thunderbirds
- Colorado Rampage
- LA Jr. Kings
- LA Selects
- Phoenix Jr. Coyotes (Scottsdale, Arizona)
East Division:
- Boston Advantage
- Buffalo Regal's
- Philadelphia Jr. Flyers
- Pittsburgh Hornets
- Team Comcast (Pennsauken, New Jersey)
MWEHL Champions
2007-2008 MWEHL League Champions
- U18 - Cleveland Barons
- U16 - Compuware
- 1993 - Little Caesars
- 1994 - Compuware
- 1995 - Honeybaked
- 1996 - Belle Tire
- 1997 - Compuware
- 1998 - Compuware
- 1999 - Honda Victories
MWEHL Girls Division Champions 2007-2008
- 1996 - Honeybaked
- 14U - Little Caesars
- 16U - Colorado Select
- 19U - Shattuck St Mary
Recent Notable MWEHL Alumni
- Ryan Kesler 2003 draft by Vancouver Canucks
- Patrick Kane 2007 draft by Chicago Blackhawks
- Trevor Nill[4] 2007 draft by St. Louis Blues
- Matt Donovan[5] 2008 draft by New York Islanders
- Cam Fowler 2010 draft by Anaheim Ducks
References
- ^ http://www.rpiathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2057
- ^ http://stars.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=369051
- ^ http://www.michiganhockeyonline.com/archived%20articles/October%2016,%202006/midgetaaa.html
- ^ http://blues.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8473988&service=page
- ^ http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=368377&page=NewsPage&service=page
External links
Categories:- Ice hockey leagues in the United States
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