THE FIVE: NA3HL ORGANIZATIONS THAT GET IT RIGHT What are the best organizations in the NA3HL? Here’s my Top Five

Earlier in the week a Junior Hockey Discussion Group (Facebook) member asked which North American 3 Hockey League clubs were the best.

In the comments, I listed the criteria for my choices, and which clubs I feel meet the expectations.

COACH – Is the coach doing the job for the right reason.

OWNERSHIP - Does the operator have control of the building. Do players get the extra ice time needed to focus work on the individual aspects of their game. Does ownership maintain their end of the bargain and delivered all that was paid for?

BILLETING – Are billets coming back season after season or is the situation an afterthought, hockey house, or even a revolving door?

OPPORTUNITY - Is the coach throwing a fit if one of our clients has the chance to go to an NAHL team to skate and try to win a stall?

ACCESS – Does the coach have access to NAHL team? Does the coach have good relationships with more than just one NA team.

DEVELOPMENT - This is a big one, are players getting better with that coach and team? Is there a notable difference between the first month of the season to the last? Was there a good return on the parents’ investment?

 

ALEXANDRIA BLIZZARD - When it comes to doing things the right way, St Cloud Norsemen owner Chris Canavati has been doing exactly that for the last 20+ years. That includes the operation of two NA3HL clubs in Wilmar and Alexandria, Minnesota. Blizzard head coach Jeff Crouse elected to stay in Alexandria as the head coach of the NA3HL team when the NAHL team moved to South Dakota in 2012. Unlike many other NAHL operated 3HL teams, Crouse has excellent relationships with several NAHL teams and coaches, not just the bosses’ team in St Cloud. Getting his players to those teams in season has never been an issue. The new reality for 3HL coaches is relationships within the game, and that has to include coaches from college club programs. While other guys were literally ignoring the club coaches in the past, Crouse has always extended the same level of professional courtesy to the club programs as he did NCAA schools. That was a smart move. Since 2012, the ONLY complaint we’ve ever received regarding Crouse and the Blizzard program, came from a goalie that was unable to prove he could play at the appropriate level of competitiveness needed to be put into many games. One complaint in 13 years. Not bad coach, not bad at all.

BUTTE IRISH – Irish head coach Marc Brodeur spent a few years wearing off my dislike of Butte’s entry into the NA3HL. After a rough start, and adding Brodeur to the staff, the rebranded Cobras to Irish started making serious inroads along the way. We had a goalie on the Irish roster for the 2023-24 season and a few more on the team this past season, including the addition of Bobby Anselmo (2004 F, Spokane WA) who moved over from Canada’s Kootenay International Junior Hockey League in the fall. While the veteran client prepares for his first season at the University of Oregon, it was Anselmo’s positive experience in Butte that has led to the program becoming a developmental partner for JuniorHockey.io. Brodeur understands where the 3HL is on hockey’s ladder of development and does not limit his players’ opportunities at higher levels of play.  

LOUISIANA DRILLERS – When then Odessa Jackalopes’ assistant Chris Francis accepted his first head coaching assignment with the Drillers before the 2023-24 season, I may have been a bit apprehensive about the former professional player’s ability to recruit. After a single conversation, I was convinced that this coach was going to be able to surprise a lot of people within junior hockey. So, we started loading his team, and the payoff was immediate. The Drillers shocked both El Paso and New Mexico and represented the South Division at the Fraser Cup Finals. We loaded the Drillers again for 2024-25 and the payoff was a National Championship. In both seasons it was clear that our clients’ overall development was greatly enhanced from the start to the end of the season. While the team owner’s ice arena may not be as pretty as other buildings, the players have everything they need to succeed. And succeeded they did. Francis and his club are now the second 3HL team to be selected to be a JuniorHockey.io developmental partner.

ROCHESTER GRIZZLIES – I consider Austin Bruins’ Head Coach Steve Howard a good friend. And it’s his oversight of the NA3HL Grizzlies that leads Rochester onto this list. The Bruins’ organization rebranded the old Ice Hawks as the Grizzlies after the 2017-18 season and completely overhauled the culture of junior hockey in the city. While head coaches, and even owners, have come and gone, it’s been Howard that has overseen the club to ensure each and every player is taken care of. On the ice, the Grizzlies have reached the divisional finals in each of the last five seasons, winning twice, and capturing a Fraser Cup after the 2021-22 season. Like Alexanderia, the Grizzlies may be operated by the NAHL club in Austin, but Rochester players have been able to fan out across the spectrum of the NAHL in efforts to earn in-season playing opportunities. Like traditionally powerful clubs across the sport, the Grizzlies don’t have to try and rebuild their rosters year after year, all head coach Tyler Veen must do is simply reload.

WISCONSIN WOODSMEN – I’ve considered current St. Mary’s University head coach Ryan Egan a friend since an interview we did with the coach while he was at Coulee Region (NAHL) during the 2016-17 season. When Egan informed me that he had formed Pinnacle Hockey Group (with his buddy Adam Keer) and had purchased the old New Ulm Steel to move to Tomah (Wisconsin), I was excited about my friend and what this team could do for the community. Egan is just one of those hockey guys that absolutely gets it. “We are here to develop young me to be prepared for the next step in their lives.” Egan said Wednesday. “Our goal is to offer an incredible life and hockey experience that prepares each player for the next phase in life when their time in junior is complete.”  I believe that anything that’s going to have Egan’s name attached to it will be done the right way, and for the right reasons. While I may not have always seen eye-to-eye with Woodsmen head coach Jon Vaillancourt, it’s impossible to argue with the team’s success, on and off the ice, in Tomah.