Team Comcast 18U and 16U teams will also participate
The Philadelphia Flyers, with an on-going commitment to provide opportunities for aspiring young hockey players, today announced the creation of an “elite” team to begin play in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) in the inaugural 2013-14 season.
The Philadelphia Flyers Elite is a newly formed program that falls under the Philadelphia Flyers’ skate Zone business platform, and is yet another extension of the NHL Club’s efforts to promote and grow the game at the grass roots level.
“The Greater Philadelphia Region continues to thrive in producing quality hockey players,” said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “With our creation of the Philadelphia Flyers Elite, it allows us to provide new and exciting opportunities for young aspiring hockey players to compete at an even higher level.”
Flyers Skate Zone also announced that their Team Comcast 16U and 18U midget teams will participate in the USPHL in 2013-14.
“The USPHL provides the players in our organization with a tremendous opportunity to showcase their talents to the top collegiate programs in the country, especially in the Northeast region” said Pat Ferrill, Comcast-Spectacor’s Vice President, Rink Management and Development, who oversees the Flyers Skate Zone division for the organization. “Participation in the USPHL provides aspiring hockey players in the Philadelphia region – our core customers – with a chance to play an extremely high level of hockey. This completes the ladder of development for our Clubs, providing each player with the ability to develop their hockey skills, play against high quality competition and receive tremendous exposure to NHL and NCAA scouts until such time that they are ready to enter college, without ever needing to leave home if they so choose.”
The USPHL will sponsor three levels of hockey overall, including 16U and 18U Midgets, in addition to Juniors. The teams in the 16U and 18U Midget Divisions will remain registered through their respective USA Hockey Affiliate organizations and will play under USA Hockey Rules for league play.
The USPHL members have each developed a complete player development model where at present over 2,000 boys and girls train, compete and enjoy the sport of ice hockey. These programs go beyond the on ice experience to include education, leadership and community service components to help foster a complete student athlete. The member organizations believe the USPHL will provide the next step in high performance training and competition and will provide unmatched exposure to NCAA hockey programs for young aspiring hockey players.
Tryouts for the USPHL will take place throughout the month of April. The USPHL will commence competition in September of 2013. Please visit the USPHL website at www.usphl.com or the member organizations for specific information regarding the registration and tryout process.
