Originally posted by mmf
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USHL has never been a big recruiting point for us...the best player I can recall coming from the USHL to us was Taranto. I think Alberta and BC, with a smattering of Alaska, is going to continue to be our sweet spot for players for as long as Dallas is in charge. Parayko and Kunyk were AJHL guys, and Morley is a BCHL guy, just as a point of reference.
It's always been unfortunate we don't get more Alaskans to stay home, but there are three unfortunate things working against us:
1. Having the WHL between us and the rest of the NCAA is a problem. The top shelf talent can play closer to home and still be in a league that historically feeds more players to the NHL.
2. The bigger name brand programs can poach Alaska kids playing in juniors in the Midwest pretty easily.
3. Per Doyle Woody, there are currently 75 Alaska kids in college hockey (men and women, D1 and D3). There's just not enough Alaska-grown talent around to support two D1 programs in the state and still allow for poaching by the WHL and bigger Midwest schools.
Fortunately, our existing staff has done a nice job finding under the radar guys and developing them.
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