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I didn't have the blog up yet to report when the Phantoms assistant coach Rob Rassey took a well deserved position as an assistant coach with the Harvard University Crimson, one of the oldest hockey programs in the United States. First off, I have to thank and congratulate Rob. Of course, with less than a week until pre-season starts, this left me wondering who, how and when they would be able to fill the gap left next to coach Noreen. Well, it was only a couple days wait. I won't bore you with the long form, you can read the official release if you want that.


Let me sum it up. Michael Zucker is as bona fide an assistant coach as your going to see. Zucker has spent the past 7 seasons in the trenches as an assistant coach in the WHL, NCAA and the last 2 seasons USHL's Omaha Lancers. That's Canadian Major Jr., NCAA Division I, and the USHL Western Conference. Before coming to the USHL he served under the University of Denver's George Gwozdecky, the 11th winningest coach in the NCAA. Before that he served under Kevin Constantine for three years with the Everett Silvertips of the Canadian Major WHL. Constantine, in addition to coaching several season in the NHL for three teams, has coached just about every major Jr. league, including the USHL and NAHL.


Zucker should bring a lot to the bench. I'm surprised that the Phantoms got an assistant coach of this caliber so shortly after Rassy's leaving. The one thing I've noticed with the Phantoms over the past couple years: they know what they want and go get it! Be it tenders, draft picks, trades or staff, they have a way of finding pieces that fit together well. Everyone from the front office to the players has the same vision of what Phantom hockey. When someone new joins the team, there's no need to sell them on it because they get people who already have the same vision.

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Is everyone ready for hockey season? I know I am.

OK, welcome to my new Phantoms blog. I'm just glad I got this up in time for pre-season. I'm not not sure how it will turn out so bear with me. A lot of you probably already have seen me around the Coveli, banging on the glass, yelling at the refs, cajoling the other teams goalies. You may have seen me carrying effigies (pinatas) of other teams mascots and the refs. I'm just a die hard hockey fan and I love the Phantoms. I've never really blogged before, though some of you may have seen my posts on Facebook.


To kick things off I've already grabbed the Roster (as well as the affiliate list) and the Schedule. I'll probably have some news later and hopefully some pre-season opinion (bullshit) to kick off the USHL Atlantic Challenge. I'll probably post a couple highlights from last season too when I get a minute. I'll also be setting up Twitter and Facebook and a Youtube page. Feel free to send me Phantoms pics, videos or hate mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Comments are always welcome.

 And Thank you for your Support
Bartles and Jaymes Justin Irwin
Editor in Grief of this blog

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We'll we are about 6 weeks away from the USHL Fall Classic East, the USHL Eastern conference preseason showcase. For the second year this event will be held at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, PA and the Phantoms will be in the spotlight at the heavily promoted event which should draw in a large amount of press and scouts from every level. The following week we drop the puck on the regular season, on the road against the NTDP U18s in Plymouth, MI. Time is ticking down to get the 2016-2017 Youngstown Phantoms ready to hit the ice for competition. Last season was a rebuild year, a lot of turnover from the previous season, but the Phantoms managed to stay competitive down to the final weeks of the season and came a lot closer to the playoffs than the final points standing may have indicated. So the big questions is, "can we build off of last season?" Not surprisingly, we have no clear answer.

Most people's question is about the roster. I've got a little bad news there, so far it only looks like we'll return 7 players from last season - 5 forwards and 2 defensemen. Out of the forwards the top scorer returning is Alex Esposito who notched 25 points (11g, 14a) in 58 games, 7th best on the team. Noah LaLonde came into the fold a little after the season started and managed 20 points (7g, 13a) in 45 games. The remaining 3 returning forwards are Tommy Apap, Garrett Hall and Eric Esposito, who have a combined total or 41 points (11g, 30a). The 2 defensemen returning are Ty Farmer and Carter Ekberg. Both saw limited action last year. Ty Farmer, the only returning player with more than 1 season of USHL experience, only played 19 games, mostly due to injury. He was tendered by the Phantoms for the 14-15 season where he played 39 games, a little over the minimum required for a tender. Carter Ekberg has 10 combined games of USHL experience last season. After starting the season with Des Moines Buccaneers he was released to the NAHL Janesville Jets. The Phantoms picked him up towards the end of the season where he played 8 games.

So, not a lot of scoring depth returning and defensive experience is even thinner. You've probably also noted that there aren't any goalies mentioned. Tryout camp showed a lot of promise though. Connor O'Brien, who played a game as an affiliate last season, looked very good and is probably going to make the final cut. Both Britt League and Ivan Kulbakov looked good as well. Britt League is a young netminder, a 99 birth year, and may be considered too young to face regular USHL action. On the other hand, if he is ready he could be in net for the Phantoms for a few seasons and a big part of the long-range plans. Ivan Kulbakov is 1 of 2 overage (96 birth year) imports from Belarus trying to make the cut in their final year of junior eligibility. He's interesting in the fact that he has a few years of pro experience in the the Belarus league. However, both imports and overagers being capped at 4 per team and he would count towards both.

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