Snubbed in draft, Mayhew shines for RoughRiders

CEDAR RAPIDS - How does a guy who was co-winner of Michigan's prep Mr. Hockey not get drafted by any United States Hockey League team? How do the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders end up beating everyone else for his services as a "free agent?"

The answer to that first question is difficult. Teams have specific needs and evaluate players differently.

The answer to that second question is RoughRiders head coach/general manager Mark Carlson.

"I was watching the draft, hoping I would get drafted. Never did, so I got kind of discouraged that day," said Riders rookie center Gerald Mayhew. "That night, I got letters from different teams, like Youngstown and Omaha. But Coach Carlson was the only one to call me personally and invite me to tryout. So I came here."

Mayhew didn't think he played particularly well at last summer's Riders tryout camp, but was invited to training camp this fall. He made the club and scored four goals in three games last weekend, including a hat trick in a win over Green Bay.

He had an impressive plus-minus rating of plus-seven in the final two games of the road trip against Green Bay and Chicago.

"My teammates definitely pitched in," Mayhew said. "Just an all-around effort by the team. It's nice. I didn't think I'd get a hat trick here. Feels pretty good."

Mayhew scored 44 goals in 30 games last season to help Wyandotte Roosevelt High School to Michigan's Division 2 state championship. The state's coaches selected him and Ben Johnson of Calumet High School co-Mr. Hockey.

Johnson is playing Major Junior hockey in Canada, while Mayhew had to fight just to make it to the USHL. Riders fans might remember the last Michigan Mr. Hockey to play here: Detroit Red Wings center Justin Abdelkader.

"I really didn't think I was going to get it," Mayhew said. "There were a lot of good players out there. The other guy who got it is playing in the OHL right now for Windsor. So it was nice."

Mayhew, 18, is a smaller guy (5-foot-8, 154 pounds), so that may have had something to do with not getting drafted. Carlson doesn't care about size, preferring his players to be fast skaters and skilled.

The coach has had Mayhew playing both on the power play and penalty kill, which is impressive for a first-year player. The RoughRiders look like they might have gotten a steal.

"It's getting easier," Mayhew said. "It was hard getting used to the speed and the size, definitely the size of the players. But I'm hanging in there."

"This is a compliment, but he's a gritty, rugged kid," Carlson said. "With that, it looks like he has the ability to score. If he's willing to work hard, he's got a chance to be a good player."