Just two games in, David Bosco making impression with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders’ gain might end up being Team USA’s loss. Maybe it already has.

David Bosco scored two goals and added an assist last weekend as the RoughRiders picked up three of four available standings points with a win and shootout loss at the United States Hockey League’s annual Fall Classic in suburban Pittsburgh.

The 17-year-old forward also dropped the gloves against an opponent from Youngstown who has played all or part of five seasons in the league. Standing up for your team, you know, despite being significantly younger and less experienced.

Bosco has made an early impression.

“It was a lot of fun,” Bosco said of the Fall Classic. “It’s great to get to know all the boys on a bus trip like that. Great to get to know everybody. I thought we played really well. We battled through adversity the second game and ended up coming back. It ended in a tough way, but we really battled as a team, and I’m proud of us.”

The Winchester, Mass., resident played three years of prep school hockey for Belmont Hill School in the Boston suburbs. He had a tryout last year with the United States National Team Development Program but didn’t make the cut.

That eventually brought him to Cedar Rapids, which took him in the third round of the 2024 USHL Draft, Phase I.

“It wasn’t a disappointment at all,” Bosco said of not making it to the USNTDP. “Yeah, it’s a little stab in the back, but I think it’s good for me. It’s a little motivation, keeps me motivated. It was a great experience, happy I got the invite, I tried my best out there. Sometimes that can be a blessing in disguise.

“What Coach Carlson has going on here is unbelievable, and I think we could be really, really good this year.”

When RoughRiders head coach Mark Carlson was asked about Bosco, he used the phrase “ballplayer.” That’s hockey talk for meaning he thinks the kid can play.

“He’s a RoughRider,” Carlson said. “He plays hard, plays with an edge to his game. He finishes the checks when they’re there. Sticks up for himself and his teammates. He scores, goes into the hard areas. He has great enthusiasm and charisma. There is an awful lot to like there, for sure.”

Bosco came out to Iowa at the end of last season to get his feet wet in junior hockey. He had an assist in one game played.

Though it was a short time, Bosco said the experience helped him acclimate to things coming into this season. He has committed to play at Harvard, a college hockey career expected to begin in 2027.

“I’d like to think I’m a playmaker whose got a pretty nice shot,” Bosco said. “I think I work well with my teammates, try to get physical when I can. Just play the style of the RoughRiders.”

Cedar Rapids hosts Omaha at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in the home opener at ImOn Ice Arena. Omaha (1-1) played Friday night at Tri-City.

Carlson is one win from tying P.K. O’Handley for most career regular-season victories in the USHL. The only coach the RoughRiders ever have had has 777 wins in his illustrious career.

“I’ve got a lot of responsibility here in just getting our guys ready to play (Saturday),” Carlson said. “Excited that we’ve got a brand new coaching staff here, a new trainer. Just a lot of exciting things going. Just focused on getting ready for (Saturday).”

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com