RoughRiders reload in net

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's tough to replace the United States Hockey League's goaltender of the year, if not impossible. But the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders seem to have done so and them some.

The Riders' annual tryout camp concluded Sunday afternoon at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, with the two guys left standing having outstanding credentials. Matt McNeely and Peter Traber are both possible NHL draft picks later this month, if you want an indication of what others think about them.

Not a bad job done by Riders Coach/General Manager Mark Carlson and staff in trying to find someone to follow Brady Hjelle, who is moving on to Ohio State.

“It was fun competing. There were a lot of great goalies here,” said Traber. “I'm really excited. I know they won USHL organization of the year here and (Carlson) won coach of the year. Some junior teams have kind of rough organizations, but this one is proven. So it's fun to (be a part of it).”

Carlson brought in a whopping 10 netminders to compete over the weekend. Traber, 18, was a recent draft pick of the club from outstanding Minnesota prep school program Shattuck-St. Mary's.

The surprise was the presence of McNeely. The 18-year-old from Burnsville, Minn., spent two seasons in the United States National Team Development Program and is ranked fourth among North American draft-eligible goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting.

He got into town Saturday night after spending four days in Toronto at the NHL Scouting Combine. Only nine goalies and 102 players overall were invited to the event.

“It was tough. I'm a little tired,” McNeely said. “But I had some fun today, so that's all that really matters.”

You can give an assist to former RoughRiders assistant coach Joe Exter for steering McNeely here.

“I was going to go to Minnesota-Duluth next year,” McNeely said. “But I talked to Coach Exter. Him and Coach Carlson are really good friends, and he knew (Carlson) was looking for a goalie for next year. We talked about it and both came to the conclusion that playing one more year in the USHL would be good for me before I go to college.”

All 12 skaters eligible to return to the RoughRiders from this season made the initial cut, though goalies Alex Lyon and Cole Bruns did not. Veteran forwards Ryan McGrath (concussion) and Nick Saracino (back) and defenseman Greg Amlong (leg) ended up getting injured over the weekend and did not play in Sunday's final “all-star” game of top camp players.

Here is a list of players initially making the cut:

Goalies

Matt McNeely (USNTDP)

Peter Traber (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep)

Defensemen

Ian Brady (RoughRiders)

Michael Holland (RoughRiders)

Steven Hensley (RoughRiders)

Chris Dienes (Traverse City-NAHL)

Nolan Zajac (RoughRiders)

Blake Butzow (Detroit Victory Honda U18)

Preston Hodge (Fairbanks-NAHL)

John Hrabovsky (Central Penn Panthers)

John Alexander Gilmour (Gilmour Academy-Ohio)

Forwards

Jacob Barber (Wenatchee-NAHL)

Nick Saracino (RoughRiders)

Ryan McGrath (RoughRiders)

Stu Wilson (RoughRiders)

Raphael Kuonen (Sierre NLB-Switzerland)

Brent Norris (Nepean-CCHL)

Riley Bourbannais (Berkshire Prep-Massachusetts)

Dakota Mason (Dawson Creek-NAHL)

Gerald Mayhew (Wyandotte, Mich., HS)

Tanner Pond (RoughRiders)

Thomas Forgione (Green Mountain-EJHL)

Jono Davis (Colorado Rampage U18)

Matt Hansen (RoughRiders)

Ryan McMurphy (Dallas Stars U16)

Landon Smith (Colorado Thunder Birds)

Gage Hough (RoughRiders)

Peter Maric (RoughRiders)

Ryan Collins (RoughRiders)

Others Whose Rights Remain Protected by RoughRiders

Austin Ortega (Colorado Thunder Birds)

Alex Roos (Team Illinois U18)

Brady Crabtree (St. Louis AAA Blues)

Michael Babcock (Detroit Central Catholic HS)

Andrew Oglevie (Culver Academy-Indiana)

Levi Erkkila (Calumet, Mich., HS)

Anthony DeLuca (St. Eustache-Quebec)

Alejandro Ochoa (Colorado Rampage U16)

Jack Rowe (Team Illinois U18)