USA Hockey’s goaltender of the year shows his stuff at Cedar Rapids RoughRiders camp

CEDAR RAPIDS - You lose a goaltender with promise, you get one right back. Funny how that works sometimes.

Ryan Cameron isn’t back in the he-is-returning sense. He’ll be a first-year Cedar Rapids RoughRider when the United States Hockey League season begins in the fall.

But the promise thing definitely fits. The 17-year-old from suburban Philadelphia recently was named USA Hockey’s Goaltender of the Year.

USA Hockey is the governing body for the sport in this country. This is a huge honor.

“It was an incredible honor,” said Cameron, who took part in the RoughRiders’ annual main tryout camp over the weekend. “It happened out of the blue, I wasn’t expecting it at all.

“Last season was great. (My team) obviously went to the finals, lost, but a lot of positives from the season. It was a great group of guys. I think we really bonded. It was good.”

Cameron played this past season mostly for the Lone Star Brahmas in the North American Hockey League, which is a junior league a notch below the USHL. He had a 21-6-1 record, 1.24 goals against average and .948 save percentage for Lone Star, which played in the NAHL’s championship game.

He also played a game for the United States National Team Development Program.

“I don’t know,” Cameron said, when asked to describe his game. “I think I’m pretty calm in net. I’d say I’m pretty boring to watch, which is I think a good thing. I feel like I’m pretty good at everything. I get around (the net). I don’t know. I think (my game) is pretty simple.”

Cameron’s USHL rights belonged to Omaha, but he didn’t want to play for the Lancers and ended up being traded to Cedar Rapids. RoughRiders goaltending coach Brooks DiMarino, who was Lone Star’s goalie coach the season before Cameron was there, played a role in the deal.

Cameron needs a true number one in net after A.J. Reyelts, this past season’s primary goaltender, decided to go to the major junior Western Hockey League in Canada.

“When I was dealing with trades and stuff, this one of the spots that I was considering, and (DiMarino) kind of helped push me over ther edge,” Cameron said. “I want to win a Clark Cup. That would be awesome. Just kind of improve this coming season. This is a great development league. I want to get ready for college. But winning is the top priority.”

College for Cameron will be Boston College, one of the blue-blood programs in the sport. He committed to the Golden Eagles last summer, called BC one of his lifelong dream schools.

But he’ll play at least one season in the USHL before he heads there. RoughRiders main camp ended Sunday with a “Top 40 Game” of the better performers of the weekend and who have legitimate chances to make the team.

The Top 40 Game included several players from last season’s team: defensemen Mason Minor, Hawke Huff and Joseph Fenton, goalie Devin Rustlie and forwards Jason Musa, Kole Hyles, Heath Nelson, Nick Romeo and Charles Blanchard. Forward Grant Young and defenseman Joseph Mense also participated in camp until getting injured.

Cedar Rapids has the remainder of the summer to solidify a working roster going into the fall.

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