Players are now able to sign up for Team Michigan Junior and Senior team tryouts by going to the MAHA website. Players will need a sportngin account/login and also their current USA hockey number.

We will leave it open from now until the week after the State Finals.

As you may know, Team Michigan represents Michigan high school hockey against the top high school hockey states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Massachusetts) at the CCM NIT Tournament in Minnesota. This event is the most scouted tournament there is for our players; last year every NHL, USHL and NAHL team was represented, as well as most Division-I Universities.

We now have two Team Michigan squads attending the CCM NIT Tournament; a Senior Team and a U-18 (Junior) Team. For us as high school coaches, it is crucial that we send our top players to make up these two squads. When scouts see Michigan players on the ice at this tournament, it sends a message as to the talent level here in the state. Therefore, sending our best players helps every single one of us, and every one of our programs and players.

Here are some other reasons why players should try out for Team Michigan:

• Each year, Michigan players who perform well end up getting more college offers and being drafted higher (NHL, USHL, NAHL) than before playing in the tournament. Scouts want to see our best against the rest of the country’s best. That causes their stock to rise, so even if a player has interest from a team or is already tendered, this improves their options.
• Team Michigan is run by Michigan High School coaches who do not get paid. So there is no financial gain from anyone involved. Simply put, we only want to send our best talent.
• Our philosophy in going, is to win the tournament. If we do well (we have won the tournament once and been in the finals four times over the last six years), it showcases everyone.
• Players on Team Michigan the last 6 years have represented all parts of the state. Last year, we had players from 21 different high schools, including the Upper Peninsula, Northern Michigan, Western Michigan, Central Michigan players as well as players from the Metro Detroit.
• We keep the cost as low as possible. This is put on by MAHA, which receives grant money from USA Hockey to subsidize part of the overall cost of the tournament.
• If a player makes the team, the entire trip is about $600, which includes hotels, transportation and most meals.

Tryouts will be held at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea March 23-25, 2018 (two weeks after the State Finals.) We also have some conditioning skates the week before the tournament to help players who may have been off the ice for a couple of weeks. We will email players who sign up for tryouts these conditioning skate dates.

If a player makes the team, the training camps will be held in mid-April in the metro-Detroit area prior to the tournament.

The team leaves for Minnesota on April 18th, with the tournament running April 19-22. We come home late on April 22nd, or early on the 23rd.

The dates of all this should avoid most school spring breaks, but knowing this information now will hopefully allow each player to plan accordingly.

If you have any questions, please contact Don Wright (don@arcticcoliseum.net) or Ryan Ossenmacher (ryanossenmacher@wlcsd.org).