United States Hockey League (1945–51)

The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly amateur, allowing former players to compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college hockey.

The Fargo Force won the Anderson Cup as the 2023–24 regular season champions, as well as the 2024 Clark Cup playoff championship, their second in franchise history.

Operations

The USHL is the country's top sanctioned junior hockey league, classified as Tier I. Like comparable entities such as the Canadian Hockey League's (CHL) three member leagues, the USHL offers a schedule of high-level, competitive games for top players aged 16 to 20.

Teams are subject to strict roster rules. In 2017–18 they may have no more than four overage skaters (players who have turned 20 in the first year of the season) and are limited to a maximum of five import players, three international players and two Canadian skaters. Starting in 2018–19, non-American goaltenders will count as two import players in a move designed to give more development time to American goalies, who are also exempt from the overage rule.

USHL teams, typically located in mid-sized cities, pay for all uniforms and equipment. Players live with local families, who receive a small stipend for food expenses, and either continue school or work part-time jobs. Due to their schedules, more than 90% of games are on weekends, which many NHL and college scouts attend. Average attendance at regular season games for the 2014–15 season was 2,715 with 1,384,820 fans attending games during the season.

Kyle Woodlief of ''Red Line Report'' stated in 2007 that the USHL's first line players are as good as their counterparts in the CHL—historically an important producer of NHL players—but that the Canadian-based league has better third and fourth lines. In 2006, Trevor Lewis, the 17th pick in the NHL Entry Draft, was the first USHL player to sign an NHL contract immediately after playing in the league.

At the conclusion of the 2014–15 regular season, the USHL has tallied 251 alumni that have played in the NHL and has 347 current players with NCAA college commitments. According to the league, approximately 95 percent of its players will eventually land a Division I college scholarship.

On March 18, 2020, the USHL cancelled the rest of 2019–20 season and playoffs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the following season was delayed to November 2020 and some teams had to suspend operations for the 2020–21 season.

Draft

The USHL Draft is an annual event conducted in two "phases" during the second week of May. The first phase is an eight-round draft of U-17 players for the upcoming season. The second phase of the draft is open to all players eligible to play junior hockey who are not already protected by a USHL team. The number of players drafted varies, as each team will draft until they have filled the 45 spots available on their roster. Undrafted players are open to try out for any team as a try-out player. Each team must reduce their roster to 23 players for the start of the season, but may carry 18 additional players on an affiliate list.

Teams

Current teams

Defunct professional teams

Senior league timeline

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:01/01/1961 till:12/31/1980
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:10 left:5 bottom:50 top:5
Colors =
id:line value:black

id:in value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.7) # current member
id:Past value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.7) # former member

PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:01/16/1962 text: Milwaukee Metros (1961–1962)
bar:2 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1962 text: Minneapolis Rebels (1961–1962)
bar:3 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1963 text: Des Moines Oak Leafs (1961–1963)
bar:4 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1970 text: Rochester Mustangs (1961–1970)
bar:5 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1979 text: Green Bay Bobcats (1961–1979)
bar:6 color:in from:07/01/1962 till:06/01/1966 text: St. Paul Steers (1962–1966)
bar:7 color:in from:07/01/1962 till:06/01/1979 text: Waterloo Black Hawks (1962–1979)
bar:8 color:in from:07/01/1964 till:06/01/1976 text: Marquette Iron Rangers (1964–1976)
bar:9 color:in from:07/01/1965 till:06/01/1966 text: Fox Valley Astros (1965–1966)
bar:10 color:in from:07/01/1966 till:06/01/1967 text: U.S. Nationals (1966–1967)
bar:11 color:in from:07/01/1967 till:06/01/1968 text: Minnesota Nationals (1967–1968)
bar:12 color:in from:07/01/1968 till:12/30/1968 text: Duluth Port Stars (1968)
bar:13 color:in from:07/01/1968 till:06/01/1972 text: Soo Canadians (1968–1972)
bar:13 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1973 text: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (1972–1973)
bar:14 color:in from:12/30/1968 till:06/01/1969 text: Grand Rapids Bruins (1968–1969)
bar:15 color:in from:07/01/1970 till:06/01/1975 text: Thunder Bay Twins (1970–1975)
bar:16 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1975 text: Chicago Warriors (1972–1975)
bar:17 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1973 shift:-100 text: Calumet-Houghton Chiefs / Copper Country Islanders / Copper Country Chiefs (1972–1975)
bar:17 color:in from:07/01/1973 till:06/01/1974 text:
bar:17 color:in from:07/01/1974 till:12/30/1975 text:
bar:18 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1979 text: Sioux City Musketeers (1972–1979)
bar:19 color:in from:07/01/1973 till:06/01/1974 text: Madison Blues (1973–1974)
bar:20 color:in from:07/01/1973 till:06/01/1977 text: Milwaukee Admirals (1973–1977)
bar:21 color:in from:07/01/1974 till:06/01/1976 text: Central Wisconsin Flyers (1974–1976)
bar:22 color:in from:07/01/1975 till:06/01/1977 text: Traverse City Bays (1975–1977)
bar:23 color:in from:07/01/1976 till:06/01/1977 text: Grand Rapids Blades (1976–1977)
bar:24 color:in from:07/01/1977 till:06/01/1979 text: Austin Mavericks (1977–1979)
bar:25 color:in from:07/01/1977 till:06/01/1979 shift:-25 text: Bloomington Junior Stars (1977–1979)
bar:26 color:in from:07/01/1977 till:06/01/1979 text: St. Paul Vulcans (1977–1979)
bar:27 color:in from:07/01/1978 till:06/01/1979 shift:-50 text: Anoka Nordiques (1978–1979)

LineData =
color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1979

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1965

Junior league timeline

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
ImageSize = width:1500 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:01/01/1979 till:12/31/2025
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:10 left:5 bottom:50 top:5
Colors =
id:line value:black

id:Now value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.7) # current member
id:Past value:rgb(0.9,0.7,0.7) # former member
id:Future value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.7) # future member

PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1981 text: Green Bay Bobcats (1979–1981)
bar:2 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1985 text: Bloomington Junior Stars / Minneapolis Jr. Stars (1979–1985)
bar:3 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1985 text: Austin Mavericks (1979–1985)
bar:3 color:Past from:07/01/1985 till:05/01/2002 text: Rochester Mustangs (1985–2002)
bar:4 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1980 text: Waterloo Black Hawks (1979–1980)
bar:4 color:Past from:07/01/1980 till:05/01/2001 shift:200 text: Dubuque Fighting Saints (1980–2001)
bar:4 color:Past from:07/01/2001 till:05/01/2002 text: Tulsa Crude (2001–2002)
bar:5 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1980 text: Hennepin Nordiques (1979–1980)
bar:5 color:Now from:07/01/1980 till:end shift:200 text: Waterloo Black Hawks (1980–present)
bar:6 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/2000 text: St. Paul/Twin City Vulcans (1979–2000)
bar:6 color:Now from:07/01/2000 till:end text: Tri-City Storm (2000–present)
bar:7 color:Now from:07/01/1979 till:end text: Sioux City Musketeers (1979–present)
bar:8 color:Now from:07/01/1980 till:end text: Des Moines Buccaneers (1980–present)
bar:9 color:Past from:07/01/1983 till:05/01/1999 text: North Iowa Huskies (1983–1999)
bar:9 color:Now from:07/01/1999 till:end text: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (1999–present)
bar:10 color:Past from:07/01/1984 till:05/01/1995 text: Madison/Wisconsin Capitols (1984–1995)
bar:11 color:Past from:07/01/1984 till:05/01/2000 text: Thunder Bay Flyers (1984–2000)
bar:12 color:Now from:07/01/1986 till:end text: Omaha/River City Lancers (1986–present)
bar:13 color:Now from:07/01/1994 till:end text: Green Bay Gamblers (1994–present)
bar:14 color:Past from:07/01/1995 till:05/01/1996 text: Fargo-Moorhead Bears (1995–1996)
bar:15 color:Past from:07/01/1996 till:05/01/2000 shift:-90 text: Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks (1996–2000)
bar:15 color:Now from:07/01/2000 till:end text: Chicago Steel (2000–present)
bar:16 color:Now from:07/01/1996 till:end text: Lincoln Stars (1996–present)
bar:17 color:Now from:07/01/1997 till:05/01/2002 text: USA Hockey National Team Development Program (1997–2002; 2009–present)
bar:17 color:Now from:07/01/2009 till:end text:
bar:18 color:Now from:07/01/1999 till:end text: Sioux Falls Stampede (1999–present)
bar:19 color:Past from:07/01/2001 till:05/01/2003 shift:-100 text: Topeka Scarecrows (2001–2003)
bar:19 color:Past from:07/01/2003 till:05/01/2004 text: St. Louis Heartland Eagles (2003–2004)
bar:20 color:Past from:07/01/2003 till:05/01/2004 shift:-110 text: Danville Wings (2003–2004)
bar:20 color:Past from:07/01/2004 till:05/01/2014 text: Indiana Ice (2004–2014)
bar:21 color:Past from:07/01/2006 till:05/01/2008 text: Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (2006–2008)
bar:22 color:Now from:07/01/2008 till:end text: Fargo Force (2008–present)
bar:23 color:Now from:07/01/2009 till:end text: Youngstown Phantoms (2009–present)
bar:24 color:Now from:07/01/2010 till:end text: Muskegon Lumberjacks (2010–present)
bar:25 color:Now from:07/01/2010 till:end text: Dubuque Fighting Saints (2010–present)
bar:26 color:Past from:07/01/2014 till:05/01/2019 text: Bloomington Thunder / Central Illinois Flying Aces (2014–2019)
bar:27 color:Now from:07/01/2014 till:end text: Madison Capitols (2014–present)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1980

History

Precursors to this league were:
* American Amateur Hockey League (1947–52)
*Central Hockey League (1952–53)
* Minnesota Hockey League (1953–55)
* United States Central Hockey League (1955–61)

American Amateur Hockey League

The United States Hockey League was established as the American Amateur Hockey League in 1947 and began play for the 1947–48 season. When the league began operations it had five teams in and around the Twin Cities arena along with a team in Rochester. The league was made up three clubs from St. Paul which were 7-Up, Koppy's and Tally's, and two from Minneapolis, Jersey's and Bermans, along with a team from Rochester called the Rochester Mustangs. After the 1947–48 season the St. Paul Tally's dropped out of the league and left the five remaining members to make up the league for the 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons. For the 1950–51 season the St. Paul 7-Up and St. Paul Koppy's merged and became St. Paul 7-Up/Koppy's. The Minneapolis Bermans dropped out of the league and new team called the Twin City Fords were added to give the American Amateur Hockey League four teams for 1950–51 season. The Rochester Mustangs were the only club to return for the fifth and final season of the American Amateur Hockey League in 1951–52. Gone were the St. Paul 7-Up/Koppy's, Twin City Fords and the Minneapolis Jerseys, replaced by the St. Paul Saints, Hibbing Flyers, Minneapolis Millers, Eveleth Rangers and the first club based outside of the state of Minnesota, the Sioux City Iowa Sunhawks, which gave the league six clubs for 1951–52, its final season as the American Amateur Hockey League.

Central Hockey League

The American Amateur Hockey League was renamed the Central Hockey League for the 1952–53 season. Only five of the clubs who had made up the American Amateur Hockey League for 1951–52 season returned. Those clubs were the Rochester Mustangs, St. Paul Saints, Minneapolis Millers, Hibbing Flyers and the now called Eveleth-Virginia Rangers. Gone were the Sioux City Sunhawks.

Minnesota Hockey League

After a year as the Central Hockey League the league was renamed the Minnesota Hockey League and would be called this for the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. Only two teams who had made up the Central Hockey League returned to make up the Minnesota Hockey League for the 1953–54 season. Those teams were the Rochester Mustangs and the Hibbing Flyers. Gone were the St. Paul Saints, Minneapolis Millers and the Eveleth-Virginia Rangers. The Grand Forks Red Wings were added and this gave the league three teams for 1953–54 season. The Rochester Mustangs were the only team to return for the second and final season of the Minnesota Hockey League. Gone were Hibbing and Grand Forks. The league added two teams in Minneapolis called the Culbersons and Bungalows and a new team in St. Paul, again called the Saints, to give the league four teams for 1954–55.

United States Central Hockey League

After two seasons as the Minnesota Hockey League the league became the United States Central Hockey League and would be called this for five years, 1956 to 1960. Only three of the four teams who had made up the Minnesota Hockey League for the 1954–55 season returned. Those teams were the Rochester Mustangs along with both Minneapolis clubs, the Culbersons and the Bungalows. Gone were the St. Paul Saints who replaced by a team called the St. Paul Peters. These four clubs would make up the USCHL for the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons. For the 1957–58 season the St Paul Peters were replaced by a team called St. Paul K.S.T.P. The Rochester Mustangs were the only team to return for the 1958–59 season. Gone were St. Paul K.S.T.P. along with both Minneapolis clubs (the Culbersons and the Bungalows). The league returned to four teams when it replaced these clubs with the St. Paul Capitols, Minneapolis Millers and the Des Moines Ice Hawks, marking the league's return to Iowa. For the fifth and final season of the USCHL the St Paul Capitols dropped out and the league expanded to five teams and into new territory with a team in Michigan with the addition of the Marquette Sentinels and into Wisconsin with the addition of the Green Bay Bobcats.

1961–79

The United States Hockey League (USHL) operated as a senior ice hockey league from 1961 to 1979.

The USHL welcomed the first female professional hockey player in 1969–70, when the Marquette Iron Rangers signed Karen Koch.

By the late 1970s, the USHL had fallen on hard times. In the summer of 1977, clubs from the recently folded Midwest Junior Hockey League contacted the USHL. A unique merger was formed, with the three junior teams ( Bloomington Junior Stars, Austin Mavericks, St. Paul Vulcans) and three remaining pro teams (Sioux City Musketeers, Waterloo Black Hawks, Green Bay Bobcats) gathered under the USHL banner. League governors decided on a two-division format, with the junior-aged teams in the Midwest Division and the professionals in the U.S. Division. The teams played an interlocking schedule that was, predictably, dominated by the professionals. The USHL's split existence would last just two seasons. The minor-pro wing of the league folded following the 1978–79 season, providing junior hockey operators with the opportunity to redefine the circuit. The 1979–80 season was the league's first as an entirely junior arrangement.

The league's last season as a senior hockey league was 1978–79. During this final season the league comprised seven teams in two conferences. The U.S. Conference (with the Green Bay Bobcats, the Sioux City Musketeers and the Waterloo Black Hawks); while the Midwest Conference (with the Anoka Nordiques, the Austin Mavericks, the Bloomington Junior Stars and the St. Paul Vulcans). All seven teams were made up with players categorized as "Senior Amateur". Following the 1978–79 season the senior league teams in the U.S. Conference folded and the USHL became an all-junior league the following season.1978–79 United States Hockey League [USHL] standings at
Hockeydb.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.

Awards

Semi-Pro Champions

Championships from the semi-pro era of the USHL.

Anderson Cup Champions

Regular season champions from junior era of the USHL.

Clark Cup Champions

Playoff champions from the junior era of the USHL.

Alumni

*List of USHL alumni to play in the NHL

*List of USHL players drafted by NHL teams

League records

Team

*Most points in a season – 102 by Fargo Force in 2023-24 season.
*Most wins in a season – 50 by Fargo Force in 2023-24.
*Most losses in a season – 55 by Omaha Lancers in 2024-25 season.
*Most road wins in a season – 25 by Green Bay Gamblers in 2011–12 season.
*Longest winning streak – 19 by Des Moines Buccaneers between November 1, 1998 and January 6, 1999.

Individual

*Most points in a season – 135 by Tim Ferguson of Sioux City Musketeers in 1985–86 season.
*Most goals in a season – 67 by Rod Taylor of Sioux City Musketeers in 1986–87 season.
*Most assists in a season – 79 by Tim Ferguson of Sioux City Musketeers in 1985–86 season.
*Most PIMs in a season – 316 by Chad Stauffacher of Green Bay Gamblers in 1996–97 season.

See also

* List of USHL seasons
* List of ice hockey leagues
* List of sports attendance figures

References

External links

2023–24 USHL media guide

USHL website

{{Authority control

Junior ice hockey leagues in the United States
1947 establishments in the United States
Sports leagues established in 1947