Jets' Hellebuyck to join brother in Odessa

Chris Hellebuyck will at least know one person in Odessa, Tex.

The Metro Jets’ forward is moving up to the North American Hockey League with the Odessa Jackalopes, a team his younger brother, Connor, plays for as the squad’s No. 1 goaltender.

Hellebuyck leaves the Jets as the team’s third-leading scorer with 21 goals and 40 points, also tied for the team lead in goals with Steve Klisz. He tallied 11 multi-point games, including a four-point outing on Sept. 9 against Flint.

“Hellebuyck is the perfect example of what hard work can do for a player,” said Metro coach Jason Cirone. “He plays in every situation and the rest of the guys follow his lead. He’s a leader on the ice and in the locker room and that’s a credit to him.”

Playing alongside Connor is something Chris hasn’t done since both played at Walled Lake Northern when Connor was a junior and Chris a senior. The duo also played on the same Mite team years back.

“My brother had a big part in my opportunity with Odessa by letting them know about me, but I think they also had noticed that I was having a good season so it all fit together well,” said Hellebuyck, a 19-year-old Commerce Township native. “It was nice having options, but I the situation with Odessa made me pretty excited. Connor has told me a lot of great stuff about their program and the chance to play with him again will be awesome.”

Cirone said he was consistently fielding calls from NAHL teams about Hellebuyck over the course of the season.

“There were several other teams that wanted Chris, but they just weren’t the right situation,” Cirone said. “I know (Odessa coach) Paul Gillis is a heck of a coach and does things the right way and I know the fans in Odessa are crazy about their hockey. I saw that first-hand when I would go in there a few years back when I played (in the Central Hockey League) for Rio Grande Valley. I think it will be an excellent situation for Chris.”

Drafted twice by the Jets (in 2010 and again in 2011), Hellebuyck said he couldn’t have made the jump to the NAHL without his stint in Waterford.

”I learned a lot from Jason this season, including a lot of the little things that I'll be able to take with me to the next level,” explained Hellebuyck. “It was great to have a coach like him and I have added a lot of the small things to my game so far. There will be a lot that I will miss leaving Metro, but I think the hardest part of leaving will be parting with my current teammates and coaches.

“It's a great program and I owe a lot to everyone involved.”

Photo/Andy Grossman/Detailed Images

Jets send Mohr to NAHL's Wildcats

Zach Mohr is the latest Metro Jets player to earn a promotion to the North American Hockey League as he was traded to the Wichita Falls Wildcats late last week and played in both games for the Wildcats over the weekend.

Mohr actually started the year in the NAHL with the Port Huron Fighting Falcons before joining the Jets in early November. Mohr tallied eight goals and eights assists for 16 points in 14 games with Metro. He went without a point last weekend as the Wildcats swept Corpus Christi in a battle of Texas-based teams.

“It’s a great feeling to get another shot at the NAHL,” said Mohr, a 19-year-old forward from Novi. “I’m going to try and make the best of it. My expectations are to come down here and try to contribute to the team every shift I get.”

Jets coach Jason Cirone, who has seen several players over the past 10 days make commitments for next year, knows Mohr will have a good showing in Wichita Falls.

“Zach was a really good player for us and I think he really fit in did everything we asked of him,” said Cirone. “I thought from the beginning when he came here that he was an NAHL-caliber player and in a good way, I hope he doesn’t come back here. He worked hard and earned this opportunity.”

Mohr said in the two-plus months he was in Waterford, he learned what it will take to keep his hockey progression moving upward.

“Jason is a great coach and it's obvious to everyone that he knows his stuff and moves players to the next level,” said Mohr. “The thing I learned from Jason was to trust my shot and keep my feet going at all times.

“’I’ll miss the guys the most. Every day I was there, it was fun and to me, that's what it’s all about.”

No sophomore slump for Jets' Bazin

Cameron Bazin wasn’t quite ready to hang up the skates.

After playing last season with the Metro Jets, once the season ended and the summer arrived, Bazin had his mind set on giving up the game and going to school full-time starting in the fall.

But like most athletes will say, it’s not always easy to give up all you’ve ever known. That was certainly the case with Bazin.

“I knew a lot of the guys on the team this year (new and old) and I kept in touch with some of them, so I felt that it wouldn't be that big of an adjustment to come back and join the team,” said Bazin, a 19-year-old from Troy. “We have a very solid group of guys on the team and so far, this year has been awesome, especially since we're winning games.”

Joining the team in early November, Bazin has since tallied 13 points in 18 games. He had just 10 points in 36 games during the 2010-11 season.

”The first couple games I played in, I had to get some rust out of my system,” Bazin said. “I knew that I could perform much better points-wise) than I was playing. I didn't let it frustrate me, though, and I just kept working hard. Lately, I have just been pretty much scoring everything and I have to give a lot of credit to the other guys that I'm on the ice with. We have been winning games and everyone is helping out, whether it's scoring goals, assisting them or just making good plays all around the ice.”

Bazin is also not one to toot his own horn as he definitely has a team-first attitude.

“One player can’t win you hockey games,” said Bazin. “It takes a whole team and we have a great team here this year. I'll do whatever I can to make sure everyone is rolling and that we never lay an egg out there. Whether it's by killing penalties, scoring goals, winning faceoffs or hitting, I'll hopefully find a way for us to win games and gain momentum.

”Being an older guy I think gives me more of an edge to know how we have to practice and then translate that hard work to our games. I try to always work hard and set an example for younger and older guys. I like to say I bring solid energy to the team and think that helps with everyone picking up their play and being on top of their game.”

One of Bazin’s teammates this season, fellow forward Mike MacKinnon, is also a Troy native and the two have been close friends for quite some time.

”I have known MacKinnon since middle school and have played on several teams with him, including at Troy Athens High School for two years,” explained Bazin. “He is a great player and great asset to our team. I talked with him at beginning of the year and he played a part in talking me into coming back and playing this year. I was not playing anywhere prior to signing with the Jets, although I constantly got on the ice every opportunity that I got.”

Sitting at 19 wins this season and starting to jockey for playoff positioning, Bazin has all the confidence in the world that the Jets will continue to see more notches in the win column.

“I feel we are going to finish with a real solid second half of the season and I think we can make a very strong push for the No. 1 seed in our division,” beamed Bazin. “With the squad we have this year, I think that we are one of the top teams in the whole league and that we can compete with any team in the league. I would be highly disappointed if all we did was make the playoffs and then lost. We should be pushing for that top spot in the division by time the season starts winding down and if I was 21 and in Vegas, I would be betting on the Jets to win the division.

“It's nice to be on the squad that is changing the Metro Jets name and making them contenders yet again.”


JET STREAKS

Defenseman Trevor Hillman (Beverly Hills) was released prior to last weekend. He was the Jets’ top pick from last summer’s NA3HL draft and is expected to return next year to Waterford.


WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Austin Brown, a defenseman who played for Metro during the 2005-06 season, is now a senior at Division III St. Scholastica College in Duluth, Minn.

This year, the 24-year-old Lathrup Village native is the top-scoring blueliner for the Saints with 18 points through 19 games and also leads the NCHA in defensemen scoring and with 15 power-play points.

After leaving the Jets, Brown played for the Alaska Avalanche (NAHL), Hawkesbury Hawks (CJHL) and Woodstock Slammers (MJAHL).

Tomorrow in Muskegon - the USHL's best!

Davison native Kalisz chooses UConn

The St. Louis Bandits have announced that forward Joe Kalisz has committed to play NCAA Division I hockey for the University of Connecticut for the 2012-13 season.

Kalisz, 20, is a third-year forward from Davison who currently leads the Bandits is scoring this season with 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) in 36 games. In 102 career NAHL games, Kalisz has 97 career points and is just three points shy of reaching the 100-point barrier for his career. So far this season, he has twice been named as one of the NAHL’s 3 stars of the week and it the offensive catalyst that St. Louis looks to be successful.

The Bandits are currently in second place in the NAHL's Midwest Division.

“I am very excited about the commitment and the opportunity to play for UConn because I feel I can come in and have a chance to make an impact right away,” said Kalisz. “I think they are an up-and-coming program and have a great coaching staff led by Bruce Marshall, so I think it is a great fit for me.”

The UConn men’s hockey team had a resurgent season in 2010-11. The Huskies took a 7-27-3 record in 2010 and turned it into a 15-18-4 mark in 2011. Connecticut doubled its win total from the previous year and finished sixth in the Atlantic Hockey Association final standings with a 13-12-2 record in conference. This season, the Huskies are currently fourth in the AHA standings with a 9-6-1 record.

“I think UConn is a first-class program and I think it is a great fit for Joe,” said St. Louis head coach Jeff Brown. “Joe is a player with a lot of character and somebody who will be able to chip-in right away. I think they are getting a heck of a hockey player and one that is a leader in the locker room.”

The 6-foot, 200-pound Kalisz says he believes that he will be a more complete player in college thanks to his years spent in the NAHL.

“I think playing junior hockey in the NAHL teaches you work ethic," Kalisz said. "You learn right away that if you don’t work at getting better every day, then it isn’t going to pay off. I think that’s something that Coach Brown preaches to us as players. We want to be successful on the ice as a team, but we also know that we are here for a bigger reason and that is to develop, grow, improve and move onto the next level. You grow up fast in this league and understand the daily grind of playing junior hockey at a high level.”

Under Brown, the Bandits have moved dozens of players onto the next level in just a few seasons at the helm.

“It is the reason we are here, to move these players onto the next level," Brown said. "We all love to win, but the bigger picture for us and the Bandits program is to prepare and develop players for the next stage in their hockey careers.”

“I think having a coach like Coach Brown here in St. Louis was invaluable,” said Kalisz. “He has been in the NHL and knows what it takes. He teaches us the game, but more importantly, the little things that may set us apart from others."

Now that he has committed, Kalisz says that the No. 1 focus remains on getting St. Louis back to the Robertson Cup, a place that St. Louis made four straight appearances from 2007-10.

“I think we have the pieces in place and the talent, but it is going to take team unity for us to be successful," Kalisz said. "We have to do the little things that Coach Brown talks about every day - blocking shots, making good passes, being in the right place, get pucks to the net, playing good defensive hockey and most of all, paying the price.”

Photo/NAHL

Jr. K-Wings add defenseman Brooks

The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings have announced the addition of defenseman Alex Brooks.

Brooks, a Grandville native, comes to Kalamazoo having three years of NAHL experience under his belt. He has played for the Wichita Falls Wildcats, Janesville Jets (pictured) and most recently, the Aberdeen Wings.

This season with the Wings, Brooks played in 35 games and posted 17 points on three goals and 14 assists. Brooks’ 138 career games of NAHL experience tie Chris Leone and Drew Graves for longest tenured NAHL players on Kalamazoo.

Brooks was also named to the NAHL Top Prospects team last season.

“Alex possesses strong skating skills and shows a lot of poise handling the puck," said Kalamazoo coach Marc Fakler.

Brooks will likely makes his Kalamazoo debut this weekend as the Jr. K-Wings face off against the Michigan Warriors and Traverse City North Stars on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West.

Photo/NAHL

McKenzie taking charge in Muskegon

New Muskegon Lumberjacks head coach Jim McKenzie played 15 seasons in the NHL, so a midseason coaching change is not a foreign concept to him.

Rather, the 42-year-old native of Saskatchewan knows that a switch like this is common in a results-oriented business like sports, and he’s ready for the challenge of taking over a team midstream.

“My focus is on getting these guys ready to play,” said McKenzie, who won a Stanley Cup in 2003 with the New Jersey Devils. “I’ve tried not to change too much right away, because a lot of what they were doing was working. They’ve had some success this season and I want to help them build on that.”

The past few days have been eventful for McKenzie, as he was officially named to the position Friday morning and arrived in Muskegon over the weekend. He observed practice Monday before getting into instruction Tuesday.

“The starting point for us has to be defending our own net,” he said. “We start from our end and if everybody supports each other, we will have success from that. It’s about working together and taking care of business in some of the tough areas on the ice.”

McKenzie has not been afraid to lean on a reliable support group in assistant coaches Dave Noel-Bernier and Steve Palmer, as well as newly-appointed senior advisor Ron Mason.

“It’s been great to have [Noel-Bernier and Palmer] to throw ideas around and help me get familiar with the players quickly,” McKenzie said. “And Ron is just awesome. He’s a phenomenal sounding board and can attack an issue from so many different ways. The amount of hockey he knows is incredible.”

McKenzie’s experience at the game’s highest level gives him instant credibility in the Lumberjacks dressing room, especially among players who seek to make a career of the sport they love to play.

“Nothing comes easy in this game,” said the Jacks’ new bench boss. “The guys like Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Zach Parise and Jonathan Toews put in the work year round to get where they are. You have to learn to overcome obstacles if you want to succeed.”

Morganroth the latest Jet to play at OU

And the upward player movements continue for the Metro Jets.

Forward Branden Morganroth is the latest to make plans for next year as the 20-year-old Highland native will play for the ACHA Division I team at Oakland University starting with the 2012-13 season.

Morganroth was actually supposed to play for the Grizzlies this season, but an academic snafu set him back a year. Even so, he’s overcome that obstacle, is having a solid year in Waterford and is looking forward to playing at OU this fall.

“They committed to me last June, but then in August, I got a letter that said I was not allowed to attend OU because in high school, I took online classes because of traveling for hockey and that those online classes didn't transfer over to OU,” said Morganroth. “I had no idea, so that's why I had to go back and play juniors again and make up those two classes at Oakland Community College.”

Morganroth has four goals and 10 points this season for the Jets, including a current four-game point streak heading into this weekend’s two-game series in Pittsburgh.

Jets coach Jason Cirone said that Morganroth came to camp with the team on a recommendation after he had only heard of Morganroth and had never seen him play.

“Branden has been a delight this season and he’s been through a lot,” said Cirone. “He’s gone from forward to defense and now back to forward, but not once has he complained. I’ve even had to sit him a couple games due to the fact we are so deep up front, but again, no complaints. He never asks why and has always put the team first. Those are the types of players you want to see succeed, not only in hockey, but in life.

“He’s played all five positions for us, and played them all extremely well, and would probably play goal if I asked him to.”

To be able to play at Oakland will be a homecoming of sorts as OU’s assistant coach, Nick Tomczyk, was an assistant coach when Morganroth played Midget hockey for the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies.

“Tomczyk contacted me asking if I would be interested in playing for their school and of course I couldn’t say no,” said Morganroth. “Oakland is the university I have wanted to go to since I was in high schoolI wanted to be able to go to school and play for an elite university close to home because in previous years, I lived out of state in Wyoming and also in Kalamazoo where not many friends or family could ever watch me play.

“Oakland is a first-class program. It’s run flawlessly by the coaches and their staff members and it definitely compares to any NCAA D-I program. As for the team, it’s an awesome squad; they’re very talented and know how to win. They have been a winning team and ranked at the top nationally every year with national titles (2004, 2006 at the D-II level and 2007 at D-I level) to their credit. I couldn’t be more excited to begin my season there next fall and help them to pursue another national title.”

Morganroth said he has narrowed his academic major down to architectural engineering or something in the medical field. OU just enrolled its inaugural class in its new medical school last August.

Looking at the present, Morganroth is aiming to help get the Jets into the NA3HL playoffs for the first time in five years and to improve on his game to get it ready for the college slate.

“Jason and the Jets organization has helped me to focus on my defensive play and helped me to develop more skill to my all around game,” said Morganroth. “I have also learned to never give up until it is over and to go as hard as I can throughout practice and games to become better and better each time I step onto the ice.”

Oakland currently has five former Jets on its D-I roster in defenseman Mike Corder (2009-11) and Jacob DeSano (2007-09) and forwards Art Dore (2007-08), David Merkle (2009-10) and Adam Novack (2007-09). Both Corder and Novack are former Metro captains.

Kalamazoo tenders Jets' d-man Shier

The Metro Jets announced today that second-year defenseman Will Shier has signed a tender agreement with the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings of the North American Hockey League for the 2012-13 season.

Shier’s agreement follows Josh Beleski signing with the Jamestown Ironmen earlier this week and is the third Jets’ player to commit to an NAHL team this season after defenseman Adam Reid inked with the New Mexico Mustangs last month.

A tender is a contract of sorts a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team. Each team is granted eight tenders - plus or minus any trades - which become active on Nov. 1. Tendered players are not eligible for the NAHL draft.

“The head coach of Kalamazoo, Marc Fakler, approached me after my second game of the NA3HL Showcase in Chicago (in December),” explained Shier, a 19-year-old from Sterling Heights. “He told me he had been watching me closely and he thought my game has improved greatly since the pre-draft camp last summer and that a step up to the NAHL next season would be good for me.”

Fakler then invited Shier to Kalamazoo the following week to show him the rink and the city and to meet the team staff.

“I thought the facility (Wings Stadium) was amazing and the staff was great, so when I was offered the tender, I gladly accepted,” said Shier, the Jets' top-scoring defenseman with 14 points in 30 games. “I have been watching the team and I think their record speaks for itself. Being a first-year team and doing as well as they are shows that Kalamazoo is a top-notch organization with excellent coaching. I definitely want to be a part of that next season.”

Metro coach Jason Cirone said when the Jets acquired Shier last season from the Yellowstone Quake of the Northern Pacific Hockey League, he saw potential for Shier to be a big-time player with the Jets.

“When we got Will, I noticed a few things he needed to work on and to his credit, he’s done everything I’ve asked and has evolved into a dominant defenseman in this league,” said Cirone. “I just tweaked a few things, but Will is the one who went out and did all the work. He gets all the credit for what he’s accomplished. He plays more than 30 minutes a game for us and I see him making a major impact next season with Kalamazoo.”

Earlier this season, Shier earned a call-up to the NAHL’s Port Huron Fighting Falcons and took notice of what goes into being an NAHL-caliber player.

”After playing a few NAHL games, I now know what the league is all about and what is expected of its players,” Shier said. “I have been working hard to improve every aspect of my game and will continue to push myself to get ready for next season. With the help of Coach Cirone, I am confident I can step in and make Kalamazoo's lineup next season.

”It was an easy decision to come back this year and play for the Jets again. I knew this would be the best place for me to work on my game and also be seen by scouts. Jason is constantly helping me fine-tune my game and I credit him with getting my game to where it needed to be to receive this opportunity. The NAHL produces some of the top junior players and through hard work, I believe I can join that group of players.”

Photo/Andy Grossman/Detailed Images