United States National Junior Team (1973 - 1974)
4th Place - Inaugural World Junior Tournament - Leningrad, Russia
Featuring Russia, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Canada and the USA
Front Row L to R: David Geving, Don Madson, Mike Radakovich, Assistant Mgr, Doc. Nagobods, Dave Heitz, Earl Sargent, John Shewchuk, Mark Lambert, Mike Dibble, Dan Bonk, Paul Holmgren, Murray Williamson, Coach/General Manager
Back Row L to R: Tom Ulseth, Jim Warner, Pete Roberts, Gary Sargent, Steve Short, Tom Funke, Steve Roberts, Greg Woods, Craig Hammer, Mike Wong, Al Mathieu, Trainer
The Formation of the MJHL (USHL) and the Inaugural World Junior Championships
Canada and the U S joined the European Junior Tournament in December 1973 to form the first World Junior Championships. The U S was represented by an All Star team from the newly formed Midwest Junior Hockey League (now the USHL) and Canada was represented by the Peterbourgh Petes of the OHA. The late Roger Nielson was the Petes Coach and General Manager. The newly formed six team league included teams from Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Fargo/Moorhead, Chicago and Thunder Bay.
The tournament was held in Leningrad, Russia with a 4th place finish. But one of the highlights for this team was the two exhibitions games prior to the tournament. In the first game at the Met Sports Center in Bloomington the team beat Roger Nielson's heralded team from the OHA 2-1. The caliber of the high school player with a little experience had finally arrived. A total of 16 of the league graduates were also drafted by the teams in the NHL and the newly formed World Hockey Association.
In late 1972 under the funding from the NHL, the WHA and the Minnesota North Stars a six team junior league was formed in the Midwest to provide a place for the Minnesota high school players that were not experienced enough to compete with their Canadian counterparts for major college scholarships and of course future professional jobs. The catalyst to attract the best players to join the league was the opportunity to compete at the international level as well as to improve their chances for college scholarships.
The formation of the league was resounding success despite being faced with an incredible amount of opposition from the high coaches and the High School League even though all of the players were graduates with very little opportunities at the College level
Herb Brooks used the league to recruit what was to become his first NCAA Championship. Players who had very few opportunities a year previous were now contributing to teams in Wisconsin, Providence , Colorado College and many other big name schools in the nation.
Inaugural World Junior Tournament
The catalyst to attract the best players to join the league, in addition to enhancing college opportunities, was the opportunity to compete at the international level and in late 1972 negotiations were started at the international level to have Canada and the U S A join the 1973 European Junior Championships to form what was to become the first World Junior Hockey Tournament.
The U S A was represented by an All Star team from the newly formed Midwest Junior Hockey League and Canada was represented by the Peterbourgh Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. The late Roger Nielson was the Petes Coach and General Manager.
The tournament was held in Leningrad, Russia with a 4th place finish for the USA. But one of the highlights for this team was the two exhibitions games prior to the tournament. In the first game at the Met Sports Center in Bloomington the team beat Roger Nielson's heralded team from the prestigious OHA 2-1. The caliber of the high school player with comparatively little experience had finally arrived. A total of 16 of the league graduates were ultimately drafted by the teams in the NHL and the newly formed World Hockey Association.