The Chicago Steel has its 23 man roster set and are not going with the optional 25 man list through the Fall Classic as allowed. The Chicago staff felt it's wrong to stretch these things out and play games with the kids. We know our team. We have had 25 on the list but will eventual drop two of the names as they will not be playing for Chicago.

     Biggest issues this month were losing two solid players to the OHL (LD Bemis - Plymouth and LC Murovich - Saginaw). We have replaced these two with '90 LD John Moore 6'2 180 Chicago Mission AAA U-16 and '89 RW Dominic Morrone 5'10 185 - Philadelphia Jr. Flyers AAA. It is a slight downgrade losing vets, but both these players are quality junior players and Division I prospects. Moore may turn out to be an NHL pick as we have watched his stock skyrocket the last few months under our noses in Chicago.

  "We knew he was a good player when we seen him in Marquette and at the Nationals with the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers Midget Major team ." We scouted Chris again at the EHK Showcase in Chicago so we invited him to our main camp. He continued to impressed us with his style of play ". Chris' final stats at the Springfield camp were 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in 7 games . He ranked as one of the top scorers at the camp . Coach Ballard said that " Although Chris is the youngest player on our team he proved he could play and be successful against some of the top players in the NAHL . We feel that he is a legitimate Division 1 prospect who will only get better as time goes on ". Coach Wyler added that , " We are really excited to have a player like Gentile." "He plays the style we want. With his speed and scoring, Chris should fit in well . Assistant Coach Ballard added "He loved Chris' speed and how strong he is with the puck." He was also impressed by how hard Chris was to knock off the puck. Ballard continued with "Chris made an immediate impact turning heads the first day of the tryouts"

   Brian O'Neill, the dynamic forward who starred with the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers AAA Midget team, has committed to Yale University for either the 2008 or 2009 season. O'Neill drew a great deal of attention from USHL and college scouts (UNH, Merimack, Ct College, Skidmore, Union) during his fine season, which concluded when the Jr. Flyers' reached the national semifinals (Earn Bronze Medal). He was drafted by the USHL's Chicago Steel in May. Though O'Neill planned to play in the EJHL next season for the NE Falcons, he decided to attend the Steel's tryout camp in June. He had a brilliant camp, where he was identified as one of the top forwards at the tryout. He made the team and is expected to be a major contributor this season. An excellent student, O'Neill also drew a great deal of interest from some of the nation's finest academic institutions. (Dartmouth, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Yale, Michigan and NHL Boston Bruins) Shortly after visiting Yale University, O'Neill declared his intentions. "He is such a great kid," said Jr. Flyers' coach Bud Dombroski. "I'm so glad it worked out for him." Yale finished 11-17-3 in 2006-2007.

Congratulations to the following Jr. Flyers teams for their success in the Philadelphia Shootout tournament. 1999 Team (Semi Finals) - 1996 Team (Finals) - 1995 Team (Champions) - 1994 Team (Champions) - Midget 16U (Semi Finals) - Midget 18U (Champions)

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