Due to a turbulent summer that saw several high-end players bolt on their college commitments for the CHL, the United States college versus Canadian major juniors debate came to the forefront amongst the hockey faithful. Is the CHL really the fast-track to the NHL? Will the US college system continue to lose top committed recruits to the CHL at the eleventh hour, or was this past summer simply an anomaly? My allegiance certainly lies on the side of college hockey, and though I remain a large fan of CHL hockey, I've chosen to assemble a college hockey alumni all-star team.
I've tried to remain true to a player's natural position, though I did do a little shuffling position-wise in order to acquire some depth throughout the lineup. And then I got to thinking, if I have an all-star team, who are they going to get after it against as they prepare for the mythical match-ups against their CHL and European counterparts? The answer was clear: the college hockey alumni practice squad. So who made the cut? Check it out, and let me know your thoughts and suggestions for swapping between teams, omissions, etc.
College Hockey Alumni "Practice Squad"
| LW | C | RW |
| James Van Riemsdyk (New Hamp.) | Travis Zajac (North Dakota) | TJ Oshie (North Dakota) |
| Ryan Malone (St Sloud State) | Mike Cammalleri (Michigan) | Kyle Okposo (Minnesota) |
| Erik Cole (Clarkson) | Andy McDonald (Colgate) | Teddy Purcell (Maine) |
| David Booth (Michigan State) | Derek Stepan (Wisconsin) | Brian Gionta (Boston College) |
| D | D |
| Jack Johnson (Michigan) | Ryan Whitney (Boston U.) |
| Matt Carle (Denver) | John-Michael Liles (Michigan State) |
| Paul Martin (Minnesota) | Tom Poti (Boston U.) | |
| G |
| Jonathan Quick (Massachusetts) |
| Jimmy Howard (Maine) |
College Hockey Alumni All-Star Team
| LW | C | RW |
| Zach Parise (North Dakota) | Jonathan Toews (North Dakota) | Martin St Louis (Vermont) |
| Dany Heatley (Wisconsin) | Ryan Kessler (Ohio State) | David Backes (Minnesota State) |
| Patrick Sharp (Vermont) | Paul Stastny (Denver) | Phil Kessel (Minnesota) |
| Thomas Vanek (Minnesota) | Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) | Drew Stafford (North Dakota) |
| D | D |
| Ryan Suter (Wisconsin) | Duncan Keith (Michigan State) |
| Kevin Bieksa (Bowling Green State) | Dan Boyle (Miami-OH) |
| Erik Johnson (Minnesota) | Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston U.) |
| G |
| Tim Thomas (Vermont) |
| Ryan Miller (Michigan State) |
Any glaring omissions? How do you think this team would fare against a CHL all-star team? How about a European squad?
