Interested in playing for the Buccaneers?

The Des Moines Buccaneers continue to be a staple of hockey in the Midwest – with 30 years of experience the team has won four Anderson Cup regular season championships, as well as four “Tier 1” National Championships and 4 Clark Cup Playoff Championships. Des Moines is an amazing city that has supported the Des Moines Buccaneers for over 30 years. Playing hockey in this city affords our athletes many academic, cultural, and entertainment opportunities that serve to improve the overall experience of playing junior hockey.

Along with the team success and the support of a great community, a number of Buccaneer players have continued to have success in the sport of hockey long after their days in Des Moines were over. We have been the starting point for over 200 collegiate hockey players. On this year’s roster, 15 of our player’s have committed to play at Division I schools after completing their junior hockey careers. Our league places over 100 players annually in Division I college hockey. This means that you will be playing with and competing against the finest players in North America. If you want to be the best, you must compete against the best each day at practice and in every game.

We are currently in heavy preparation for the 2010 USHL Futures Draft, as well as the 2010 Entry Draft. Both drafts will be held in mid-May. Shortly after the conclusion of the drafts, the Buccaneers will host their tryout camps at Buccaneer Arena.

If you are interested in receiving consideration to attend a Buccaneers camp, please download and complete our Prospect Questionnaire. Our coaching staff will research each request received and letters of invitations to camp will be emailed and/or mailed to selected player following the 2010 USHL Draft on Wednesday, May 19th.

Final All Star Rosters

So after a weekend full of hockey, last second schedule changes and last second roster changes we arrived to Sunday with two final All Star teams. Below are the rosters...

White Team
Goalies: Daniel Sullivan and Charles Williams
Defense: Brandon Carlson, Ami Peled, Andrew Panzarella, Brandon Lubin, Nick Cecere and Connor Frick
Forwards: HT Lenz, Ryan Walters, Max Gardiner, TJ Tynan, DJ Vandercook, Josh Myers, Brett Agnew, Bryce Johnson and Andy Edwards

Blue Team
Goalies: Eric Mihalik and Michael Reed
Defense: Eric Knodel, Brad Jones, Austin Coldwell, Joe Faust, Dalton Young and Peter MacIntosh
Forwards: Kenny Agostino, Jake Berger, Colton Saucerman, Connor Brickley, Michael Fink, Mitch Cain, Taylor Wolfe, JP Burkemper and Trevor Tracy

Now it's a matter of the coaching staff sitting down and putting together their team. This could be an interesting week. Rosters are due to the league on July 1st - we'll keep you in the loop!

Green vs. White - Friday AM Game

Sitting and watching the second game this morning - Green vs. White.

A few stand outs on Green include Brad Jones, one of our draft picks; Andrew Panzarella, veteran Buccaneer; and Bryce Johnson, a local hockey player.

On White, Connor Brogan is one of three goalies. Brogan was brought back from Open Camp at the end of May. Kyle Sucher, Graeme McCormick and Kevin Irwin are also on the White team - all were picked in the draft about a month ago.

So far there are some definite standouts - in my honest opinion though, everyone needs to step up their game a little bit. Players need to skate hard, score some goals, play hard and definitely defensemen, need to finish their hits. Play these games as if your life depends on it - because truthfully, your Buccaneer "life" kind of does.

Invite Camp

We're just a few days away from our Invite Camp...and things are busy at the Arena. The coaching staff is hard at work already looking at players - none of them are here but the coaches are going over stats, talking to past coaches - they are doing their homework for camp.

The schedule has been released and there will be tons of opportunities to make your own opinions about the potential future Buccaneers. We've definitely got size and skill; and there may be a diamond in the rough in there too.

We're going to try to do a better job blogging this camp - maybe even get some video and pictures up. But bear with us as this is a learning experience for everyone involved.

And most importantly, let's go Bucs!

Trade Details...

The Des Moines Buccaneers and Lincoln Stars took part in a Futures Draft day deal.

The Bucs were set to pick 10th in the first round, but thanks to the trade they would receive Lincoln's first round pick (4th overall) in the draft today, in exchange for the Buccaneers third round pick (36th overeall) and veteran forward Matt White.

"We're building our future. We know that today's trade will help us build a winning program. Matt has been a strong player for the past two years; but in looking forward we needed to make a decision that was the best for the team's future and also the best for Matt. We wish Matt nothing but the best in his future with Lincoln and at North Dakota," said Head Coach and General Manager J.P. Parise.

The traded pick would come fourth overall and would allow the Bucs to pick up Nick Malysa, a strong defenseman from the New Jersey Avalanche program. Malysa spent time on the phone with Parise after the draft and seems excited about the chance of playing for the Buccaneers. Fans can get their first look at Malysa at the Buccaneer Invite Camp in June.