On February 3rd, the United States Hockey League (USHL) will hold its Prospects/All-Star Game in Lincoln, Nebraska. The game will feature 23 players who appear in the 2004 NHL Central Scouting Bureau Midseason Rankings.

Of the 23 players, the highest ranked skater slated to appear in the Prospects/All-Star Game is center Paul Stastny (St. Louis, Mo.) who will skate for Team USHL. Stastny, who plays for the River City Lancers (17 goals, 31 assists), is the son of former NHLer Peter Stastny. Stastny, ranked No. 53, recently announced that he would play college hockey for the University of Denver Pioneers (WCHA). This will make him the second Stastny to play college hockey, as his brother Yan played for two seasons at Notre Dame before joining the Nuernberg Ice Tigers in Germany.

In the recently released Central Scouting Bureau rankings, 26 skaters and four goalies currently play in the USHL. An additional five skaters with a USHL connection are also listed. Three of them are rated in the top 54. They are:

No. 19 Wes O’Neill, a former defenseman for the Green Bay Gamblers who is a freshman at Notre Dame.

No. 48 Geoff Paukovich, who left the Tri-City Storm to play for the USA U-18 team. Paukovich, a left wing, is a native of Englewood, Colo., and will return home to play at the University of Denver next season.

No. 54 Tyler Haskins, who made the jump from the Sioux City Musketeers to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Haskins spent last season with the Guelph Storm, and is currently a member of the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors.

Green Bay has an astounding eight of the 26 ranked skaters on its team, of which four will suit up for Team World in the Prospects/All-Star Game. Three of the four are forwards: Victor Oreskovich (Oakville, Ont.), Sean Garrity (North St. Paul, Minn.), and Nate Dey (Maplewood, Minn.). Also representing the Gamblers is defenseman Kyle Klubertanz (Sun Prairie, Wisc.).

At the present time, 19 of the 30 ranked USHL prospects have a college commitment.

Listed below are all of the USHL players ranked by the Central Scouting Bureau, in order by rank. College commitments are in parentheses.

Skaters

53. Paul Stastny, C, River City (Denver)*

55. Chris Zarb, D, Tri-City (Ferris State)*

70. Blair Yaworski, C, Sioux City (Yale)*

76. Victor Oreskovich, RW, Green Bay (Notre Dame)*

84. Tom May, RW, Des Moines (Denver)*

98. Sean Garrity, C, Green Bay (St. Cloud State)*

99. Matt Vokes, C/RW, Cedar Rapids*

101. Evan Rankin, RW, Lincoln*

121. Nate Dey, RW, Green Bay (St. Cloud State)*

125. John Dingle, RW, Tri-City (Ohio State)*

132. Tom Pohl, C, Tri-City (Minnesota)*

133. Nick Tuzzolino, D, Lincoln*

135. Derek Peltier, D, Cedar Rapids (Minnesota)*

136. Jake Obermeyer, D, Tri-City (Michigan Tech)*

139. Jim McKenzie, RW, Sioux Falls*

145. Mike Curry, RW, Sioux City*

149. Kyle Klubertanz, D, Green Bay (Wisconsin)*

155. Matt McIlvane, C, Chicago (Ohio State)*

159. Jeff Hazelwood, LW, Green Bay (Maine)

166. Derek Patrosso, LW, Danville (Colorado College)*

167. Matt Fornataro, C, Waterloo (New Hampshire)

191. Luke Beaverson, D, Green Bay (North Dakota)

214. Matt Jones, RW, Green Bay

218. Jon Globke, D, Sioux Falls

219. Tomas Sinasalo, LW, Green Bay

239. Dustin Molle, D, Waterloo*

Goaltenders

11. Joe Fallon, Cedar Rapids*

14. Jimmy Spratt, Sioux City*

18. Peter Mannino, Tri-City (Denver)*

20. Adam D’Alba, Chicago (Brown)

*Selected for USHL Prospects/All-Star Game.