October 23, 2011
Upward mobility
Buffalo-area native Hussar getting welcomed with open arms to USHL after being named NAHL’s top rookie
by Gene Morris/Correspondent
(photo: Topeka Roadrunners)
After winning the Rookie of the Year award in the North American Hockey League and leading the Topeka RoadRunners to the Robertson Cup championship, the stock of Lancaster, N.Y., native Justin Hussar was high.
It was enough for the just-turned 19-year old to be drafted in the second round, 19th overall, by the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League, fulfilling a longtime dream of the powerful left wing.
“It had always been one of my goals to get drafted into the USHL and play there,” Hussar said. “When I finally heard my name called I was so excited.”
Hussar’s new coach, Regg Simon, had traveled to Topeka to scout Hussar earlier in the season and came away impressed with what he saw.
“He has natural abilities to help out offensively and that made him such a coveted pick for us,” he said.
Simon, who said he believes that low-scoring hockey is “disgusting,” was thrilled to add a player with the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Hussar’s offensive ability to his squad.
“I want to win 6-4 and not 2-1,” he said. “I like to play offensive. It’s not to say that we don’t play two-way hockey -- guys need to be responsible in the other end of the ice as well -- but we certainly get after it, and we really like to attack and try to push the puck up.”
That fits Hussar’s style just fine. After scoring 33 goals and picking up 33 assists for Topeka, he has left no doubt in the minds of anyone on the Buccaneers staff that he can help out offensively.
“You can get phantom assists but you can’t get phantom goals,” Simon said. “Thirty-three is a lot in any league. With the way he shoots the puck and his instincts around the wall and the goal, he knows where to go.”
Hussar began playing the game when he was younger because of the love his father had for hockey. Although he said he didn’t enjoy it at first, he quickly fell in love with the game and hasn’t stopped working to improve since. That’s another key trait that Simon and his staff liked.
“Kids like that, that have that natural work ethic, oftentimes that’s what separates them from the crowd,” Simon said. “He’ll have a chance to earn a paycheck one day, and how high of a level that’s at will be up to him on how much he continues to work for it and how much he develops in the next handful of years.”
For now, Hussar is focused on his year with Des Moines and then the transition into college hockey, where he has committed to Division I Merrimack College, a rising Hockey East program outside of Boston that reached the league championship game and NCAA tournament last winter under coach Mark Dennehy.
“It’s just a great small school, great hockey program, great community,” he said. “The coaching staff treats you like family, and brings you in and they just make you feel loved and welcome. The coaching staff was a big deciding factor.”
It began to come together for Hussar mentally when he moved away to Detroit to play for Belle Tire Hockey Club. He then moved to Topeka, Kans., and now is in the midst of playing in the top junior league in the United States. He also proved his worth this summer in helping lead the Western team to the gold medal at the Empire Games in Buffalo, N.Y., another one of his lifelong dreams.
“I grew up here and always dreamed about playing in the Empire Games because of my idols Pat Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Tim Kennedy (South Buffalo, N.Y.),” he said. “When they won gold, I knew I always wanted to get a chance to someday come back and have a chance to win the gold. It was a great experience for me.”
If Hussar continues on this same progression track he will have a chance to follow his idols all the way to the NHL. But before that he knows what needs to be taken care of in Topeka.
”I want to help the team make the playoffs and I want to help any way I can to give the team a chance to win the Clark Cup,” he said. “Anything I can do to contribute to the team winning would be great.”
With his skills and personality, Simon believes that Hussar has a bright future this season and beyond.
“He’s a well-mannered young man, very mature for his age,” Simon said. ”He’s pretty adaptable and those are the kids that are easiest to work with because they want to come and fit in, and find a way to help.”
Gene Morris can be reached at feedback@nyhockeyjournal.com.
AROUND JUNIORS
Evan Katz of the Long Island Wolfpack of the International Junior Hockey League has committed to Trinity College according to a release on the IJHL website. "He was such an important part of our team last season,” Wolfpack head coach Ken Uher said. “His size and skill really had people taking notice.”… Defenseman Daniel Willett of the New Jersey Rockets Junior B team has committed to Northeastern for 2014. He became the second member of the Rockets to commit to a Division 1 school after teammate Ryan Hitchcock committed to Yale earlier in September… The first-ever captain of the New Jersey Hitmen of the EJHL, Bryan Haczyk, signed a professional contract with the New Jersey Devils. Haczyk begins his senior season with Niagara University this fall. … The Syracuse Stampede of the IJHL won their inaugural game against the Trenton Habs in the first-ever game played at the new SUNY-Canton rink on Sept. 16.
-- GENE MORRIS
