USHL 2023-24 Preview: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Cedar Rapids will once again be relying on several first-year players to step up.
CEDAR RAPIDS — While they were technically the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders were one of the most dangerous teams heading into the Clark Cup Playoffs.
Mark Carlson’s club grew from a team with several question marks at the beginning of the 2022-23 season to one that saw plenty of first-year players grow and achieve their full potential in a short amount of time.
Forwards Ryan Walsh and Dylan Hryckowian emerged as perhaps the biggest surprises from the Riders roster, accounting for approximately 23 percent of the team’s point production.
The former led the way with 79 points (30 goals, 49 assists) in 61 games, breaking the franchise record for most points in a season, a mark that previously stood for 17 seasons. Walsh was equally a threat in distributing the puck as he was shooting, as his 49 assists were tied for the most in the league.
Cedar Rapids won their first-round matchup of the Clark Cup Playoffs, beating the NTDP U-17 team in three games. Despite being swept in two games to the eventual league champions in Round Two, the RoughRiders gave Youngstown everything they could handle, including a double overtime contest in Game 1 of that series.
From the early-season alterations to how well the team played in the postseason and culminating with five players being selected in the 2023 NHL Draft, the 2022-23 season was overall a success and one to build off going into this year.
“We were really proud of our team last year, and we had to make some adjustments to the roster early on. We did not do much after that, but we felt as a staff that we really improved and played real good hockey for the majority of the season,” said Carlson, who will be entering his 25th season as head coach and tenth as general manager of Cedar Rapids in 2023-24.
“We felt, going into the playoffs, that we had as good of a shot as anybody in the USHL to win the Clark Cup, and we got beat by Youngstown, but the two games we played there were pretty darn tight. They found a way to score one more goal than we did both nights, so credit to them.”
Key Departures
Eric Pohlkamp, D
Ryan Walsh, F
Zacch Wisdom, F
Dylan Hryckowian, F
Andy Moore, F
Bruno Bruveris, G
Key Returners
Cade Littler, F
Zack Sharp, D
Riley Bassen, F
Riley Fitzgerald, F
Sam Scopa, G
Isaac Johnson, F
Colin Grable, D
Joe Schiller, D
Key Acquisitions
Rudy Guimond, G (2023 USHL Phase II Draft)
Tender Signings
None
Three Keys To 2023-24
Replacing Bruno
Like many USHL teams, Cedar Rapids will have a changing of the guard in net, with Bruno Bruveris moving on to Miami University (Ohio).
Sam Scopa will return in 2023-24, and the Quinnipiac commit is expected to be the featured netminder for the RoughRiders. The 18-year-old played well in a backup role last season, seeing action in 23 games and posting a 3.29 goals-against average and a .837 save percentage with one shutout.
Rudy Guimond joins the team after being taken in the 2023 Phase II Draft. The Yale commit comes in with a strong resume, posting a .940 save percentage with Taft School (USHS-Prep) last season and was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the sixth round, 169th overall, of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Guimond is expected to complement Scopa, giving Cedar Rapids a formidable 1-2 punch in net yet again.
“Scopes (Sam Scopa) played some really good games for us last year. He’s got a year under his belt now, so we are expecting him to play very consistently and play at a high level,” said Carlson.
“We also have Rudy (Guimond) coming in from Taft, who we are very happy about. We believe he has the ability, the mindset, and the competitiveness to come in and play a lot and to win games in this league.”
Forward Scoring
The RoughRiders enter this season much like the last in that training camp and the early stages of the season will reveal which younger forwards will rise to the challenge.
Cedar Rapids is expected to see their top eight scoring forwards from last year move on to the NCAA level, including, as previously noted, Walsh, Hryckowian, and Zacch Wisdom, with the latter potting 48 points (28 goals, 20 assists) in 54 games.
The RoughRiders will receive a full season out of Cade Littler, who got his feet wet in the USHL in the Clark Cup Playoffs, posting an assist in four games. A seventh-round pick, 219th overall, by the Calgary Flames in 2022, the 19-year-old potted 29 goals and 39 assists in 51 games for the Wenatchee Wild. Littler’s 68 points were the sixth-most in the BCHL in 2022-23.
Two names that I’m watching this year are forwards Riley Fitzgerald and Riley Bassen.
A cousin of Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Fitzgerald was limited to just eight points (three goals, five assists) in 50 games with the Riders last year. Prior to that, he had 53 points in 49 games for the Boston Hockey Academy 18U club. Bassen should also see a bump in production after registering just six points in 50 games a season ago.
That said, playing time will go to the forwards who deserve it most.
“We moved out a ton of guys, which is great and very similar to last year, there is a tremendous opportunity for everybody playing time-wise, and we are going to be looking for some guys to do what Walshy (Ryan Walsh) did, what Ritzy (Dylan Hryckowian) did, what Krafty (Jacob Kraft) did to come in as first-year guys and have an opportunity to play a lot and play on special teams and contribute offensively,” said Carlson.
“So, if I’m on the roster, I’m really excited. For us, we don’t care if you played one game in the league or 100 games in the league. We are going to play the best guys and the guys that deserve to play, so that’s really exciting.”
Strong On Special Teams
While sorting through the roster reconstruction, Cedar Rapids will hope their good fortune on special teams continues in 2023-24.
The RoughRiders posted the third-best power-play conversion (23.6%) and the best penalty kill (84.6%) in the Eastern Conference last season.
In his second year with the team, Eric Pohlkamp blossomed into one of the best defensemen in the league, highlighted by his stellar play and booming shot on the man advantage.
Drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the fifth round, 132nd overall, of the 2023 NHL Draft, Pohlkamp’s 51 points overall were tied for the most in the USHL among blueliners last year. He accounted for over half of that production on the power play, recording 27 points, with his 18 helpers pacing all defensemen.
Cedar Rapids had a balanced attack on the power play, receiving contributions from all over the roster. In addition to Pohlkamp, Walsh led all skaters on the team with 32 points. Tyson Gross, who was equally effective on the penalty kill, accounted for 26 power-play points, including a team-high 23 assists.
“We were really fortunate last year. We felt that, as a staff, we had some of the best power-play personnel in the league, if not the best. Ryan Walsh, his poise and composure and vision, Ritzy, Pohlkamp obviously was his shot, people forget, you know, Tyson Gross and Krafty,” said Carlson.
“We were just really fortunate to have that group, so those opportunities are there. If I go back here, four out of the five guys on that unit were rookies, so we will sort that out as we go.”
While the initial task of turning over another roster and starting from scratch, so to speak, looks daunting at this point in the schedule, Mark Carlson and his staff always seem to get the most out of his players year in and year out.