Thursday was another exciting day for our 18U AA National Championship team from last season. The team was presented their National Championship rings and National Championship banner on August 17^th at PNC Arena by none other than Ron Francis, the Carolina Hurricanes former Captain and current General Manager.  Ron spoke to the group about the significance of their accomplishment and what it takes to win a Championship. The entire team and coaching staff were on hand with family and friends for the presentation. Shane Willis of the Carolina Hurricanes was also there to congratulate the team along with Dan Hollis, Steve Henley, Andy Haldane and Mike Young of the Junior Hurricanes. Congratulations again to the team, the coaches and the parents of this special group!

The News & Observer covered the event and their video can be seen by CLICKING HERE.

National Championship Rings

The Junior Hurricanes have once again broken ground as Kohl Schultz has accepted a position as Video Analyst for the Stockton Heat, the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate.

Kohl began his career a mere 5 years ago, as assistant with the Junior Hurricanes Bantam A team. Over the next 3 years, Kohl would coach at the 16U and 14U age groups. Kohl was deeply respected and appreciated by all of his team’s players and parents. Kohl fondly remembers his days coaching the Junior Hurricanes:

"We would always spend late nights on road trips reminiscing about different stories from all different teams we had been a part of and it made me realize that all of RYHA is one giant family."

Following his coaching success with the Junior Hurricanes and graduating from the University of North Carolina, Kohl accepted a positon with Bemiji State, then last year, with The University of Maine.

Kohl attributes his success as follows: 

"At the end of the day though, none of this would have been possible without the friendships, experiences, and most importantly, positive memories of being a part of the Junior Hurricane family. My journey to one day coach hockey at the highest level is by no means over, but I will always remember where it began. Team Managers, Assistant Coaches, Goalie guys (Rich and Steve) and families of RYHA, thank you." 

The Junior Hurricanes would like to wish Kohl success with his future coaching career!

The Junior Hurricanes are thrilled to congratulate, and announce that home grown talent, Skyler Brind"Amour was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in this year's 2017-18 NHL Draft.

Skyler played most of his youth career with the Junior Hurricanes from Mite through his 2015-16 15U AAA season.

This past season, Skyler player for the Selects Academy at South Kent School in Connecticut. As well, Skyler also played 6 games for the US National Under 17 team, and 2 games for the US National Under 18 team.  

The Oilers selected Skyler Brind'Amour 177th overall in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft.

His father, Rod, had more than 1,100 career points in 1,484 games as a player with the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. Rod captained the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2006 - against the Oilers.

The younger Brind'Amour is committed to Michigan State and will play for the Chilliwack Chiefs in the BCHL next season. He is NHL Central Scouting's 157th-ranked North American skater.

The Junior Hurricanes congratulate Skyler on this great acheivement and we wish him much success with his future hockey career!

Parents and Players:

It is our honor and privilege to announce that our 18U AA team won Nationals this morning by beating the Delaware Ducks 3-1 in the Championship game.

While we have had many teams advance to Nationals, and had several compete in the final game, they represent the first team in our history to win the National Championship.

We are proud of their accomplishment, and we thank them for their commitment and success.

To follow the Carolina Hurricanes announcement via Twitter, click HERE.

To watch the game highlights and see the box score, click HERE.

To watch the ABC News Story from April  11th, click HERE.

To read the News & Observer article from April 12th , click HERE.

18U AA

Thurs - 5:15pm vs Northern Ky Norse - Won 6-3

Fri - 11:00am vs Delaware Ducks - Lost 4-3 in shootout

Sat - 9:15am vs OKC Oil Kings - Won 5-2 Sun - 1:00pm vs Snow King Jr Thunderbirds - Won 5-2 (Semi Finals)

Mon - 9:00am vs Delaware Ducks (CHAMPIONSHIP GAME)!!! - Won 3-1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Junior Hurricanes 18U AA USA Hockey NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!

Go Canes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Carolina Junior Hurricanes with the help of the Carolina Hurricanes will be hosting the 2017 NHL Youth Cup Tournament from October 7-9, welcoming more than 325 players (and 18 teams) from across the United States. The fifth annual NHL Youth Cup will be played at the Polar Ice House in Wake Forest.

The NHL Youth Cup gives NHL-sponsored AAA youth hockey clubs an opportunity to compete in this prestigious tournament for all birth years from squirt minor through bantam major. Youth teams representing the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals and others will take part. The Junior Hurricanes will host the 2003, 2005 and 2007 birth-year age groups in the 2017-2018 season and then the 2004, 2006, and 2008 birth-year age groups in the 2018-2019 season. The even birth-year age groups will be hosted by the New York Islanders for the upcoming season.

This is a big win for our association and youth hockey in NC and this will be the largest Tier I AAA tournament ever hosted in the affiliate. There could not be a better way to start our 30th anniversary season! Please stay tuned for more details and volunteer opportunities as we prepare to host the tournament in October.

For more information on the NHL Youth Cup, visit their website HERE.