United States Hockey League


The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly amateur, allowing former players to compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association college hockey.
The Lincoln Stars won the Anderson Cup as the 2024–25 regular season champions. The Muskegon Lumberjacks won the 2025 Clark Cup playoff championship, their first in franchise history.
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Operations

The USHL is the country's top sanctioned junior hockey league, classified as Tier I. Like comparable entities such as the Canadian Hockey League's three member leagues, the USHL offers a schedule of high-level, competitive games for top players aged 16 to 20.
Teams are subject to strict roster rules. In 2017–18 they may have no more than four overage skaters and are limited to a maximum of five import players, three international players and two Canadian skaters. Starting in 2018–19, non-American goaltenders will count as two import players in a move designed to give more development time to American goalies, who are also exempt from the overage rule.
USHL teams, typically located in mid-sized cities, pay for all uniforms and equipment. Players live with local families, who receive a small stipend for food expenses, and either continue school or work part-time jobs. Due to their schedules, more than 90% of games are on weekends, which many NHL and college scouts attend. Average attendance at regular season games for the 2014–15 season was 2,715 with 1,384,820 fans attending games during the season.
Kyle Woodlief of Red Line Report stated in 2007 that the USHL's first line players are as good as their counterparts in the CHL—historically an important producer of NHL players—but that the Canadian-based league has better third and fourth lines. In 2006, Trevor Lewis, the 17th pick in the NHL Entry Draft, was the first USHL player to sign an NHL contract immediately after playing in the league.
At the conclusion of the 2014–15 regular season, the USHL has tallied 251 alumni that have played in the NHL and has 347 current players with NCAA college commitments. According to the league, approximately 95 percent of its players will eventually land a Division I college scholarship.
On March 18, 2020, the USHL cancelled the rest of 2019–20 season and playoffs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the following season was delayed to November 2020 and some teams had to suspend operations for the 2020–21 season.

Draft

The USHL Draft is an annual event conducted in two "phases" during the second week of May. The first phase is an eight-round draft of U-17 players for the upcoming season. The second phase of the draft is open to all players eligible to play junior hockey who are not already protected by a USHL team. The number of players drafted varies, as each team will draft until they have filled the 45 spots available on their roster. Undrafted players are open to try out for any team as a try-out player. Each team must reduce their roster to 23 players for the start of the season, but may carry 18 additional players on an affiliate list.

Teams

Senior league timeline


DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:01/01/1961 till:12/31/1980
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:10 left:5 bottom:50 top:5
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id:line value:black
id:in value:rgb # current member
id:Past value:rgb # former member
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width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:01/16/1962 text: Milwaukee Metros
bar:2 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1962 text: Minneapolis Rebels
bar:3 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1963 text: Des Moines Oak Leafs
bar:4 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1970 text: Rochester Mustangs
bar:5 color:in from:07/01/1961 till:06/01/1979 text: Green Bay Bobcats
bar:6 color:in from:07/01/1962 till:06/01/1966 text: St. Paul Steers
bar:7 color:in from:07/01/1962 till:06/01/1969 text: Waterloo Black Hawks
bar:7 color:in from:07/01/1970 till:06/01/1979 text:
bar:8 color:in from:07/01/1964 till:06/01/1976 text: Marquette Iron Rangers
bar:9 color:in from:07/01/1965 till:06/01/1966 text: Fox Valley Astros
bar:10 color:in from:07/01/1966 till:06/01/1967 text: U.S. Nationals
bar:11 color:in from:07/01/1967 till:06/01/1968 text: Minnesota Nationals
bar:12 color:in from:07/01/1968 till:12/30/1968 text: Duluth Port Stars
bar:13 color:in from:07/01/1968 till:06/01/1972 text: Soo Canadians
bar:13 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1973 text: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
bar:14 color:in from:12/30/1968 till:06/01/1969 text: Grand Rapids Bruins
bar:15 color:in from:07/01/1970 till:06/01/1975 text: Thunder Bay Twins
bar:16 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1975 text: Chicago Warriors
bar:17 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1973 shift:-100 text: Calumet-Houghton Chiefs / Copper Country Islanders / Copper Country Chiefs
bar:17 color:in from:07/01/1973 till:06/01/1974 text:
bar:17 color:in from:07/01/1974 till:12/30/1975 text:
bar:18 color:in from:07/01/1972 till:06/01/1979 text: Sioux City Musketeers
bar:19 color:in from:07/01/1973 till:06/01/1974 text: Madison Blues
bar:20 color:in from:07/01/1973 till:06/01/1977 text: Milwaukee Admirals
bar:21 color:in from:07/01/1974 till:06/01/1976 text: Central Wisconsin Flyers
bar:22 color:in from:07/01/1975 till:06/01/1977 text: Traverse City Bays
bar:23 color:in from:07/01/1976 till:06/01/1977 text: Grand Rapids Blades
bar:24 color:in from:07/01/1977 till:06/01/1979 text: Austin Mavericks
bar:25 color:in from:07/01/1977 till:06/01/1979 shift:-25 text: Bloomington Junior Stars
bar:26 color:in from:07/01/1977 till:06/01/1979 text: St. Paul Vulcans
bar:27 color:in from:07/01/1978 till:06/01/1979 shift:-50 text: Anoka Nordiques
LineData =
color:black layer:back
at:06/01/1979
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1965

Junior league timeline


DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
ImageSize = width:1500 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:01/01/1979 till:12/31/2025
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:10 left:5 bottom:50 top:5
Colors =
id:line value:black
id:Now value:rgb # current member
id:Past value:rgb # former member
id:Future value:rgb # future member
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1981 text: Green Bay Bobcats
bar:2 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1985 text: Bloomington Junior Stars / Minneapolis Jr. Stars
bar:3 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1985 text: Austin Mavericks
bar:3 color:Past from:07/01/1985 till:05/01/2002 text: Rochester Mustangs
bar:4 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1980 text: Waterloo Black Hawks
bar:4 color:Past from:07/01/1980 till:05/01/2001 shift:200 text: Dubuque Fighting Saints
bar:4 color:Past from:07/01/2001 till:05/01/2002 text: Tulsa Crude
bar:5 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/1980 text: Hennepin Nordiques
bar:5 color:Now from:07/01/1980 till:end shift:200 text: Waterloo Black Hawks
bar:6 color:Past from:07/01/1979 till:05/01/2000 text: St. Paul/Twin City Vulcans
bar:6 color:Now from:07/01/2000 till:end text: Tri-City Storm
bar:7 color:Now from:07/01/1979 till:end text: Sioux City Musketeers
bar:8 color:Now from:07/01/1980 till:end text: Des Moines Buccaneers
bar:9 color:Past from:07/01/1983 till:05/01/1999 text: North [Iowa Huskies]
bar:9 color:Now from:07/01/1999 till:end text: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
bar:10 color:Past from:07/01/1984 till:05/01/1995 text: Madison/Wisconsin Capitols
bar:11 color:Past from:07/01/1984 till:05/01/2000 text: Thunder Bay Flyers
bar:12 color:Now from:07/01/1986 till:end text: Omaha/River City Lancers
bar:13 color:Now from:07/01/1994 till:end text: Green Bay Gamblers
bar:14 color:Past from:07/01/1995 till:05/01/1996 text: Fargo-Moorhead Bears
bar:15 color:Past from:07/01/1996 till:05/01/2000 shift:-90 text: Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks
bar:15 color:Now from:07/01/2000 till:end text: Chicago Steel
bar:16 color:Now from:07/01/1996 till:end text: Lincoln Stars
bar:17 color:Now from:07/01/1997 till:05/01/2002 text: USA Hockey National Team Development Program
bar:17 color:Now from:07/01/2009 till:end text:
bar:18 color:Now from:07/01/1999 till:end text: Sioux Falls Stampede
bar:19 color:Past from:07/01/2001 till:05/01/2003 shift:-100 text: Topeka Scarecrows
bar:19 color:Past from:07/01/2003 till:05/01/2004 text: St. Louis Heartland Eagles
bar:20 color:Past from:07/01/2003 till:05/01/2004 shift:-110 text: Danville Wings
bar:20 color:Past from:07/01/2004 till:05/01/2014 text: Indiana Ice
bar:21 color:Past from:07/01/2006 till:05/01/2008 text: Ohio Junior Blue Jackets
bar:22 color:Now from:07/01/2008 till:end text: Fargo Force
bar:23 color:Now from:07/01/2009 till:end text: Youngstown Phantoms
bar:24 color:Now from:07/01/2010 till:end text: Muskegon Lumberjacks
bar:25 color:Now from:07/01/2010 till:end text: Dubuque Fighting Saints
bar:26 color:Past from:07/01/2014 till:05/01/2019 text: Bloomington Thunder / Central Illinois Flying Aces
bar:27 color:Now from:07/01/2014 till:end text: Madison Capitols
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1980

History

Precursors to this league were:

American Amateur Hockey League

The United States Hockey League was established as the American Amateur Hockey League in 1947 and began play for the 1947–48 season. When the league began operations it had five teams in and around the Twin Cities arena along with a team in Rochester. The league was made up three clubs from St. Paul which were 7-Up, Koppy's and Tally's, and two from Minneapolis, Jersey's and Bermans, along with a team from Rochester called the Rochester Mustangs. After the 1947–48 season the St. Paul Tally's dropped out of the league and left the five remaining members to make up the league for the 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons. For the 1950–51 season the St. Paul 7-Up and St. Paul Koppy's merged and became St. Paul 7-Up/Koppy's. The Minneapolis Bermans dropped out of the league and new team called the Twin City Fords were added to give the American Amateur Hockey League four teams for 1950–51 season. The Rochester Mustangs were the only club to return for the fifth and final season of the American Amateur Hockey League in 1951–52. Gone were the St. Paul 7-Up/Koppy's, Twin City Fords and the Minneapolis Jerseys, replaced by the St. Paul Saints, Hibbing Flyers, Minneapolis Millers, Eveleth Rangers and the first club based outside of the state of Minnesota, the Sioux City Iowa Sunhawks, which gave the league six clubs for 1951–52, its final season as the American Amateur Hockey League.

Central Hockey League

The American Amateur Hockey League was renamed the Central Hockey League for the 1952-53 season. Only five of the clubs who had made up the American Amateur Hockey League for 1951-52 season returned. Those clubs were the Rochester Mustangs, St. Paul Saints, Minneapolis Millers, Hibbing Flyers and the now called Eveleth-Virginia Rangers. Gone were the Sioux City Sunhawks.

Minnesota Hockey League

After a year as the Central Hockey League the league was renamed the Minnesota Hockey League and would be called this for the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. Only two teams who had made up the Central Hockey League returned to make up the Minnesota Hockey League for the 1953–54 season. Those teams were the Rochester Mustangs and the Hibbing Flyers. Gone were the St. Paul Saints, Minneapolis Millers and the Eveleth-Virginia Rangers. The Grand Forks Red Wings were added and this gave the league three teams for 1953–54 season. The Rochester Mustangs were the only team to return for the second and final season of the Minnesota Hockey League. Gone were Hibbing and Grand Forks. The league added two teams in Minneapolis called the Culbersons and Bungalows and a new team in St. Paul, again called the Saints, to give the league four teams for 1954–55.

United States Central Hockey League

After two seasons as the Minnesota Hockey League the league became the United States Central Hockey League and would be called this for five years, 1956 to 1960. Only three of the four teams who had made up the Minnesota Hockey League for the 1954–55 season returned. Those teams were the Rochester Mustangs along with both Minneapolis clubs, the Culbersons and the Bungalows. Gone were the St. Paul Saints who replaced by a team called the St. Paul Peters. These four clubs would make up the USCHL for the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons. For the 1957–58 season the St Paul Peters were replaced by a team called St. Paul K.S.T.P. The Rochester Mustangs were the only team to return for the 1958–59 season. Gone were St. Paul K.S.T.P. along with both Minneapolis clubs. The league returned to four teams when it replaced these clubs with the St. Paul Capitols, Minneapolis Millers and the Des Moines Ice Hawks, marking the league's return to Iowa. For the fifth and final season of the USCHL the St Paul Capitols dropped out and the league expanded to five teams and into new territory with a team in Michigan with the addition of the Marquette Sentinels and into Wisconsin with the addition of the Green Bay Bobcats.

1961–79

The United States Hockey League operated as a senior ice hockey league from 1961 to 1979.
The USHL welcomed the first female professional hockey player in 1969–70, when the Marquette Iron Rangers signed Karen Koch.
By the late 1970s, the USHL had fallen on hard times. In the summer of 1977, clubs from the recently folded Midwest Junior Hockey League contacted the USHL. A unique merger was formed, with the three junior teams and three remaining pro teams gathered under the USHL banner. League governors decided on a two-division format, with the junior-aged teams in the Midwest Division and the professionals in the U.S. Division. The teams played an interlocking schedule that was, predictably, dominated by the professionals. The USHL's split existence would last just two seasons. The minor-pro wing of the league folded following the 1978–79 season, providing junior hockey operators with the opportunity to redefine the circuit. The 1979–80 season was the league's first as an entirely junior arrangement.
The league's last season as a senior hockey league was 1978–79. During this final season the league comprised seven teams in two conferences. The U.S. Conference ; while the Midwest Conference. All seven teams were made up with players categorized as "Senior Amateur". Following the 1978–79 season the senior league teams in the U.S. Conference folded and the USHL became an all-junior league the following season.

Awards

Semi-Pro Champions

Championships from the semi-pro era of the USHL.
YearTeam
1961–62Rochester Mustangs
1962–63Green Bay Bobcats
1963–64Waterloo Black Hawks
1964–65Waterloo Black Hawks
1965–66Waterloo Black Hawks
1966–67Waterloo Black Hawks
1967–68Waterloo Black Hawks
1968–69Marquette Iron Rangers
1969–70Marquette Iron Rangers
1970–71Marquette Iron Rangers
1971–72Green Bay Bobcats
1972–73Thunder Bay Twins
1973–74Thunder Bay Twins
1974–75Waterloo Black Hawks
1975–76Milwaukee Admirals
1976–77Grand Rapids Blades
1977–78Waterloo Black Hawks
1978–79Waterloo Black Hawks

Anderson Cup Champions

Regular season champions from junior era of the USHL.
YearTeam
1979–80Hennepin Nordiques
1980–81Dubuque Fighting Saints
1981–82Sioux City Musketeers
1982–83Dubuque Fighting Saints
1983–84St. Paul Vulcans
1984–85Austin Mavericks
1985–86Sioux City Musketeers
1986–87Rochester Mustangs
1987–88Thunder Bay Flyers
1988–89Thunder Bay Flyers
1989–90Omaha Lancers
1990–91Thunder Bay Flyers
1991–92Thunder Bay Flyers
1992–93Omaha Lancers
1993–94Des Moines Buccaneers
1994–95Des Moines Buccaneers
1995–96Green Bay Gamblers
1996–97Green Bay Gamblers
1997–98Des Moines Buccaneers
1998–99Des Moines Buccaneers
1999–2000Lincoln Stars
2000–01Lincoln Stars
2001–02Omaha Lancers
2002–03Lincoln Stars
2003–04Tri-City Storm
2004–05Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
and Omaha Lancers
2005–06Sioux Falls Stampede
2006–07Waterloo Black Hawks
2007–08Omaha Lancers
2008–09Green Bay Gamblers
2009–10Green Bay Gamblers
2010–11Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
2011–12Green Bay Gamblers
2012–13Dubuque Fighting Saints
2013–14Waterloo Black Hawks
2014–15Youngstown Phantoms
2015–16Cedar Rapids Roughriders
2016–17Sioux City Musketeers
2017–18Waterloo Black Hawks
2018–19Tri-City Storm
2019–20Chicago Steel
2020–21Chicago Steel
2021–22Tri-City Storm
2022–23Fargo Force
2023–24Fargo Force
2024–25Lincoln Stars

Clark Cup Champions

Playoff champions from the junior era of the USHL.
YearTeam
1980Hennepin Nordiques
1981Dubuque Fighting Saints
1982Sioux City Musketeers
1983Dubuque Fighting Saints
1984St. Paul Vulcans
1985Dubuque Fighting Saints
1986Sioux City Musketeers
1987Rochester Mustangs
1988Thunder Bay Flyers
1989Thunder Bay Flyers
1990Omaha Lancers
1991Omaha Lancers
1992Des Moines Buccaneers
1993Omaha Lancers
1994Omaha Lancers
1995Des Moines Buccaneers
1996Green Bay Gamblers
1997Lincoln Stars
1998Omaha Lancers
1999Des Moines Buccaneers
2000Green Bay Gamblers
2001Omaha Lancers
2002Sioux City Musketeers
2003Lincoln Stars
2004Waterloo Black Hawks
2005Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
2006Des Moines Buccaneers
2007Sioux Falls Stampede
2008Omaha Lancers
2009Indiana Ice
2010Green Bay Gamblers
2011Dubuque Fighting Saints
2012Green Bay Gamblers
2013Dubuque Fighting Saints
2014Indiana Ice
2015Sioux Falls Stampede
2016Tri-City Storm
2017Chicago Steel
2018Fargo Force
2019Sioux Falls Stampede
2020Clark Cup not awarded
2021Chicago Steel
2022Sioux City Musketeers
2023Youngstown Phantoms
2024Fargo Force
2025Muskegon Lumberjacks

Alumni

League records

Team

Individual