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LaDue Climbing Ladder to NHL Career
Tuesday October 9, 2012
Lincoln Stars defenseman Paul LaDue. (photo by Kim Fogle)
University of North Dakota commit enters second USHL season
By Tom Schreier, Hockey’s Future
During the 2010-11 season, defenseman Paul LaDue was playing for the Alexandria Blizzard of the North American Hockey League, a Tier II junior league known more for producing players for the NCAA rather than the NHL. Just a year later, on June 23rd of this year, he heard his name called at the NHL Draft in Pittsburgh.
“He’s a perfect example of what this league is about,” says his current coach, Chad Johnson of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, “coming in and developing.”
LaDue won a state championship at Grand Forks (ND) Central High School during his junior year and spent a year in Alexandria, MN before joining the Stars.
“He didn’t get a lot of opportunities a year ago, there wasn’t a lot of sniffs,” Johnson says of his defenseman, “but he kept plugging away and found a way into the [USHL] and turned himself into a very legitimate NHL pro prospect.”
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Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the USHL celebrates its 11th season as the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league in 2012-13. With 18 NHL Draft picks on team rosters and over 200 players already committed to NCAA Division I schools this season, the USHL has emerged as the world’s foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more information, visit us on the web at www.USHL.com or visit the League’s social media platforms, including Facebook (www.facebook.com/ushlhockey), twitter (www.twitter.com/ushl), and YouTube (www.youtube.com/ushlinteractive). Fans can also watch USHL action all season long, live or on-demand via FASTHockey (ushl.fasthockey.com).
It’s not just hockey. It’s the USHL.
