Hockey is everywhere. While we bemoan the NHL in the southern United States (not me!), there is hockey at many levels being played, and loved, all over the place. Some of these hockey outposts are very well supported, and a community latches on to a team with serious intensity. The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL are one such team.
What is the USHL, and where the hell is Cedar Rapids, you ask? The USHL is an American junior league, with a focus on putting players in front of college scouts and development. From the USHL website:
League Goals
* Provide talented young players and officials an opportunity to participate in competitive hockey
* Provide considerable training time, quality coaching and involve players and officials in national and international competition
* Provide players exposure to college and professional coaches
* Further players educational goals while developing their hockey skills
* Maintain a strictly amateur status with USA Hockey, CCHA, ECAC, HE, WCHA and other organizations
As for where Cedar Rapids is, well, that would be Iowa. I told you, hockey is everywhere.
This was the jersey of Mike Patton. Not the singer Mike Patton (of Faith No More fame).
This is one of those jerseys that receives a lot of comments, mostly asking about where it’s from. It has a lot of puck marks, and a few board burns. The dark version is also pretty cool, which is also in our possession.