skip navigation

Omaha 16U Finds Success With Players From Near and Far

By Jason L. Young - Special to USAHockey.com, 03/19/15, 4:00PM MDT

Share

Several players are local, but others come from as far away as Austria

David Wilke’s experiment has begun to play dividends.

In his fifth year with the Omaha AAA Hockey Club, Wilke helped orchestrate a somewhat major transformation of how the club’s teams were formed. Before his arrival most of the players were homegrown or from a bordering state.

Now, they come from as far away as Europe.

“We have quite a bit of hockey, but we don’t have a ton of high-end hockey, so it requires us to bring those kids in the door,” Wilke said. “It’s a pretty well-oiled machine in the fact that we have the kids coming in and living with families and they all go out the same school. It works for us.”

The hope is that more boys from the city and the surrounding states notice the success of the Omaha-based team and become interested in hockey. While the OHC isn’t necessarily looking to close its doors to those from farther away, it would be more than happy if its rosters were filled with players from Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas.

For now, the rosters have about half from Midwest states and the rest from all around the nation and the world. Probably the farthest any of the players had to move was Max Haselbacher of Austria. The goalie certainly has made an impact for the 16U team.

Omaha won the Central District Tier I 16U Kohlman Cup with eight points, well ahead of second place St. Louis’ five. Haselbacher allowed just two goals in the three games, including two shutouts, to lead his team to the title.

Wilke said he has already seen less of a need to recruit players like Haselbacher.

“It’s unique because we don’t necessarily have the infrastructure underneath to be able to have the highest level Triple A teams competing at the elite Tier I level,” Wilke said. “We recruited many kids in. We’ve gotten more Midwest kids, so we’re more of a regionally-based team.”

What’s in a Name?

While plenty of former NHL players have children playing at the youth level, it can be easy to not take notice if their names are more popular like Smith, Wilson or Jones.

Tkachuk is not one of those names. So, when Brady Tkachuck skates onto the ice, it’s a pretty easy guess who his dad is.

Keith Tkachuk played forward for 19 years in the NHL with four teams. His longest tenure came with the St. Louis Blues in two different stints totaling nearly 10 seasons.

For Brady, who competed for the 16U AAA St. Louis Blues, the name is a badge of honor.

“That’s kind of cool like how people know or think I’m related to him,” said Brady, a freshman in high school. “They ask me all the time, ‘Is Keith Tkachuk your dad?’ Every tournament it’s that way.”

Keith often helps his son’s team, including being on the bench during games, working with the forwards.

The younger Tkachuk is considered one of the best high school players in the nation. He and his dad aren’t the only ones in the house known for their hockey ability, though. Matthew Tkachuk, 17, is a member of the U.S. National U18 Team as part of the National Team Development Program and is considered a top NHL draft prospect in 2016. Brady Tkachuk will take part in the NTDP evaluation camp later this month to try out for the program.

Plenty of Company

The Central District has six teams going to the Toyota-USA Hockey Youth Tier I National Championships in Amherst, N.Y. The St. Louis AAA Blues, winners of the 18U division, are joined by the Chicago Mission. The 16U division has three teams from the district with Team Wisconsin and Mission competing along with champion Omaha. Only Mission, which won the district title, advanced in the 14U bracket. This is the first year the national championship includes four at-large teams in each division.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.


Nationals on the Go

Popular Articles & Features

Eleven different cities in ten states will crown champions nationwide

Shattuck defended its Prep title with a 3-1 win over the Thunderbirds.

NAHA outscored its opponents 42-2 on its way to the championship.