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From Its Humble Beginning, NAHL Continues To Flourish As Dominant Development League BY ROMAN J. USCHAK The Miller family has a long and illustrious history in hockey, with many getting a huge lift thanks to their time in the NAHL. to face off against the Bulls. P Two years with the Compuware Ambassadors gave the Trenton, Mich., native a solid foundation to progress onto Miami University. 32 APRIL/MAY.2012 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM eter Traber had been with the Topeka RoadRunners for all of a day, having just been traded from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders when he took the ice in Amarillo wouldn't have guessed in a few months the young goalie from Houston would post a scoreless streak just shy of 218 minutes and three consecutive shutouts in December. Or that he'd draw the attention of scouts to the stands. Or that he would choose Harvard over Princeton and Colgate for the next stop in his hockey odyssey. After suffering an earlier 5-3 loss, you He can thank the North American Hockey League for all of that. The league that provided these oppor- tunities pretty much started off as a mom- and-pop endeavor in the Midwest. It has since morphed into a 28-team, nearly coast- to-coast circuit, stretching all the way from Pennsylvania through Texas, up to British Columbia and into the heart of Alaska. Now in its 36th season of competition, the North American Hockey League is the top Tier II Junior A option available for play- ers ages 16 to 20 who are looking to parlay their skills into a college scholarship, and perhaps a shot at the professional ranks. "The players at this level have a tre- mendous opportunity to be exposed and scouted," said NAHL commissioner Mark Frankenfeld, who is now in his fifth full year as commissioner, and 14th year overall in the league. The NAHL started with five teams in Michigan and Ohio facing off in the mid- 1970s in what was originally known as the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League. Expansion elsewhere in the Midwest/East re-christened the association as the North American Junior Hockey League in 1984, eventually shortened to NAHL. It began with clubs such as the Paddock Pools Saints, Cleveland Barons, Detroit Jr. Wings and Wayne Chiefs. Others, like the Compuware Ambassadors, Niagara Scenics and Springfield Jr. Blues emerged in later years, followed by numerous expansion clubs such as Texas and Rochester (N.Y.), along with the U.S. National Team Development Program. The Texas Tornado has since become one of the NAHL' three consecutive Robertson Cups, named for late league patriarch Chuck Robertson, as playoff champions from 2004 to 2006. The league's other major annual events, all heavily scouted, include the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minn., in September, which features every NAHL team in action over the course of four days. There's also the Top Prospects Tournament in Troy, Mich., in February, which shows off the rookies and other players who have not yet committed to a college. s model franchises, winning PHOTOS BY Getty Images, NAHL, USA Hockey