Falls grad makes cut after tryout camp
Matt Youso has reached another step in his post-high school hockey career.
The 2010 International Falls High School graduate is looking forward to playing next season for the United States Hockey League’s defending Clark Cup champions, the Dubuque Fighting Saints, after impressing the team’s decision makers at an intensive tryout camp taking place last week at the Mystique Community Ice Center.
“I had a really good tryout,” said Youso, who noted he was one of about eight defensemen the team selected out of approximately 50 trying out for that position.
In last month’s USHL draft, Youso was selected in the 13th round by Dubuque as the 193rd overall pick.
He said he was offered the opportunity to tryout last year, but decided instead to play in the North American Hockey League to improve his skills.
In 2010-11, Youso appeared in 41 regular season and four playoff games for the NAHL’s Owatonna Express, recording one goal and two assists.
Youso said he would be eligible to play in the USHL for the next two seasons, being that his 21st birthday would come after the 2012-13 season starts.
He said players in the USHL, which is a “Tier 1” junior hockey league, are of interest to a lot of Division I college recruiters, who seek out prospects to offer scholarships.
Youso said whether he would want to play one or two years in the USHL will be dependent upon whether a college is interested in offering him a scholarship after next season.
He said his older brother, Jake, has been offered a full scholarship to play college hockey at Holy Cross, where Jake will have four years of eligibility starting next season.
As a player in the USHL, Youso said the team will pay for the cost of him staying with a “billet family” and also has measured him for new equipment to wear next season.
As for Dubuque’s outlook in 2011-12 coming off last season’s Clark Cup championship, Youso said the team is losing a lot of players, though a key player of note remains, goaltender Matt Morris, who was recognized as the USHL’s playoff most valuable player.
Youso said he will be involved in “off-ice” training this summer before he joins the team to begin practice in September, which will be followed by a preseason and then approximately 58-60 regular season games.
