Article from USA Hockey Website: Florida Everblades Peewees making Noise

2009-12-04

November 25, 2009 By Dave McMahon Special to USAHockey.com Now in his third season of coaching the Florida Everblades at the Tier I level, Dan Lupo knows that Florida-bred hockey players can make an impact on the game at the youth level. Teams across the nation are discovering it now, too, thanks to the Everblades’ Peewee team.

Lupo, a former minor league hockey player who grew up playing in Somerville, Mass., before skating for Northeastern University, has his squad ranked No. 4 in the nation by myhockeyrankings.com. The team of 1998-born players is off to a 16-4 start to the season. They started the season 12-1, and three of their four losses have come against Midwest-based teams. Team Illinois handed the Everblades 4-2 and 5-4 losses, and the Chicago Mission dropped Florida 4-1.
“This team started as Squirt Majors two years ago,” said Lupo, whose minor-league career brought him to a stint with the short-lived Miami Matadors of the ECHL. “We weren’t so good in our first year. Florida hockey is tricky. It takes a lot of patience to compete against the powerhouse Detroit and Chicago programs. It’s taken a lot of hard work and dedication from the parents, kids and coaching staff.”

Lupo doesn’t have any children, but has found a family of sorts with the Everblades program.

“One of my passions is kids and the other is hockey, so you put them together and you’ve got my number one passion,” Lupo said.
The Everblades, based in Fort Myers, play out of Germain Arena, home of the ECHL’s Everblades.

After seeing the Everblades make steady progress, Lupo isn’t afraid to put any top team on the schedule.

“This year we have four kids on the team that are legitimate big-time studs,” he said. “You can match them up with anyone in the country.”

Lupo figured his squad would have a chance to be successful this season thanks to some new faces.

“It’s kind of a catchy thing,” Lupo said. “We don’t have 50-60 kids at tryouts. This year we had 14-15, typically maybe 20. More times than not we take the development kids, who are more likely geared to be a A or AA player before they come here.

“We don’t have the luxury of cutting kids when and forming a team with new kids every year. We make it personable with each kid and family. I think that’s truly why we’re successful. Too many times we treat this game like the kids are in the NHL, with some of these programs and the pressure that’s on these kids.”

While not having an abundance of players in a hockey market like Fort Myers could cause problems when forming a team, Lupo begs to differ.

“Most coaches wouldn’t agree with me, but I enjoy having less kids at tryouts. You usually have the good kids,” Lupo said.

What Lupo can’t argue with is the players’ dedication.

“We’re a weekend-based program,” said Lupo, who also coaches the program’s 1995-born and 1997-born teams. “I only see the kids on weekends. I don’t have them on the ice five days a week. The dedication level for these kids is way above and beyond.”

On Lupo’s 95-born team, four players drive 10 hours from Atlanta to practice. Practices are typically 2-3 hours on Saturday and Sunday.

At home, players are responsible for charting their weekly on- and off-ice training.

“By the end of the week, I have 45 emails waiting for me that tells me what each player has done that week,” Lupo said.

Players on the 1998-born team, sponsored by IMS Water Tight Sliding Doors, travel from places like West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Bradenton and Orlando to play.

Their dedication is paying off.

The Everlades won a tournament in Rochester, N.Y., to start the season. They then lost to Team Illinois in the finals of the Little Caesars Invitational in Detroit.

“It’s unheard of for a team from the south to make it to the semifinals at that tournament, let alone the finals,” Lupo said.

At the Nike Bauer Tournament in Chicago, the Everblades lost to the Chicago Mission in the final.

So it’s been three tournaments, and three spots in the championship game.

“We certainly don’t duck the big guys,” Lupo said.

In the past, the Everblades have not formed Peewee Minor teams.

“I wasn’t sure if we were going to have a team this year,” Lupo said. “My assistant coach, Tad O’Had, and I teamed up and it’s working great.”

A Martin Luther King Jr. weekend tournament hosted by the South Shore Kings in Boston is the January schedule highlight. In February, the Everblades are off to Dallas for a Super 8 Tournament.

Lupo is making good on his attempt at getting Florida players on the hockey map.

“Nobody was paying attention to them, and now all of the sudden everybody wants Florida hockey players,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me what state I’m coaching in. Hockey’s hockey.”

Those beach boys from Florida? They can play some hockey, too.

Everblades team members are goaltenders Blake Carlson and Charlie Marino; defensemen Rhett Rampinelli, Jake Sutton, Steele Spinosa, Shane Lynch and Hakon Nilsen; and forwards Nick Pastujov, Mike Pastujov, Jakob Chychrun, Riley Degler, Cole Gallant, John Gareau, Mason Howard and Zach Solow.

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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