Kalkaska Rhinos and Florida Eels Announce Affiliation

Kalkaska Rhinos and Florida Announce Formal Affiliation

July 7, 2016
By Florida Eels/Kalkaska Rhinos Staffs

kalkaska rhinos florida eels affiliation

Kalkaska Rhinos Provide Path to Advancement

The Florida Eels of the USPHL Elite Program and the Kalkaska RhinosUSP3 Western Conference announce a formal affiliation. GM Frank Scarpaci and GM and Coach Krzysztof Oliwa state that is affiliation makes sense for both organizations. The Rhinos players will have a direct pipeline to advancement to the Eels Elite program. By similar token the Eels will assist the Rhinos organization with its player development of its USP3 program.

The Eels are one of the storied franchises in the USPHL. It is the oldest junior program in Florida. The Eels were part of the old Southeast Junior Hockey league (SEJHL), the old MJHL and the old EJHL South. The Eels were instrumental in moving the EJHL South teams into the current USPHL. The Eels have an impressive track record for advancement of its players. The Eels have 175 alumni who have moved onto college hockey. Now that is very impressive in any market let alone the South. In fact those numbers exceed many leagues.

For the past 4 seasons the Eels have moved 20+ players onto college. This past season the Eels moved on 23 players to college. The Eels have also advanced players into the USHL, NAHL, the BCHL and other junior leagues. Moreover the Florida Eels have 4 alumni who were drafted into the NHL.

GM Frank Scarpaci says we are very proud of our program. Our primary target is NCAA Div. 3 but we have alumni who have advanced to NCAA DIV.1. These include UNH, UVT, Notre Dane, Sacred Heart, Michigan State, Yale, Univ. of Wisconsin, Providence College, Maine, and several others.

The Eels success is in its training program. We train 3 hours per day 5 days per week 40 weeks per year. That is 600 hours per year. Compared to many other programs that only train 300 hours per year. That simply is not enough. If you want to be the best violinist pianist gymnast or hockey player. You have to put in the training hours. We vet our players. We discern and dig deep into player’s character, spirit, heart, determination and dedication. There are no short cuts with us.

The Eels also make an enormous investment with our players. We attend five (5) in season college showcases to provide our players with maximum exposure and visibility. The bottom line is you cannot be scouted if you are not seen. If you are not scouted you cannot be recruited. We place our players into environments where they will be seen. That gives our players 20 games in front of the college coaches, scouts and recruiters. Again compare this to other leagues and teams they attend 1,2 or at best 3 showcases. Additionally we partake in 4 out of season showcases to further expose our players to college coaches.

Kalkaska GM and Coach Krzysztof Oliwa no doubt recognizes the value in what the Eels do. By entering into this affiliation Kalkaska will make available to its players the same formula of training and success as well as the advancement opportunities of his players to an Elite program. The relationship between the two organizations is not new. Last year Coach Krzysztof Oliwa knew his team was in neutral at the last 1/3 of the season and made key moves to move players to the Florida Eels so they could garner playoff opportunities and exposure. In fact Daren Aikens andRobert Cerepak were sent to the Eels for this very reason. Cerepak and Aikens fit right nicely with the Eels and helped propel the Eel’s team to first place in the Florida Division which earned them a bid to the USPHL final playoff round. There the boys helped bring the Eels team to the semi finals. In fact in the playoff round, the Eels defeated the Western Conference 1stplace Lake Forrest Lakers (Western Div.) and the Tri City 1st place team (Eastern Div.).

Now both entities are planning for the 2016-17 season. This year the USPHL League created a new alignment in the West Division - with an Elite and USP3 divisions. Kalkaska is in the USP3 division. This Eels/Rhino affiliation strengthens the Rhinos as an organization. The Rhinos will now be able to offer to their top players a direct pathway not only to an Elite team, but also to one of the top college placement programs in junior hockey. Indeed, the Eels with 24 of this year’s players advancing to college makes it unequivocally clear what their focus is. The Eels record of 20+ players advancing for the past 4 years and 175 total emphatically established their position in the college advancement arena. The Eels have USP3 and Elite teams. Their mission is the same for both teams. This is exactly what Kalkaska's GM and Coach Krzysztof Oliwa wants for his Rhino players. This is a bold move on his part. He is clearly putting his players first. He has the smarts and intelligence to align with a winning formula.

With this new affiliation between Kalkaska and the Eels we will have a close relationship and mentoring process. One goal: advancement. This relationship will be more than lip service. The two teams will work together to bring the level of both teams’ players to the “Next Level.”