43
NHL draft hopeful is Valley native
By TOM WILLIAMS
BOARDMAN
Boardman may soon have a connection to the National Hockey League.
Michael Houser, son of Boardman allergist Dr. William Houser, is a 17-year-old goaltender with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. The former St. Charles School student who now lives in Wexford, Pa., is expected to be selected during today’s NHL Draft which is being conducted in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.
“It’s been hard not to think about it,” Michael said of the weeks leading up to the draft. “It’s pretty surreal that I could hear my name called.”
No matter when he’s picked (he’s heard it could be as soon as the third round and perhaps as late as the sixth), Houser, 17, will return to the Knights so he can finish high school at London’s Saunders Secondary School.
“School is really important in our family so I won’t be doing anything else with hockey until I’ve finished high school,” said Houser who attended Pittsburgh’s Shadyside Academy during seventh and eighth grades.
Hockey players are eligible to be drafted at age 18. The teams have three years to sign their picks. After that, they become free agents.
Houser posted a 17-4-0 record and a 3.13 goals-against average during the 2009-10 season.
His grandparents are Mahoning Valley residents — John and Mary Babyak of Boardman and Bill and Carol Houser of Austintown.
Eight years ago, Dr. Williams Houser and his wife, Monica, moved their family to Wexford, because Michael, his sister Shannon and his brothers Nick and Alex were all playing youth hockey in the Pittsburgh area.
“We were going over there at least three times a week,” said Michael who is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds. “It got to be a little too much.”
He was about 5 when he started tending the net.
“I played on the same team as Nick, who was a forward,” Houser said. “I wasn’t the best skater.”
His dad and Grandpa Babyak thought goaltending made more sense. Their decision could pay off with a professional contract down the road.
Three seasons ago, Houser began playing for the Detroit Little Caesars AAA club. Midway through his second season in Michigan, he was invited to join the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers.
Houser played 32 games for Des Moines, going 5-18-0 with a goals-against average of 4.02.
His coach was J.P. Parise, who played in the ‘70s for the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars and New York Islanders. Parise’s son, Zach, is a top player for the New Jersey Devils and scored a memorable goal for Team USA against Canada in the gold medal game of the Winter Olympics.
“It was great to have him as a coach,” Houser said. “He was such a great teacher.”
Last summer, Houser was invited to join the Knights in London, Ontario, a member of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. It was a tough choice because players who join the QMJHL forfeit their college eligibility. Had he remained a Buccaneer, he would have played against the expansion Youngstown Phantoms.
“It was a really hard decision because playing in college was a goal,” Houser said. “But playing for Dale and Mark Hunter was pretty hard to pass up.”
Dale Hunter’s 19 seasons in the NHL were with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals. His brother Mark’s 12 NHL seasons included stints with the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames.
Among the players they’ve worked with in their 10 seasons as the Knights’ owners are Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash and the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane who scored the Stanley Cup-winning overtime goal earlier this month. Both were the top NHL pick in their drafts (Nash in 2002, Kane in 2007).
Houser said the atmosphere surrounding the Knights is a positive about playing in Canada.
“The best thing is the environment,” Houser said. “London is two hours from Toronto so it’s really hockey oriented, a fun place to play. It’s been an awesome experience.”
Should Houser’s name be called today, he most likely will be the youngest player drafted. That’s because his birth date — Sept. 13 — is the cut off point for eligibility.