Jed Ortmeyer is Amazing

Check out this article from the New York Times about Jed Ortmeyer and his battle with a blood disorder that makes him prone to clotting. It's kind of an amazing story about what he's fought to keep living his dream of playing in the NHL. The article says doctors have urged him to stop playing, but he's still going strong and having a nice season with San Jose.

Ortmeyer wears extra padding on the ice and compression socks when he travels. He must monitor his diet. To check for clots, he has monthly ultrasound examinations on his legs and abdomen. He times his injections so the medication, which is legal in the N.H.L., is theoretically out of his system when he plays, a plan Morrissey said was not guaranteed to be safe.

Best captain ever.

Speaking of captains, the team voted on alternates. The winners: Carl Hagelin and Luke Glendening. Hagelin isn't a surprise. I've had him pegged as a future captain for awhile now. Everyone says he's a great kid and he's probably the best case of leading by example since Ortmeyer. Glendening is a surprise, but it makes sense if you think about it. Recruited walk-on, plays his way into a major role on last year's team, works his butt off. That's a pretty great honor to get voted as a captain, especially as a sophomore. The MGoBlue release that's linked above indicates that he's the first sophomore to wear a letter since David Harlock in 90-91.

Jack Campbell was named the top goalie prospect in the USHL by the CSS (PDF file).

"He's got good size, doesn't beat himself, his positioning is very good, great butterfly style -- a blocking-style goalie," Jensen said. "Good quickness in recovery, but he's not all over the place. He'll make the saves."

Jon Merrill is the #7 ranked skater in the USHL, Luke Moffatt is #13, and Derek DeBlois is #24.