Tryouts — March 20, 2022

Thayer Arena, Warwick 

 

The America’s Showcase has a long history of being the premiere high school hockey post-season event in the country. Originally known as the Chicago Showcase (25 years) or the High School All-American Tournament, the event made an appearance in Pittsburgh before finding a permanent home in St. Louis.  

 

The tournament is a partnership with USA Hockey and the state associations that aims to bring together the best players from each state who attend high school and play hockey in that state. This year's tournament will be held April 21-25 in St. Louis.  

 

Sponsored by OverSpeed Hockey, Team Rhode Island is open to Rhode Island residents who are juniors, seniors, or PGs at a Rhode Island high school, and play for a Rhode Island-based school or program. 

 

Tryouts will be held after the Rhode Island high school playoffs. A group of 20 players will be selected after recommendations from RI high school coaches and completion of a full tryout.  

 

COACHING STAFF

 

MATT BERTANI

Matt spent 10 years coaching in the New York Islanders organization, including six years as an assistant coach with the NHL Islanders under Rhode Island’s own Jack Capuano. Matt also spent three years as an assistant coach with Penn State University and two years as an assistant coach in the ECHL with the Johnstown Chiefs. Most recently, Matt coached the Korean Men’s National Team and Under-20 National Team. Prior to the pandemic, Matt helped lead the Under-20 squad to an IIHF Gold Medal and promotion in the World Championships.

 

TOBY O'BRIEN

Toby spent 23 years in pro hockey before retiring as the scouting director of the Florida Panthers. During his career, Toby worked for the Panthers, Sabres, and NY Islanders in the NHL after coaching and managing the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs for 10 seasons. On an international level, Toby has coached with Timra IK of the Swedish Hockey League and was part of their championship season in 2018. On the USA Hockey side, Toby helped lead the USA Select-17 team to a gold medal in the Five Nations Tournament in Switzerland.

 

One additional Rhode Island-based coach will be invited to be part of the staff.

 

Please reach out to us (info@overspeedhockey.com) with any questions, and we look forward to seeing you at tryouts!