PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The Plymouth Whalers left Compuware Arena behind when the team was sold and moved to Flint earlier this season.
However, the building already has a new tenant and name: USA Hockey Arena. It's the new home for USA Hockey's National Development Team Program, which used to play out of the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor.
The program has been become a "hockey factory" churning out top NHL prospects and stars. For example: Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk are both USNTDP alums who were selected 1st an 2nd overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Dylan Larkin, the Detroit Red Wings' top pick in 2014 (15th overall), also came out of the program. The list goes on.
Arena spokesman Pete Krupsky said full renovations will be underway soon, but the USA Hockey logo already is at center ice (on the NHL rink).
The program is comprised of two teams: under-18 and under-17. They compete in the USHL (the top junior hockey league in the U.S.), the NCAA and internationally.
Team info: USANTDP.com