John Leclair, Mark Howe to coach U.S. prospects game

United States Hockey Hall of Fame members Mark Howe and John Leclair will be the coaches at the 2016 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 22.
The game will feature 42 of the top United States-born players eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft. Players for the game will be selected by USA Hockey in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting. Rosters for the teams will be revealed at a future date.

Among the players that could participate are University of Michigan defenseman Luke Martin; forwards Kailer Yamamoto of Spokane of the Western Hockey League and Casey Mittelstadt of Eden Prairie (Minn.) High School; and Boston University goaltender Jake Oettinger. All four players are on Central Scouting's Futures List for the 2017 draft. They also took part in the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp earlier this month, the first step in picking the U.S. team for the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Howe, also a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, spent 10 of his 16 NHL seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers (1982-92) and is their leader among defensemen in goals (138), assists (342), points (480) and plus/minus (plus-349). He helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1985 and 1987.

Leclair spent 10 seasons with the Flyers and is fifth all-time with 333 goals and seventh with 643 points for Philadelphia. He is the only U.S.-born player with three straight 50-goal seasons (1995-98). During that time, he was the left wing on the "Legion of Doom" line with center Eric Lindros and right wing Mikael Renberg, and helped the Flyers reach the 1995 Eastern Conference Final and the 1997 Stanley Cup Final.
"We're thrilled to have Mark and John, two legends associated with the Philadelphia Flyers, as head coaches for this year's All-American Prospects Game," said Jim Johannson, USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations. "I'm certain the players, who are some of the best Americans eligible for next year's NHL Draft, will enjoy the opportunity to learn from these two former NHL All-Stars."
Howe was enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. Leclair was inducted in 2009, and also was on the 1996 U.S. World Cup team that will be honored as part of the U.S. Hall's class of 2016, along with former NHL forward Craig Janney and longtime high school coach Bill Belisle.