Former Wyandotte Hockey Standout to Play in USHL

Gerald Mayhew, the 2011 award winner and graduate, will skate for the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League this season.

The USHL is the nation’s top level of junior hockey, with 162 alumni currently in the NHL, including Justin Abdelkader of the Detroit Red Wings.

Mayhew will be joining a RoughRiders team that is the defending USHL Eastern Conference championship.

Last season for Roosevelt, the forward led his team to the , serving as co-captain and scoring 44 goals along the way.

While playing for Cedar Rapids, Mayhew said he aims to help his new team be successful and to continue improving his personal skills.

“I’m looking forward to winning a championship and to becoming a better hockey player,” Mayhew said.

The USHL is comprised of amateur players between the ages of 16 and 20. The amateur status allows players to maintain eligibility for collegiate hockey–another of Mayhew’s goals.

“I will hopefully get scouted by a college team, and after two years, go and play Division I hockey,” Mayhew said.

In March, immediately after the Bears season, Mayhew signed with the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings of the North American Hockey League. During the summer, however, he was invited to try out for Cedar Rapids and made the team. Mayhew will leave Wyandotte later this month to begin preseason workouts with Cedar Rapids.

While in high school, Mayhew said, it was the dedication of the Wyandotte hockey coaching staff that most inspired him. He credits that devotion to where he is today.

“All of my coaches always had faith in not only me, but in the whole team … and that made me work even harder,” Mayhew said.

Making it to the NHL is something that Mayhew said he desires to do, despite the tough road ahead.

“Playing in the NHL has always been my dream,” Mayhew said. “It is very hard to make it, but hopefully I get a chance.”