Carly Eversole, [email protected]
Rock Springs, Wyoming – There is an exciting new league to the city in the Rock Springs Prospectors Hockey Team. The Prospectors are part of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL), an amateur league that according to their website aims to provide elite amateur hockey players an avenue to further their playing careers at the college or professional levels. The Prospectors utilize a global network to recruit players from North America, Europe, and Asia who are committed to developing both as hockey players and as young men during their tenure in Wyoming.
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The USPHL consists of 550 teams made up of players from over 100 different organizations. The 11,000 players in the league range from ages 16-20 and are seeking a pathway to either college hockey, professional hockey, or simply the opportunity to play at the premier level of the USPHL. Locally, the Prospectors have set up shop at the Family Recreational Center as home ice, with the current 27 players living with billet families in the community. The season began on September 23rd with regular season play ending on February 25th in Ogden, Utah. Of those games, 20 of them are at home and have been seeing a decent turnout among folks in the stands. A full schedule and roster are available online as well as a way to purchase tickets.
Leading this newly acquired team in Rock Springs is Head Coach Danny Randall. Randall was born in Boston but claimed Chicago, Illinois as home. Growing up, playing hockey was a major part of his life. He played AA and AAA in high school. Unfortunately, an injury cut the life of his hockey-playing days short but did land him in the United States Army where he served for over 10 years as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.
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Following his military career, Randall returned to Chicago where he was with the Chicago Junior Bulldogs as an assistant coach until he transitioned to Division II hockey assistant coaching at Lewis University. A successful career at Lewis led him to a head coaching position at DuPaul University before landing him in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The move to Rock Springs came after The Prospector’s original head coach Corey Bricknell accepted a position coaching in Alberta’s Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
Hockey has played a key role in Randall’s life and taken him around the country, but in addition to that Randall is a parent and a business owner as well. As a father to a five-year-old son, Leon, Randall says, “He’s my buddy, my mini-me. I haven’t seen him in ten weeks and it’s been hard, but we will get him out here soon.” Aside from parenting, Randall is a barbeque enthusiast, owning Brisket Boys BBQ restaurant in Chicago. Being no stranger to games of strategy, Randall is also an avid billiards fan.
Randall is excited to be a part of a team in its infancy and hopes to take the team as far as he can. “We are working hard on completing our roster. When I started, we had maybe 16 guys on the team and a full roster is 26, and we are getting there.” Not only is Randall excited to be a part of the coaching staff but is also now the new owner of the team, which became official on November 18, 2022. Integrating himself into the community, Randall states eventually he will get his son, girlfriend, and dog out here to see the community.
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