July 12, 2001
Notre Dame, Ind. – Three members of the 2001-02 Notre Dame hockey team have been selected to attend USA Hockey’s Junior Evaluation Camp to be held August 3-6 at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Selected to attend are sophomores Rob Globke (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.). Globke is a forward who was a member of the 2001 U.S. Junior National Team while Komadoski and Lebda are defensemen. Komadoski and Globke participated in last summer’s Junior Evaluation Camp.
Notre Dame has had at least one player make the U.S. Junior National Team in each of the last five years with junior Connor Dunlop (St. Louis, Mo.) and Globke making the team last season. Among the players picked to this year’s 49 man roster, the Irish have the most returning players selected for the evaluation camp among Division I schools.
The 49-man roster will be cut to 20 players along with the six returnees (including Globke) from last year’s Junior National team to play on the Under-20 National Team that will participate in the 2001 USA Hockey Summer Challenge, August 7-11 in Lake Placid versus Finland.
Globke and Lebda return to Notre Dame for their second season as the the team’s top returning scorers. Globke led the team in goals with 17 in his rookie year and added nine assists for 26 points. Lebda, an all-CCHA rookie team selection on defense, tied Globke with 26 points on seven goals and 19 assists. Globke scored a pair of goals in seven games during the 2001 World Junior Championships in Russia.
Komadoski battled injuries early in his rookie season but came on strong during the second half of the season to score a pair of goals from the blueline and add five assists in 30 games while racking up 106 minutes in penalties. The physical defenseman was selected in the third round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.
“This is terrific for our program and for the players involved. It’s definitely a factor in recruiting and it really speaks well for the job that Andy Slaggert and John Micheletto have done in recruiting,” says Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin.
“Two years ago we needed to replace four defensemen who were graduating and they were able to bring in two World Junior candidates in Brett (Lebda) and Neil (Komadoski) along with Rob Globke who was the youngest player selected to last year’s Junior National team. If Notre Dame has three players make this year’s junior team, it will be a real nice problem for us to deal with in December.”
Poulin points out that making the Junior National team is not just an honor for the player, but it also helps in their overall development. “It’s a great honor to be selected for this evaluation camp. Our players have gotten a lot out of being in the national program. They have a chance to play against the best players in the world in their age group. It’s great for their growth and self-esteem,” says Poulin.
“I would have to say that over the last five years, the players we’ve had on the national team have benefitted from the experience. Last year, Connor Dunlop and Rob Globke played their best hockey of the year after they returned. Dan Carlson and Ben Simon came back better players, all the guys who have been there have come back as better players,” added Poulin, now in his seventh year at Notre Dame.
Seven Notre Dame hockey players have been selected to the Junior National team since the 1996-97 season. They are: Ben Simon (1996-97, 1997-98), Joe Dusbabek (1997-98), Dan Carlson (1998-99), David Inman (1999-2000), Brett Henning (1999-2000), Connor Dunlop (1999-2000, 2000-01) and Rob Globke (2000-01).