Feature Story

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A rare breed: Waterloo’s Joe Howe

By Jon Garver

Since the USHL became America’s only Tier I league in 2002, the trend has been for the players in the league to get younger. It is not abnormal for several members of a team to still be attending high school. However, most of the players are in their senior years. It is rare for a player to be a junior, rarer still is that the junior is a goaltender.

This is the case with Waterloo’s Joe Howe.

“Joe came in here last year and made an impact on our team, and the league, as a junior. That is rare for a goaltender,” said Shane Fukushima, Waterloo’s assistant coach. “We looked back and tried to find how many goaltenders in league history came in as juniors and made an impact, and there really haven’t been many.”

“It was a tough decision to come, first of all, but I trusted the coaching staff and there were a lot of great veteran guys here that really helped me get adjusted,” Howe said. “You can’t just show up here. You have to put in the time and it has been a great experience for me.”

Howe, from Plymouth, Minn., arrived in Waterloo for the 2007-08 season and immediately jumped into their goaltending rotation. He finished the year with a record of 13-5-1 in 22 games, a 2.12 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and two shutouts. His goals-against average and save percentage were among the league leaders and his numbers would likely have been even better, and his impact greater, had he not suffered a mid-season bout of mononucleosis.

“I know that it is rare for a junior to come in and play in this league as a goaltender, but I had a great team in front of me and great coaches that helped me adjust,” Howe said. “I had a coaching staff in high school and at Stauber’s Goalcrease that really helped me prepare for the jump.”

Being a junior, NCAA rules prohibit schools from talking to players, so although he was among the top goaltenders in the USHL, Howe came out of his first season without a commitment. By the time he returned to Waterloo for his second season, his commitment was made to Colorado College.

“I went down there on an unofficial visit and I fell in love with Colorado Springs and it just felt right. I talked to my dad asking him how I would know because all of these schools, programs and coaching staffs are great, and he said ‘you’ll just know.’ I didn’t really understand what that meant until I got there,” Howe said. “It just felt right.”

Also on the docket for the off-season was an invitation to the Washington Capitals prospect camp.

“That was a great experience. I was lucky to be invited and got to play with some great players and see a little bit of what the NHL is like,” Howe said. “It kind of gave me that much more of an idea of what it takes to get there and made me a little bit hungrier to get there.”

But he still has a season left in Waterloo, one where he will take the lead, rather than be led.

“Joe has been a great example for the younger guys on how to handle yourself on and off the ice,” Fukushima said. “The kid just gets it.”

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