There will be a new face to the New England Hockey League this season. The Albany Storm Hockey Program has been added to the New England Hockey League (NEHL) for the 2007-08 season. For the past decade, the Albany Storm has proven itself to be one of the strongest Tier 1 USA Hockey programs in the Capital Region.

“We are happy to welcome the Albany Storm to the NEHL this coming season,” said John Gilmartin, **President** of the NEHL. “It was clear to us from the start the Albany Storm has a similar mission and philosophy on player development as the other programs in our league. There is no question that the addition of the Albany Storm program will add *highly competitive* depth and breadth to the NEHL.”

Beginning with the current season, the Albany Storm will have teams competing at the Mite Minor (‘’00), Mite Major (’99), Squirt Minor (’98), Squirt Major (’97) and the Pee Wee and Bantam levels. All NEHL teams will look forward to visiting the Albany Storm home rink at the Albany County Hockey Facility, which is conveniently located behind the Albany Airport.

“We wanted to be a part of a league that put a major emphasis on the quality verses the quantity of play,” said Ron Kuhl, director of hockey operations for the Albany Storm. “The NEHL’s philosophy fits perfectly into our mission of player skill development. We are honored to be welcomed into the league for the 2007-08 season and many more to come.”

The Albany Storm is a member of Capital Youth Hockey Association and has produced an impressive list of alumni over the years. Included in that list of recent prominent alumni are Clarkson University’s Sean Weller and Mike Borisenok, who will be competing for the University of New Hampshire this coming season.