Chicago Bulldogs Youth Hockey Club

Fresh off a Runner Up finish last weekend in St Louis, The Bantam Major 2007 boys would not be denied the Championship hardware in the Western Michigan Classic.  After two exciting and nail biting playoff games in the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals, the boys had enough juice left to outlast a tough Pennsylvania team in a back and forth Championship Final.   Our 07's have played 12 games in the last 9 days vs teams from 8 different states to start the season with a 10-1-1 record.  Keep up the great works boys!!!

Bulldogs are excited to announce another piece of the puzzle with the addition of Coach Mark Kurzawski.  He will join the organization as the 07’ Bantam Major Head Coach.  Mark’s youth career started in Oaklawn, IL before heading off to the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL as a Defensemen.  He excelled during his time in the OHL and was a 2nd Round Draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1986 NHL entry draft.  He played a couple seasons in the Blackhawks system, before deciding to hang up his skates due to on-going injuries.

Mark’s coaching career started shortly thereafter with camps and clinics at Southwest Ice Arena  ranging from Pre mites to Adults. In the late 90’s to early 2000’s Mark spent 10 years coaching  at Team Illinois AAA, which included winning a USA Hockey  National Championship.  Recently Mark spent the last 5 seasons at the Vikings Hockey club head coaching the 06 and 05 CSDHL birth years.  Mark was inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.  We look forward to welcoming Mark,  as he looks to guide our 07’s, fresh off a Chi-Town Shuffle Championship, into a successful Bantam Major season.

Central States Development Hockey League (CSDHL) is adding a Prospects Division for the 2021-22 season. This division will include teams at the Pee Wee, Bantam and U15/U16 Midget levels. Teams will combine players from both major and minor years of each level.
“We have been exploring the possibility of adding a Prospects Division for the past several years and we feel CSDHL is ready to move forward with this opportunity to give more young hockey players in the Midwest, as well as clubs throughout the United States the chance to play and develop at the elite Tier II level that Central States offers,” says Jim Wright, CSDHL President.
Teams will play a full league schedule against other teams in the Prospects Division and playoffs will be held at the end of the season. Applications for entry into all levels will be accepted beginning April 1st and will be due by May 1st. More details about the application process and plans for the new division will be available at the CSDHL website, www.csdhl.org.
“This new, combined division allows for clubs to participate in the CSDHL league even if they do not have teams in the major or minor levels, giving more players the opportunity to advance their development by playing a higher level of hockey,” says Michele Voris, President of Northwest Chargers Hockey.
Central States Development Hockey (CSDHL) is the top Tier II hockey league in the nation and is comprised of teams from throughout the Midwest. Since its establishment in 1999, hundreds of players from CSDHL teams have advanced to play collegiate and junior hockey. Notable alumni include current and former NHL players Brandon Bollig, Phil Kessel, Pat Maroon, Ryan Suter and Joe Vitale. Proud member of the North American Prospects Hockey League (www.naphl.com]. For more information, visit www.csdhl.org.

The Chicago Bulldogs are happy to pass along some exciting news!  The Central States Development Hockey League announced an expansion to the number one Tier II league in the country.   The league has added the Squirt Minor Division (2012's) for this upcoming 2021-22 season.  This provides the opportunity for first year squirt players to play at the highest level for their age group.  For many years the CSDHL has accepted teams starting at Squirt Major.  With this addition, this gives selected clubs the opportunity to place more players in squirt division.  The Chicago Bulldogs Hockey Club supports this decision to expand.   More information regarding this expansion will be passed along as it becomes available.  

The Chicago Bulldogs are excited to announce the addition of Nikos Tselios to the coaching staff.  The Oak Park, IL native has several years of coaching and playing experience, which will contribute to the Bulldogs Hockey Club.  Nikos was a first round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.  Nikos's on ice performance speaks for itself, playing for Team USA in the World Junior U-20 tournament in 1998 & 1999.  This was followed up by many years of competing in the NHL, AHL and overseas in the Swedish Elite League.  After ending his playing career, he established himself as a successful youth coach/skills director in the Chicagoland area.  Nikos has worked with CYA, Chicago Hawks and the Chicago Blues.

Nikos will join the Bulldogs immediately and will work with all age levels in our Spring Program.  The Bulldogs Summer Program will also feature Nikos working with all age levels in skills sessions.  For the Fall 2021-22 season, Nikos will be part of the coaching staffs of two Bulldog teams as well as leading on ice weekly skills sessions.

Please introduce yourself to Nikos and welcome him to the club.