2023 USHL Clark Cup Champion Youngstown Phantoms affiliated academy to field teams at U18, U16 and U15
Bethesda, MD – Black Bear Sports Group, Co-owner of the 2023 USHL Clark Cup Champion Youngstown Phantoms, has announced the formation of the Black Bear National Academy. The program will begin play in the 2024/25 season and will call Black Bear’s Philadelphia area ice arenas home, fielding elite, nationally ranked Tier 1 AAA teams at the U18, U16, and U15 levels. The Black Bear National Academy will be led by General Manager, Chris Kanaly, as well as Director of National Scouting, Dennis Scuderi, and will partner with its national-bound Tier 1 AAA affiliates in the region – the Mercer Chiefs, Flyers Elite, Philadelphia Revolution, and Palmyra Black Knights – to compete for a national championship.
“The Black Bear National Academy will be centered on academic and athletic excellence,” General Manager Chris Kanaly declared. “Our players will be provided with best-in-class coaching, athletic development and cognitive hockey training.”
“We will compete with the best at the Midget Tier 1 AAA level in our inaugural season,” said Director of National Scouting, Dennis Scuderi. “We are excited to add to the advancement opportunities that will support players around the world as well as the expansive Black Bear Sports Group network of Tier 1 AAA teams that amasses over 2,000 players.”
“This is a natural extension of our pyramid of development as we look to feed our USHL, NAHL, USPHL, and EHL junior teams with the best U18/U16/U15 hockey players in the country,” said Murry N. Gunty, Founder and CEO of Black Bear Sports Group. “Chris Kanaly and Dennis Scuderi are extraordinary leaders who have a proven history of developing players and advancing them to the next level of their hockey journey and we are fortunate to have them leading this effort.”
Player applications are open today. For more information and to inquire, go to www.blackbearnationalacademy.com
About Chris Kanaly, General Manager
Chris Kanaly is the outspoken and fierce leader of the Black Bear National Academy program. He has a passion for the game and for the organization that is second to none. He has served for 15 years as the General Manager of the Philadelphia Revolution and is entering his 3rd season as Director of Hockey Operations with the Flyers Elite Tier 1 AAA program. Kanaly has over 25 years of coaching and management experience from the youngest levels of youth hockey up through and including the professional level. During his illustrious tenure with these programs, he has sent over 200 student-athletes to the NCAA level. He now continues to mentor and coach multiple players who continue their careers in the NHL. His reach goes well beyond the Philadelphia and New Jersey markets. Chris also serves on the staff of the 2023 Clark Cup Champion, Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL, and serves as a regional scout for the NAHL Maryland Black Bears. During his 15-year tenure of managing hockey teams, he has changed the culture of those programs to one that focuses on player procurement, development, and advancement.
Email: ckanaly@blackbearsportsgroup.com
About Dennis Scuderi, Director of National Scouting
Dennis grew up in an active sports family and played football at all levels, including Division 1 at Monmouth University. After graduating with an exercise science degree, Dennis continued his passion for sports through coaching and recruiting. Dennis spent over 25 years as a high-level coach/recruiting coordinator at every level, including 12 years as a head high school coach, and stops at D1 and D3 football programs. At these programs, Dennis held multiple roles including player development, director of recruiting operations, managing coordinating units, and coach. While in these positions, Dennis held responsibilities that included all aspects of recruiting operations, such as budget planning/tracking, player evaluation, player selections, and other day-to-day operations of recruiting. According to multiple recruiting services, he was part of two recruiting classes that finished as high as second in the Big East. During his tenure as a head coach, Dennis was not only responsible for getting his players ready for game day, but also for staff management, practice organization helping hockey players reach their true potential at the highest level possible by advising them and their families on the opportunities available in and implementation, management of personnel, and budget for all related activities. Over the past 5 years, Dennis has continued his passion for sports by helping hockey players reach their true potential at the highest level possible by advising them and their families on the opportunities available in the sport of ice hockey. Dennis currently lives in Medford, NJ, and is a very active participant in the hockey community across the United States and Canada.
Email: dscuderi@blackbearsportsgroup.com
About Black Bear National Academy
The Black Bear National Academy is the midget hockey academy affiliate of the 2023 Clark Cup USHL Champion Youngstown Phantoms. The program, based out of Black Bear’s Philadelphia area ice arenas, will support teams at the U18, U16, and U15 Tier 1 AAA level in partnership with Black Bear’s National Bound AAA affiliates: the Flyers Elite, Mercer Chiefs, Philadelphia Revolution and Palmyra Black Knights, bringing together the best of those organizations with elite national players. The program will target the development of NCAA Division I caliber athletes led by General Manager, Chris Kanaly, as well as National Scouting Director, Dennis Scuderi. The program will embrace many innovative initiatives like the “Black Bear Top 50”, with core values centered on cognitive game analysis and advanced training. The Black Bear National Academy’s affiliated teams will play an elite schedule, compete at top Tier 1 AAA events, in partnership with Black Bear AAA teams, vie for Nationals and offer visibility to leading junior hockey, Division I and NHL coaches and scouts for all its players.
About Youngstown Phantoms
The 2023 Clark Cup Champion Youngstown Phantoms are members of the United States Hockey League (USHL), recognized as the top Tier I junior hockey league in the country. The Phantoms have had over 200 players commit to NCAA Division I schools, with 29 of them being drafted into the NHL. The organization is co-owned by Bruce Zoldan, CEO of Phantom Fireworks, and Murry Gunty, founder and CEO of Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. In addition to their on-ice contributions, Phantoms’ players actively engage with the Mahoning Valley community, participating in school readings and teaching sessions for young hockey enthusiasts.
About Black Bear Sports Group
Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, markets with a National Hockey League club presence, and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or underperforming facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice arenas in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 36 facilities across the United States with 68 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 34 youth hockey clubs, four hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, Tier 1 Hockey Federation, National Girls Hockey League), a tournament business (Defender Hockey Tournaments), seven Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League, USPHL NCDC, USPHL Premier and Elite, and the Eastern Hockey League, and Foundry Adult Hockey, the largest adult hockey organization in the USA.