Ferris State Hockey's Schempp & Andrew Represent Bulldogs In NHL Prospect Camps

Big Rapids, Mich. - A pair of current Ferris State University men's ice hockey skaters represented the Bulldogs in National Hockey League (NHL) Prospect Development Camps last week.

FSU center Kyle Schempp (Saginaw, Mich.), who will be a junior for the Bulldogs this coming year, took part in the New York Islanders prospect camp while sophomore forward Tyler Andrew (Bethel Park, Pa.) received an invitation and competed in the Buffalo Sabres' development camp.

The prospect camps give NHL clubs the opportunity to evaluate some of the game's top prospects from the junior, collegiate and professional levels.  Players take part in daily intrasquad contests along with sessions on player development and on-ice workouts among other things.

Both drafted players and free-agent prospects along with invitees can participate in these camps, providing the NHL teams a chance to survey player skills, abilities, and growth.

Each NHL team runs its own development camp during the summer months, which includes their drafted prospects as well as a handful of players who are invited as guests. NCAA players must finance these camps on their own to retain their collegiate eligibility.

A 2015 Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Academic Team honoree, Schempp was chosen in the sixth round of the National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft by the New York Islanders a year ago. In his initial season with the Bulldogs in 2013-14, Schempp claimed All-WCHA Rookie Team honors after helping the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament at the WCHA's MacNaughton Cup Championship.

This past season, as a sophomore, the 6-0 Schempp placed fifth among FSU's scoring leaders with 16 points on 10 goals and six assists in 37 contests. He also registered three power-play goals and a game-winner for the Bulldogs, who reached the WCHA Final Five for the second-straight year.

Meanwhile, Andrew played in 29 games a freshman in 2014-15 and notched three goals and six assists for nine points. During the Sabres' camp last week, the 6-5 Andrew tallied the first goal of the game before a crowd of 17,000 plus fans at the organization's final scrimmage contest.

Ferris State will return all but five seniors from this past season for the 2015-16 campaign, including eight of the squad's top nine scorers. Over the past four seasons, the Bulldogs have captured two conference championships, made two NCAA Tournament appearances and appeared in the NCAA Frozen Four national title game. FSU also advanced to the WCHA Final Five Championships for the second-straight year this past season.

The Bulldogs will embark on their 41st season this coming fall and face what should represent one of the most challenging schedules in the country. The schedule is highlighted by an impressive opening month slate that will see FSU play seven of its first eight regular-season outings on home ice inside the Ewigleben Ice Arena with the opponents set to include a pair of returning nationally top-10 ranked foes in Michigan Tech and Minnesota State along with the first-ever visit to Big Rapids by Wisconsin and a season-opening home-and-home matchup against former conference rival Western Michigan.

Ferris State will begin the 2015-16 campaign on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a Crimson & Gold Intrasquad contest followed by an exhibition game against a Canadian opponent in the University of Lethbridge on Sunday, Oct. 4. FSU then opens the regular-season the following weekend with a home-and-home series versus Western Michigan starting on Friday, Oct. 9, in Kalamazoo with the finale on Saturday, oct. 10, in Big Rapids serving as the Bulldogs' regular-season home opener.