NCDC 2024-25 Awards: Idaho Falls Spud Kings Named Mountain Division Organization Of The Year
By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce that the Idaho Falls Spud Kings have been named the 2024-25 Mountain Division Organization Of The Year. The Spud Kings not only won the Mountain Division regular season and playoff championships, but they also won the ultimate prize, the Dineen Cup, the NCDC’s playoff championship trophy. This was the first time in just two seasons of the Mountain Division’s existence that a Mountain team has won the championship.
“The Mountain Division is thriving as a whole right now. Collectively the momentum between the organizations is extremely impressive,” said Spud Kings General Manager Erik Hudson, who is also the General Manager of their state-of-the-art home facility, the Mountain America Center. “For us to win this award, voted on by our peers, is an honor. I feel the award is well deserved by our team on the ice, but also our staff who are behind the scenes and make this organization truly run to the best of its ability. Without them, there is no fan experience, billets, travel coordination, community involvement, and other key items that go into a successful franchise.”
The Spud Kings originally stumbled out of the gate as a first-year USPHL Premier team in 2022-23, but they rallied to make the Premier Mountain Division playoffs by the end of that season. They won 24 games in their first NCDC season in 2023-24, and then improved that to 38 this past season. After defeating an always tough Ogden Mustangs team in the Mountain championships, they went 3-0 to ultimately win this year’s title. They defeated the 2023-24 Dineen Cup Champion and 2024-25 Founders Cup (regular season) Champion South Shore Kings in the championship game on April 28.
“It has been trial by fire since Day 1 here in Idaho Falls. We have made a lot of great decisions, we have also made some not so great decisions. The biggest impact I think is hiring the right coaching staff,” said Hudson. “We have a great mixture of savvy veteran coaches and young coaches who bring a fresh perspective to our organization. But overall, thinking about the journey and the aggressive trajectory this franchise has been on is extremely humbling and we don’t take it for granted.”
The Mountain America Center holds 4,100 fans for hockey and the arena is sold out for nearly every Spud Kings game.
“Idaho Falls has always been a hockey town. No one truly knew how much of a hockey town until the organization announced the franchise back in 2022. The fans are special, there is no formula as to why they are the best fan base in hockey. They just love their hometown team,” said Hudson. “In the playoffs this year, we decided to make sure we represented who we were throughout our run, which is why we unveiled the ‘Idaho Falls’ script cream jerseys at our first home playoff game. The Spud Kings are Idaho Falls and we wouldn’t change that for anything. As for retaining the fans, we will continue to put a world-class product on the ice, but also provide the best fan experience night in and night out for the 4,000+ who attend each game.”
A top organization that wins both on the ice and with its loyal fan base requires buy-in from every person involved from the players to the management to the arena staff. But when it comes to bringing the trophy west, it all came down to the guys who pull on the jersey.
“Every guy on this team has a role. From our assistant equipment manager all the way up to our President. And everyone during this run understood their roles and embraced them. Down the stretch in January, we faced some unforeseen injuries and we added key pieces that were strategically selected to fill roles that we thought we were weak at,” Hudson said. “Turns out those were the right moves, and things fell into place nicely down the stretch. Huge kudos to the guys for trusting the process that Head Coach Anthony Bohn had in place, and finishing this thing off out in New Jersey.”
Being a champion and bringing along an energetic fan base can only help in recruiting players of high skill and character to Idaho Falls, and the Spud Kings are ready to capitalize on that in this happily short off-season.
“It is all about the player first mentality here. Our staff wants to win, no doubt, but we also want to win the right way. Giving our players every tool they need to succeed is a goal of ours, which is why they have the best amenities in junior hockey,” said Hudson. “Equipment manager, athletic trainers, strength coach, goalie coach, player development director, and two coaches in Coach Bohn and Coach [Joey] Strada who care. This is why our hockey operations team is special.”
Along with being Dineen Cup Champions, the Spud Kings were announced in January as the Dineen Cup Championships host for the 2026 final tournament. Expect the team to put on a massive show when next April rolls around.
“This event will rival any other junior hockey tournament in the world. From the minute the puck drops on Game 1, to the final buzzer, all of the fans will be hanging from the rafters and the atmosphere will be electric. The City of Idaho Falls will welcome teams from across the United States with gratitude and excitement, as well the local businesses will be thrilled to host all of these teams at the Dineen Cup in Idaho Falls,” Hudson added. “Obviously, we want to repeat as champions. Nothing like defending your title on home ice, in front of the best fans in hockey, at the Kingdom.”