Cary Eades Named 2024 USHL General Manager of the Year
Becomes first Fargo Force GM to win award

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and the Fargo Force have announced that Cary Eades has been named General Manager of the Year for the 2023-24 season. 

League awards are voted on by each member club's General Manager.

Eades, who first joined the Force in 2015 when he was named General Manager and Head coach, put together a roster that went 50-10-2-0 this year in capturing the Anderson Cup as USHL regular-season champions. In doing so, the Force established a League record for wins in a season.

The 2023-24 Force lineup included three players named All-USHL First Team in forward Mac Swanson, defenseman Leo Gruba and goaltender Hampton Slukynsky. Forward Zam Plante picked up All-USHL Second Team honors and defenseman Brason Boser was named All-USHL Third Team. Swanson was named the USHL Forward of the Year, Gruba was named USHL Defenseman of the Year and Slukynsky was named USHL Goaltender of the Year.

Fargo currently has three players who have been selected in the NHL Draft in forwards Zam Plante (Pittsburgh, 2022, fifth round, #150) and Brandon Svoboda (San Jose, 2023, third round, #71) and goaltender Hampton Slukynsky (Los Angeles, 2023, fourth round, #118) and four players recently earned a place in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings ahead of June's NHL Draft in Jake Fisher (#97), Finn McLaughlin (#132), Mac Swanson (#152) and Lee Parks (#199).

Eades, a former University of North Dakota player and assistant coach who spent four years as head coach of the Force prior to assuming President of Hockey Operations and GM duties in 2019, is the first Fargo Force GM to be named the recipient of the USHL General Manager of the Year award.