Steel Build for Future with 15 Phase II Draft Picks Tuesday
May 2, 2017 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, ILLINOIS - The 2017 USHL Draft concluded Tuesday with Phase II, as teams filled their rosters with available players born between 1997 and 2001. The Chicago Steel made 15 selections in Phase II, including two first-round picks: 2017 NHL Draft prospect center Jack Dugan (2nd Overall), and Derek Schaedig (14th Overall), who was named CCM/USHL Goaltender of the Week on Dec. 19, 2016, during a temporary stint with the Lincoln Stars. Also selected was Chicago Blackhawks prospect John Dahlstr?m, and Ty Amonte, the son of former Blackhawks captain Tony Amonte.
"We are very happy with our selections in the Draft," said Steel General Manager Ryan Bennett. "We were able to address our goaltending future in the way we wanted. We know we will be losing some high-end forwards this summer, and believe we have selected the right pieces to fill those gaps. Elite goal scorers like Jack Dugan and John Dahlstr?m can step in and immediately help us next season."
The Steel opened the day by trading up to the second-overall selection, drafting highly-touted prospect center Jack Dugan out of Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Pittsford, N.Y., native is committed to Providence College, and was listed 108th on NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings of North American Skaters for the 2017 NHL Draft.
"Jack is a guy we are very excited to get, and obviously, we had to trade up to make that happen," said Bennett. "We expect he will be an impact player for the Steel next season."
"Jack is a true NHL prospect," said Chadd Cassidy, Dugan's coach at Northwood. "Great size and skill. He controls the game with his playmaking ability and is a high-level competitor."
Chicago's second pick of Round 1, Derek Schaedig, is a 6-foot-4 goaltender who posted a 15-7-1-3 record this season with the Janesville Jets (NAHL), while also recording a perfect 4-0-0-0 record while playing in the USHL in mid-December with Lincoln. Schaedig is committed to Harvard University.
In the second round (30th Overall), the Steel selected Idaho native, forward CJ Walker, from the Wichita Falls Wildcats. The Minnesota State University, Mankato commit brings a combination of talent and physicality to the Steel, and scored 10 goals and 23 assists in the 2016-2017 NAHL regular season.
Chicago selected Czech Republic native Matej Pekar in the third round. Pekar scored at a point-per-game pace this season with the Oakland Jr. Grizzles.
The first of two Chicago Blackhawks connections was taken in Round 5. John Dahlstr?m, who was selected in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks, was drafted by the Steel. The 20-year-old Dahlstr?m recorded 59 points in the 2016-2017 WHL regular season with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He has represented his native Sweden in a variety of international tournaments including the 2015 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
In the sixth round, forward Liam Gorman was selected out of St. Sebastian's School in Massachusetts with the 97th Overall selection. Three spots later, Chicago opened Round 7 by choosing Brother Rice H.S. captain Jack Clement from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Clement notched 48 points in 29 games this past season.
Chicago went with a pair of forwards in the eighth round: Bemidji, Minn., native Alex Pollock (118th Overall), who finished the season with the NAHL's Bismarck Bobcats, and Sacred Heart University commit Austin Magera (129th Overall), a native of Suwanee, Ga. Magera recorded 66 points over two seasons with the Neponset Valley River Rats.
In Round 10, the Steel re-drafted 5-foot-11 right wing Tim Clifton from the North Jersey Avalanche. In Round 12, Chicago looked to the blue line, choosing Colorado College commit Robbie Stucker from St. Thomas Academy. The following round, the Steel picked their first of two Canadians in Phase II, selecting Vancouver native Max Newton from the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL.
A familiar name to Chicago hockey fans was called in Round 14. Ty Amonte, son of Blackhawks legend Tony Amonte, was selected by the Steel with the 225th pick. Amonte spent 2016-2017 with the BCHL's Penticton Vees, where he recorded 37 points in the regular season. He debuted in the USHL last season, playing two games for the Youngstown Phantoms.
French Canadian forward Christophe Fillion was taken in Round 15. The Sherbrooke, Que., native played this season with the Iowa Wild AAA 16U team.
Chicago's final pick of the 2017 USHL Draft was center Michael Posma from the North Jersey Avalanche.
In the final hours leading up to the draft, the Steel made two trades which allowed them to acquire the second-overall selection from the Tri-City Storm. In addition to draft picks and future considerations involved in the deals, Chicago also acquired forward Nick Abruzzese from the Lincoln Stars affiliate list.
Chicago Steel 2017 USHL Phase II Draft Selections
Round 1
-2nd Overall: Jack Dugan, C, Northwood School Junior
-14th: Derek Schaedig, G, Janesville Jets
Round 2
-30th: CJ Walker, F, Wichita Falls Wildcats
Round 3
-46th: Matej Pekar, F, Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 16U
Round 5
-71st: John Dahlstr?m, LW, Medicine Hat Tigers
Round 6
-97th: Liam Gorman, C, St. Sebastian's PS Arrows
Round 7
-100th: Jack Clement, D, Brother Rice HS Warriors
Round 8
-118th: Alex Pollock, LW, Bemidji HS Lumberjacks
-129th: Austin Magera, F, Lawrence Academy Spartans
Round 10
-161st: Tim Clifton, RW, North Jersey Avalanche 18U
Round 12
-193rd: Robbie Stucker, D, St. Thomas Academy HS Cadets
Round 13
-209th: Max Newton, C/LW, Cowichan Valley Capitals
Round 14
-225th: Ty Amonte, RW, Penticton Vees
Round 15
-241st: Christophe Fillion, F, Iowa Wild AAA 16U
Round 16
-257th: Michael Posma, C, North Jersey Avalanche 15U
By the Numbers
Country
-USA: 11 (Dugan, Schaedig, Walker, Gorman, Clement, Pollock, Magera, Clifton, Stucker, Amonte, Posma)
-Canada: 2 (Newton, Fillion)
-Czech Rep.: 1 (Pekar)
-Sweden: 1 (Dahlstr?m)
State/Province
-New York: 2 (Dugan, Posma)
-Michigan: 2 (Schaedig, Clement)
-Idaho: 1 (Walker)
-Massachusetts: 2 (Gorman, Amonte)
-Minnesota: 2 (Pollock, Stucker)
-Georgia: 1 (Magera)
-New Jersey: 1 (Clifton)
-British Columbia: 1 (Newton)
-Quebec: 1 (Fillion)
The Steel's 2017 Tryout Camp will take place at Fox Valley Ice Arena June 9-12 and is by invitation only. Tryout Camp games June 10-12 will be open to the public including an All-Star Game on Monday, June 12.
The Steel are hosting a Futures Camp in conjunction with the main tryout camp for players born in 2002 and 2003. Information on the Futures Camp is available at the Steel website.
The Steel are competing in their first playoff run in nine seasons and are currently tied, 1-1, in the best-of-five Eastern Conference Final series against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Game 3 takes place Friday, May 5 at Mystique Community Ice Center in Dubuque, Iowa, at 7:35 p.m. Game 4, also in Dubuque, is the following night at 7:05 p.m. If the teams split the weekend, the series will head back to Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Ill., on Tuesday, May 9 at 7:05 p.m.
All Steel games are broadcasted live on HockeyTV (video) and mixlr.com/chicago-steel (free audio). For tickets or more information, call 855-51-STEEL, stop by the Box Office at Fox Valley Ice Arena or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
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