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USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Jacks' Front Office Thrilled with 17 Phase II Selections

May 5, 2020 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, MI - The Muskegon Lumberjacks selected 17 players in Tuesday's Phase II draft, completing their 45-man roster ahead of their main camp.

Muskegon selected 11 forwards, four defensemen, and two goaltenders on the second day of the draft. Headlining the picks were first-rounders Cristophe Tellier and Davis Pennington, two players out of the BCHL.

"I thought overall the day was unbelievable," said general manager Jimmy McGroarty. "Muskegon got better. We love great hockey players, but we want to bring in the right type of kid, and Tellier and Pennington and [third-round pick Brett] Bliss- we definitely got better. With Tellier, we may have gotten the best player in the draft. I'm excited for Steve Lowe and the whole staff, who did a great job."

"I thought we drafted the kids our organization identified as fitting our team needs," said President of Hockey Operations Steve Lowe. "We had an excellent draft in terms of this year's team needs and needs as an overall organization."

"The scouts emulated the hard work that this organization typifies'" said head coach Mike Hamilton. "It was exciting to see the plan come together, we hit on all of the players that we had identified earlier as pieces to our puzzle."

Tellier, a Canadian forward, racked up 71 points last year in the BCHL with Surrey. A good friend of Muskegon forward Christophe Fillion, the two are excited to play together before teaming up again at Quinnipiac University in 2021.

"I've known him since I was five and we have the best chemistry I've ever seen on the ice," said Fillion. "[Tellier] put up a lot of goals last year in the BCHL, but honestly I think he's an even better playmaker than scorer."

"He should be able to set me up for a lot of goals this year," Fillion said with a chuckle. 

Pennington, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound defenseman from Saline, Michigan, is known as a lockdown defender, but also filled the scoresheet last year playing for the Powell River Kings in the BCHL. Pennington notched 32 points in 57 games, and is committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha. 

Here is a breakdown of the Jacks' entire draft, including birth year, last year's stats, 19-20 team, and college commitment if applicable. 

Round 1, pick 5: F Cristophe Tellier (2000), 28-43-71 in 58g with Surrey Eagles. Committed to Quinnipiac University

Round 1, pick 11: D Davis Pennington (2001), 2-30-32 in 57g with Powell River Kings. Committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha

Round 3, pick 42: D Brett Bliss (2001), 6-13-19 in 48g with Surrey Eagles. Committed to Brown University

Round 5, pick 64: D Easton Young (2003), 6-7-13 in 25g with Grand Rapids (MN) HS

Round 5, pick 77: G Jan Skorpik (2001), 3.05 / .889 in 16g with HC Stadion Litomerice

Round 6, pick 82: F Benjamin Strinden (2002), 26-37-63 in 53g with Northstar Christian Academy

Round 9, pick 127: F Laker Aldridge (2001), 8-25-33 in 48g with Fairbanks Ice Dogs

Round 10, pick 142: F Alex Fendler (2004), 8-6-14 in 17g with St. Lous Blues U15

Round 11, pick 157: F Timofey Spitserov (2002), 49-27-76 in 40g with Culver Military Academy, Committed to UMass-Amherst

Round 12, pick 172: F Thomas Sinclair (2002), 18-26-44 in 45g with St. Michael's Buzzers

Round 13, pick 187: F Owen Carlile (2003), 5-2-7 in 14g with Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U16

Round 14, pick 202: F Cam Recchi (2001), 7-16-23 in 41g with Maryland Black Bears

Round 15, pick 217: F Landon Slaggert (2002), 13-11-24 in 47g with Team USA NTDP, committed to Notre Dame

Round 16, pick 232: D Brendan Kennette (2002), 5-19-24 in 45g with Burlington Cougars. Committed to Sacred Heart University

Round 17, pick 247: F Luke Kron (2002), 12-25-37 in 21g with Andover (MN) HS

Round 18, pick 262: F Ryan Vellucci (2002), 7-14-21 in 45g with Little Caesar's U18

Round 19, pick 277: G Anson Thornton (2003), Toronto Titans U18

Round 20, pick 292: F John Evans (2002), 22-28-50 in 57g with West Kelowna Warriors. Committed to the University of New Hampshire

Round 21, pick 307: F Aidar Suniyev (2004), 5-8-13 in 10g with The Hill Academy

Check out the Muskegon Lumberjacks Statistics

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