Mallards land ten prospects in UHL draft

March 23, 2004 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Quad City Mallards News Release


Moline, IL – The Quad City Mallards acquired the rights to ten players in Tuesday's North American Amateur draft. The Mallards had three picks in the first round, including the first overall pick, and selected collegiate defensemen with all three choices. Overall, Quad City selected six defensemen and four forwards.

Players who are at least 19 years old and have never played a UHL regular season game are eligible for the draft. Each team may name four of their choices as possible add-ons for the playoffs. Two of them may be put on the playoff roster without meeting the usual requirement that they play six regular season games.

The amateur draft was thrown for a loop this season, when shortly before the draft, it was discovered that immigration issues might not allow non-United States citizens to play in the UHL. With that wrench in the gears, many General Managers shifted their strategy to bring in primarily American-born players.

"We feel good about our draft," President/General Manager Howard Cornfield said Tuesday. "The challenge now is to get these players to report."

Justin Brown, who attended Michigan Tech, was the Mallards first selection. The 23-year-old had nine points during his senior season, with 60 penalty minutes in his team's 38 games. Prior to his four-year career with the Huskies, the Eagan, Minn. native spent three years with the Twin City Vulcans of the USHL. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound defenseman is already in the Quad Cities and is expected to sign with the Mallards immediately. The Mallards acquired the pick earlier in the year from Adirondack in a trade for Jaro Cesky.

With their second pick, and the fourth pick overall, Quad City nabbed defenseman Beau Geisler from Minnesota-Duluth. Geisler led his team's defensemen in scoring with 34 points in 36 games, and is just two points shy of 100 for his career. The Coleraine, Minn. native has captained the Bulldogs to a 26-12-4 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Last season, Geisler played with current Mallards Jon Francisco and Drew Otten. Quad City landed the pick in the trade that sent forward Bob Crummer to Elmira.

With their own pick, ninth overall, the Mallards landed Colin Peters, of St. Cloud State. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman played in 143 games over his four years with the Huskies, tallying 21 points. The Eden Prairie, Minn. native was recently named to the WCHA All-Academic team this season, when he scored eight points in his 38 games of action.

With the 15th overall pick, also acquired from Elmira in the Crummer deal, Quad City selected yet another WCHA defenseman in Ryan LaMere from St. Cloud State. LaMere, who hails from Bloomington, Minn., served as captain for the Huskies in his final season. He scored 14 points and registered 41 points in 37 games this season and emerged, along with Peters, as one of the team's top defensemen.

The Mallards landed their first forward with the 20th overall pick, acquiring Jon Waibel from the University of Minnesota. Waibel was the spiritual leader for the Golden Gophers this season, leading the squad to a 26-13-3 record and yet another berth in the NCAA Tournament. He has put up 14 points on five goals and nine assists this season. The Baudette, Minn. product played two years for the U.S. National Development Team prior to joining the Gophers.

With its pick in the third round, Quad City grabbed its first non-Minnesota native, Seth Leonard, a left wing for the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. Leonard, a 20-year-old from Nakusp, British Columbia, scored 50 goals and 40 assists in just 72 games for the Raiders this season. Over his three years with Prince Albert, he has notched 183 points (91 goals, 92 assists) in 166 games.

The Mallards had two picks in the fourth round, the first being at pick number 34 overall. The Ducks selected Scott Dobben a forward for Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL. Dobben, a Drayton, Ontario native, was selected in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by Ottawa in the fourth round. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound winger has scored 30 goals and 28 assists this season for the Greyhounds and racking up 62 penalty minutes.

With their own pick in the fourth round, the Mallards selected another defenseman, Danny Boeser of the University of Wisconsin. The Savage, Minn. native served as a tri-captain for the Badgers this season, who made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000-01. Boeser led Badger defensemen this season and was fifth overall with 21 points in 41 games this year. He was a plus-5 for the season, and remained out of the penalty box for the most part, managing just five penalties for 10 minutes.

In the fifth round, the Mallards selected Dobben's teammate in Sault Ste. Marie, Jeff Doyle. The 21-year-old bruising forward from King City, Ontario put up 98 points in two seasons with the Greyhounds. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound power forward also was no stranger to the penalty box, racking up 250 penalty minutes over his two seasons in Sault Ste. Marie.

With its final selection, Quad City landed defenseman Mike Burgoyne from Brantford of the Ontario Senior Hockey League. He was runner up in 2002-2003 for the league's Rookie of the Year, when he put up 24 points in his 30 games of action. The 22-year-old is a native of Hamilton, Ontario.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 23, 2004


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