USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Phantoms Make Picks for the Future in Both Phases of USHL Draft

Published on May 7, 2014 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - It was a busy two days for the Youngstown Phantoms as a total of 30 draft selections were made in hopes of solidifying the team's future.

The first eight picks came on Monday night during Phase 1 of the 2014 USHL Draft. The first round pick was actually already covered after the team decided to tender defenseman Ty Farmer, a few weeks ago. Other than that, the remaining seven selections were made up of four forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender.

"The first steps that you go by to build a team, when you come into the futures draft, is to get the best prospects," said Jason Koehler, the Phantoms director of scouting and player personnel. "For the most part, we are saying at least a year down the line before we see these guys with us. For some it may even be two years, so we're just taking the best player available."

In the Phase 1 stage of the USHL draft, only players born in the year 1998 are eligible to be drafted. When a team drafts a player, they maintain the rights to that player for a period of three years, and can add them to their active roster at any time during the season.

The following players were picked in Phase 1 of the USHL draft by the Phantoms: Name Position Previous Team

Round 1 Ty Farmer(Tender)

Defense

St. Louis Blues AAA U16

Round 2 Grant Cruikshank

Forward

Milwaukee Jr. Admirals U16

Round 3(34th overall) Alec Mahalak

Defense

Detroit Compuware U16

Round 3(38th overall) Luke McInnis

Defense

Cape Cod Whalers U16

Round 5 Stephen Dhillon Goaltender

Buffalo Regals U16

Round 6 Michael Fahie

Forward

Noble & Greenough School

Round 7 TJ Friedman

Forward

St. Louis Selects U16

Round 8 Justin Cmunt

Forward

Toronto Jr. Canadiens Min. Midget AAA

Phase 2 of the USHL draft concluded Tuesday afternoon as the Phantoms added an additional 22 players to their protected list. Every team's protected list includes players drafted in both phases, affiliate players from this past season, and also players that were tendered.

"Step one is to take a look at our veteran status on the team, and put the puzzle together that way," Koehler said when asked about the thought process and preparation when going into the second phase of the draft. "It's also important to look at our affiliate list and see if we have areas covered. Then we focus on immediate needs with this draft and hopefully get an idea for rights and retention on certain players."

Out of the 22 selections in Phase 2, 13 of them were forwards while the remaining nine were defensemen.

The following players were picked in Phase 2 of the USHL draft by the Phantoms: Name

Position Previous Team

Round 1 Lukas Craggs Forward Team Illinois U18

Round 2 John Barry

Forward Thayer Academy PS

Round 3 Ryan Shea

Defense Boston College HS

Round 4 Matthew Alvaro Forward St. Michael's Buzzers

Round 6(91st overall) Patrick Kramer Forward Boston College HS

Round 6(95th overall) Kyle Hartman Defense TPH Thunder Major Midget

Round 6(101st overall) Dane Birks

Defense Merritt Centennials

Round 7 Zachary Tyson Forward Ohio AAA Blue Jackets Minor Midget

Round 9 Dalton Hunter Forward Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Major Midget

Round 10 John-Claude Brassard Defense Noble & Greenough PS

Round 11 Marc Michaelis Forward Jungadler Mannheim Jr.

Round 13 Roman Uchyn Forward Lone Star Brahmas

Round 14 Greg Campbell Defense Oakville Blades

Round 15 Ty Amonte

Forward Thayer Academy

Round 16 Eric Esposito Forward Loomis Chaffee PS

Round 17 Chris MacMillan Defense Smith Falls Bears

Round 18 Jacob Hetz

Forward Fairbanks Ice Dogs

Round 19 Brendan Demler Defense Ohio AAA Blue Jackets Minor Midget

Round 20 Liam Blackburn Forward West Kelowna Warriors

Round 21 Austin Osmanski Defense Buffalo Regals U15

Round 22 Zachary Parrott Defense Detroit Little Caesars Minor Midget

Round 23 Mitchell Mendoca Forward Southern Tier Admirals Minor Midget

All players that have been drafted will be invited to the Youngstown Phantoms tryout camp from June 11-15 in Boardman, OH. This will be each player's chance to compete for a spot on the 2014-15 active roster, which will have 23 names on it heading into the season.

"We put an emphasis here on outstanding student athletes and competitors," said Koehler. "We want character players that appreciate the opportunity, have hockey sense, come from winning programs, and are leaders in their respective programs. We believe that the players we've drafted, match the criteria that we were looking for."

Check out the Youngstown Phantoms Statistics

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