Six Stars Appear on NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings
April 15, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
Jacob Rombach, Bruno Idzan, Caeden Herrington, Daniel Shlaine, Gio DiGiulian and Jack Pechar have appeared on NHL Central Scouting's 2024-25 Final Rankings, revealed Tuesday morning.
Rombach led the way by being listed as the 42nd-ranked North American skater, projecting as a second-round pick. This is his third time being recognized by NHL Central Scouting after earning a 'B' rating on their Preliminary Draft Watch List in the fall and the 51st-ranked North American skater on the Mid Term Rankings.
Idzan and DiGiulian are being recognized by NHL Central Scouting for the first time prior to this summer's NHL Draft. Idzan is the second-highest ranked Star as the 67th North American skater. DiGiulian is the 132nd North American skater.
Herrington, Shlaine and Pechar are appearing for the second time this season after all appearing on the Mid Term Rankings. Herrington is the 80th North American skater after previously appearing 105th. Shlaine slots in at 129th after being 156th before. Pechar rounds out the group at 192nd after originally appearing 207th.
Rombach, 18, tied for the eighth-best plus-minus in the USHL this season at plus-40. The Minnesota Commit won the 2024 World Junior A Challenge with the U.S. Junior Select Team in December in his second instance representing his country after playing in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2023. Rombach appeared in the Chipotle All-American Game in January as one of the top American draft-eligible prospects.
The Blaine, Minn. native played in 116 regular-season games over the last two seasons with the Stars. He recorded 9 points (3+6) in 59 games last season and had 18 points (3+15) in 59 games this season. Rombach appeared in five games in the 2024 Clark Cup Playoffs and added two assists.
Idzan, 19, burst onto the season after joining the Stars in early December and provided a midseason spark. The Wisconsin commit recorded 44 points (22+22) in 36 games this season and finished second in the USHL with 1.22 points per game. Idzan scored or had an assist in all but 12 games and recorded 15 multi-point games, including a hat trick Feb. 28 at Fargo.
The Zagreb, Croatia native began this season in the Alps Hockey League in Central Europe with KHL Sisak. Idzan recorded 30 points (21+9) in 19 games after splitting the 2023-24 season with two teams in the J20 Nationell league in Sweden.
DiGiulian, 19, tied with Idzan for fourth on the Stars with 22 goals and was one-of-six Stars to score 20-or-more goals. The Cornell commit recorded 51 points (22+29) in 58 games, also good for fourth on the team. DiGiulian had four multi-goal games, including a hat trick Nov. 16 at Chicago.
The South Burlington, Vt. native averaged nearly two points per game in 2023-24 at Kent School in Connecticut. DiGiulian recorded 49 points (25+24) in 26 games as an alternate captain. He also posted 28 points (12+16) in 21 games for Yale Jr. Bulldogs 18U AAA.
Herrington, 19, led all USHL blueliners with 16 goals and seven power-play goals while his four game-winning goals tied for first. The Vermont commit was a Chipotle All-American in January along with Rombach. Herrington tied Eli Vlaisavljevich (2005-06) for the second-most goals in a single season by a Stars defenseman.
The Manchester, Vt. native recorded 4 points (1+3) in 16 regular-season games for the Green Bay Gamblers in 2023-24 before suiting up in all eight postseason games. He was invited to the Nashville Predators development camp last summer following a terrific year at Holderness Prep School in which the Vermont commit recorded 49 points (7+42) in 29 games.
Shlaine, 19, delivered a big season with the Stars after being selected in the first round of the 2024 USHL Phase II Draft. The Minnesota Duluth commit recorded 57 points (24+33) in 61 games while finishing second on the Stars in points, third in assists and third in goals. He recorded a hat trick Sep. 27 vs. Green. Bay and also put together a USHL-best 14-game home point streak from Nov. 9 through Feb. 14.
The Moskva, Russia native posted back-to-back dominant seasons Shattuck St. Mary's for their 18U Prep team prior to joining the Stars. He recorded 74 points (20+54) in 57 games last season after a 72-point (22+50) season in 2022-23.
Pechar, 19, left his mark in Stars history by leading the 2024-25 squad with 27 goals and 61 points over 56 games. The Northeastern commit recorded three hat tricks and is tied with fellow teammate Dashel Oliver (2021-25) and Brandon Bochenski (2001-02) for the 11th-most goals in Stars history with 47 apiece. Pechar tied for second-most game-winning goals (six) in the USHL, sixth in points and tied for eighth in goals.
The Niskayuna, NY native won gold with the U.S. Junior Select Team at the 2024 World Junior A Challenge in December. Pechar scored twice and added two assists in the five games in his first opportunity to represent his country. The Niskayuna, N.Y. native previously recorded 68 points in 61 games for Selects Academy 18U AAA in 2022-23 and 93 points (37+56) in 56 games for South Kent School 16U AAA in 2021-22.
The 2025 NHL Draft takes place June 27-28 in Los Angeles. The Stars open the Clark Cup Playoffs this weekend against the winner of the first-round series between Fargo and Sioux City. If that series ends Wednesday, then the Stars will host Game 1 on Friday, Apr. 18, and then Game 2 on Saturday, Apr. 19. If that series ends Thursday, then the Stars will host Game 1 on Saturday, Apr. 19 and then Game 2 on Monday, Apr. 21. Purchase a Playoff Pack now at lincolnstars.com to secure your tickets for the first two home games for just $18 plus tax.
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