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Youngstown Phantoms Sign Ben Schoen to Tender

April 17, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


The Youngstown Phantoms announced the signing of forward Ben Schoen to a tender agreement for the 2018-19 season. Schoen is a native of Maumee, OH and is committed to play college hockey at Miami University.

Now in its seventh year, the USHL tender process allows teams to sign up to two 2002 birth year players prior to the 2018 USHL Phase I Draft, which takes place on May 7.

Schoen is the first tender signing for Youngstown this season. The signing of Schoen will replace the Phantoms' first round draft choice in the 2018 USHL Phase I Draft.

If the Phantoms tender a second player, that signing would take the place of a second-round selection in the 2018 USHL Phase I Draft. The final day for USHL teams to sign a tender is Sunday, May 6, 2018. Each tendered player will be on their respective team's roster the next season and play at least 55% of the team's regular season games.

Schoen is currently a high school freshman and spent this past season as part of the very successful Detroit Little Caesars U15 AAA program. In 67 games, Schoen recorded 78 points (37G, 41A) to go along with 75 penalty minutes. He was part of a team that won the NHL Cup (U15 AAA) in Boston in January, won the Michigan state playoffs and U15 district championship in March, and finished second overall in the United States at U15 AAA Nationals earlier this month.

"I am proud and very excited to sign a tender with the Youngstown Phantoms and be able to choose my USHL team for my future and college development," Schoen said. "This is a great fit for me to be able to hone my skills and help the Phantoms win a USHL championship. I'm looking forward to working with Coach Patterson and Assistants Jeff Potter and Nick Peruzzi on the ice every day and can't wait to get started this off-season leading into training camp."

"Our staff has been able to track Ben and his progress going back to last summer at the Mid-Am District Camps and at the U15 USA Hockey Select Festival," said Youngstown General Manager Jason Koehler. "As we followed his season with Little Caesars this year in multiple viewings, Ben continued to be an elite level scoring threat at his age group and level and every time we watched and was one of, if not the best player on the ice. We see a young man that plays the game the right way, has a very high skill set and scoring ability, has outstanding hockey IQ and playmaking ability, and we see him as having a chance to become one of the best forwards in the USHL over the next few seasons as his focus and drive is very mature for someone his age."

"Ben comes in next season as a high school sophomore and after meeting him and his family and having him skate and visit with us last month - we knew this would be a great fit with Ben's talent and energy and also his family's support close by as he develops and gets ready for college hockey at Miami University."

"Ben possesses an elite skill set and hockey IQ and as a result not only is he a great player, he makes all players around him better," said head coach Brad Patterson. "He has an extremely bright future and we are ecstatic that he has chosen to become a Phantom."

Schoen becomes the fifth player signed to a tender for the 2018-19 season, joining Ruben Rafkin (Tri-City Storm), Chase Bradley (Omaha Lancers), Colby Ambrosio (Tri-City Storm) and Alex Gaffney (Muskegon Lumberjacks).

Schoen is the eighth player to be tendered by Youngstown since the start of the USHL tender process, joining 2015 USHL Player of the Year and current Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor (2012), JJ Piccinch (2012), Ty Farmer (2014), Jacob Tortora (2015), Curtis Hall (2016), Max Ellis (2016) and Trevor Kuntar (2017).

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the USHL celebrates its 16th season as the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league in 2017-18. 30 or more players from the USHL have been selected in five consecutive NHL Drafts, and more than 400 players on team rosters last season committed to NCAA Division I schools, further establishing the USHL as the world's foremost producer of junior hockey talent.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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