October 8, 2008
Fargo's Steve Spinell was a second round pick of Ohio in the 2006 USHL Futures Draft.
The United States Hockey League is deep in preparation for their annual futures draft, which is fast-approaching on Tuesday, October 14. The draft, designed to help teams stock their respective affiliate lists, is for players in the 1991 and 1992 birth years.
"That day is a very important day for this league. It may seem like the May draft is much more important because you see players from that draft go directly to the USHL, but for these teams and their long-term success, this draft is very big. This is because both the 2008 futures draft and the 2009 May draft will be used to stock the rosters for the 2009-10 season," said USHL Director of Central Scouting Bob Turow. "Central scouting and each team's scouting staffs put in a lot of hours evaluating players over the course of the year, and there are two days when all of the work pays off. One is the entry draft in May and the other is the futures draft in October."
Teams will choose players that will immediately be placed on their affiliate lists and are eligible to be added to a team's active roster at any time following the draft. The first four rounds will be for players born in 1992, with subsequent rounds for players born in 1991.
"Teams can protect up to four players from each of the 1990 and 1991 birth years heading into the draft. Some teams will have four of each birth year that they want to protect on their affiliate lists, and some teams won't. Because of this, teams could enter the draft with as many as eight players (four 1990's and four 1991's) already on their affiliate list," Turow said. "When the draft gets underway, teams will select players born in 1992 in the first four rounds. The later rounds will be used to fill out teams' allotment of players born in 1991. When they have four 1991's on their affiliate lists, they will be done picking.
"The idea is to have teams come out of this draft with four players from each of the 1990, 1991 and 1992 birth years on their affiliate lists. It can be kind of a confusing process for the players and their parents, so we're doing a lot of explaining right now in trying to make it understandable for people."
Click here to access the USHL Futures Draft FAQ
Click here for more on the USHL draft cycle
Below are the affiliate lists for all 12 USHL teams. The listing contains the player, his position and his previous team.
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Derik Johnson (D) - P.F. Chang's
Zach Lehrke (F) - Park Rapids (Minn.) High School
Zach Vierling (F) - Coon Rapids (Minn.) High School
Mac Bennett (D) - Hotchkiss Prep
Erik Johnson (D) - Madison Capitols
Matthew Skoff (G) - Pittsburgh Hornets
Chicago Steel
Tyler Kotlarz (F) - Team nXi
Tyler Tosunian (F) - LA Jr. Kings
Mark Alt (D) - Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) High School
Des Moines Buccaneers
Nick Cecere (D) - Northwood Prep
Alex Fallstrom (F) - Shattuck St. Mary's
Nic Dowd (F) - Culver Academy
Soren Jonnzen (F) - San Jose Jr. Sharks
John Henrion (F) - Boston Jr. Bruins
Tyler Maxwell (F) - LA Jr. Kings
Nick Leddy (D) - Eden Prairie (Minn.) High School
Fargo Force
Corey Leivermann (F) - Mankato West (Minn.) High School
Chad Demers (F) - Grafton-Park River (N.D.) High School
Luke Witkowski (D) - Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets
Jordan George (F) - Topeka RoadRunners
Matt Hemingway (G) - Alexandria (Minn.) High School
Nate Schmidt (D) - St. Cloud Cathedral (Minn.) High School
Green Bay Gamblers
Steve Summerhays (G) - Belle Tire
Anders Lee (F) - Edina (Minn.) High School
Joe Arbour (D) - Duluth East (Minn.) High School
Zach Budish (F) - Edina (Minn.) High School
Brad Smith (F) - Belle Tire
David Johnston (F) - Team nXi
Indiana Ice
Armond Deswardt (F) - Dallas Jr. Stars
Kyle Hughes (F) - Salisbury Prep
Cody Walsh (D) - Chicago Young Americans
Lincoln Stars
Matt Bruneteau (D) - Shattuck St. Mary's
Jack Callahan (D) - New Jersey Rockets
Andrew Ammon (F) - Deerfield Academy
Kyle Gibbons (F) - Cleveland Barons
Jay Camper (F) - Cleveland Barons
Omaha Lancers
Tim Schaller (D) - New England Jr. Huskies
Danny Matson (F) – Holy Angels (Minn.) High School
Kit Sitterley (F) - Culver Academy
Michael Chiasson (D) - Las Vegas Outlaws
Kyle Beattie (F) - P.F. Chang's
Sioux City Musketeers
Craig Kitto (F) - Washington Jr. Capitals
Patrick Borer (D) - Benilde-St. Margaret's (Minn.) High School
Nate Brown (D) - Team nXi
Dakotah Collins (F) - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
Sioux Falls Stampede
Doug Marshall (D) - Syracuse Stars
Connor Allen (D) - Team Illinois
Travis Belhorad (F) - Colorado Outlaws
Matt Wiggesmansen (F) - Team Illinois
Tri-City Storm
Tyler Landman (F) - Roseau (Minn.) High School
Max Tardy (F) - Duluth East (Minn.) High School
Tyler Pitlick (F) - Centennial (Minn.) High School
Riley Sheahan (F) - St. Catherines Falcons
Waterloo Black Hawks
Steven Hoshaw (D) - Culver Academy
Dan Delisle (D) - Totino-Grace (Minn.) High School
Zach Trotman (F) - Victory Honda
Peter DeAngelo (F) - Boston Advantage
Tyler Zepeda (F) - Hill Murray (Minn.) High School
The draft will get underway at 4:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 14, 2008. The draft can be followed in real-time at www.ushl.com.
The USHL is celebrating its 30th season of junior hockey in 2008-09. With over 100 players already committed to NCAA Division I schools and 15 NHL Draft picks playing in the league, the USHL is the nation's foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more information, visit us on the web at www.ushl.com.
