Junior Hockey’s Rising Stars - USHL Draft Special
WRITTEN BY JOSHUA BOYD
Read on as Joshua Boyd tracks the U.S. junior players selected in the May 5 USHL Phase II Draft.
USHL Draft - Phase II
Round 1
Three NAHL players and two U.S. NTDP players were selected in the first round, including a couple "old friends" from Junior Hockey's Rising Stars.
A.J. Garcia '08 was the first overall pick, made by the Fargo Force. Garcia finished his NTDP career with 31 points in 108 games, including 14 points in 54 USHL games over his time with the Under-17 and Under-18 teams since 2024. Garcia will matriculate to the University of Notre Dame in 2027-28.
The Anchorage Wolverines' Rylan Bydal '07, was the 2nd overall pick in the draft, by the Omaha Lancers. A recent commitment to Long Island University (March 9), Bydal scored 56 points in 61 NAHL games, in addition to one assist in five games with the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers as a call-up.
Immediately after Bydal, another JHRS regular - Ryan Denes '07 - was selected by the Tri-City Storm 3rd overall, and the first goalie selected. With a 27-2-2-1 record for the Maryland Black Bears, Denes led the NAHL in wins. He was fifth in GAA with 2.07. In two seasons with Maryland, Denes has 43 wins in 58 games, including a 6-1-0-0 record in the 2026 Robertson Cup Playoffs.
Also from Maryland, and at 5th overall, was defenseman Cole Peters '07. The Chicago Steel made the pick, and they're getting a second-year NAHL veteran who now has 33 points in 108 all-time NAHL games.
From the NTDP, defenseman Logan Lutner '08 was selected 8th overall by Madison. He registered 29 points in 105 games with NTDP, including 18 points in 53 USHL games at the Under-17 and Under-18 levels. Lutner is committed to the 2026 NCAA Champion University of Denver Pioneers.
Round 2
Another Team USA defenseman, Abe Barnett, was selected 24th overall by the Lincoln Stars. The University of Michigan recruit scored 19 points in 120 NTDP games (10 points in 60 USHL games), and he recently had one assist at the World Under-18 Championships.
With the 28th overall pick, the Madison Capitols selected Daniel Halonen '07, a Michigan Tech commit who played briefly this year with the NAHL's Watertown Shamrocks. After his third year with Delano (Minn.) High School, he played in 12 games with the Shamrocks, scoring six points. He also added an assist in three playoff games.
Team USA member No. 3 in the draft was Jamie Glance '08, a Boston University recruit who projects to be an early NHL Draft pick in 2027. This year, he scored 56 of his 86 career points in two seasons (114 games) with the National Team Development Program. He was selected by the Green Bay Gamblers with the 32nd overall pick. He has 44 points in 55 career USHL games, and posted five points - including a four-point single game performance - at the World Under-18's in late April.
Round 3
This round saw the selection of Peter Murray '07, who finished his 2025-26 season with 10 games played for the Minot Minotauros. Omaha picked him up with the 37th overall selection. He played four years with Minnesota's St. Thomas Academy, and then picked up a 3-4-7 line in his 10 games with Minot.
From the Janesville Jets, we saw Joseph Hyten '06 selected 38th overall by Tri-City. Hyten, in his second NAHL season, finished tied for ninth in NAHL scoring with 72 points in 59 games. For the two seasons with Janesville, the 2025-26 Jets Captain has hit exactly 100 regular season points in 109 games.
A recent regular to JHRS, Niagara University recruit Colin Dustin '07 was selected 40th overall by the Waterloo Black Hawks. With 40 points in 60 regular season and playoff games in his first season with the Rochester Jr. Americans, Dustin finished fourth in team scoring. He also added three points in seven playoff games.
Like Peter Murray, Chase Pavlesich '09 also played his first 10 junior games with Minot this year. He played the bulk of the season with the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers AAA team, but also played in parts of four months over the season and scored two goals in his 10 games. Cedar Rapids took him 45th overall.
Rounding out a trio of Round 3 picks was Fairbanks Ice Dogs defenseman Mason Noble '07. A Fairbanks native, he was selected 47th overall by the Omaha Lancers. Noble had originally made his NAHL debut with Fairbanks in 2024-25, and in this first full season, he had 21 points in 55 games. And he has 23 points in 70 career regular season and playoff games.
University of New Hampshire recruit Cole Sabourin '08 was selected by the Sioux City Musketeers with the 49th overall pick. Sabourin played two USHL games with the NTDP Under-17 team, March 20-21. His regular gig this year was playing with Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island.
Bradyn Strom '09 played his first three junior games with the NAHL's Aberdeen Wings in March and April, earning his first point - an assist - on April 4. Strom was selected 51st overall by the Dubuque Fighting Saints following his full season with Northstar Christian Academy.
Round 4
Axel Bisbee '08 was selected by the Muskegon Lumberjacks with the 53rd overall pick. A Blake School (Minn.) standout, Bisbee finished the season by playing in six NAHL games with the Minnesota Mallards between March and April.
Another top Minnesota high school player, Jack Willmert '08, joined the Chippewa Steel out of Prior Lake H.S., for whom he was a Captain. With Chippewa, the blueliner played in 17 games in 2025-26. In the draft, he was selected by Cedar Rapids 58th overall.
Round 5
We're back to the U.S. National Team Development Program, with Brady Knowling '08. He was taken by the Youngstown Phantoms with the 71st overall pick. Knowling is the No. 1 overall ranked goaltender in North America for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. In two years with the NTDP, Knowling has won 17 games out of 46 that he's started. He has nine wins in 28 USHL appearances over two seasons.
Noble's fellow Fairbanks defenseman Samuel Johnson '08 was selected with the 73rd overall pick by Tri-City. He posted 23 points in 57 regular season and playoff games in this, his first NAHL season.
Corpus Christi's Nick Evans '07 was taken with the 78th overall pick by the Omaha Lancers. Evans was the IceRays' top scorer among defenseman, picking up 28 points in 56 total regular season and playoff games.
The last pick of an NAHL player in Round 5 saw Ilja Nikitins '08 taken by the Sioux Falls Stampede with the 80th overall selection. Nikitins tended goal for the Philadelphia Rebels in his third North American season out of Latvia. He posted a .910 save percentage and won 14 wins out of his 40 appearances. He is bound for Merrimack College after his junior career.
Round 6
Liam Grant '08 was the first pick of this round, taken by the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, 86th overall. For the second season (played largely with Westonka High School in Minnesota), Grant finished a year with an NAHL team, this time the Wisconsin Windigo. He scored a 3-4-7 line in nine games this year, and he has eight points in 17 career NAHL games going back to 2024-25.
We're back with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, as the Fargo Force selected third-year NAHL veteran Oliver Barna '06 with the 90th overall pick. After making his debut with three games with the St. Cloud Norsemen in 2023-24, Barna has played the last two full seasons with the Ice Dogs. Barna finished 11th overall in NAHL scoring this year with 69 points in 59 games. Over his NAHL career, he has picked up 85 points in 106 regular season and playoff games.
At 91st overall, Kalib Capecci '06 was taken by the Des Moines Buccaneers. Capecci played in 35 games for the Johnstown Tomahawks this year, scoring 32 points. In January, he advanced to the OHL's Sarnia Sting, scoring six assists in 14 games. For his three-year NAHL career, he played in 56 regular season and playoff games, scoring 35 points, going back to 2023-24.
The Waterloo Black Hawks selected the El Paso Rhinos' Troy Hunka '06 with the 95th overall pick. Hunka was third in the NAHL with 85 points in 58 games, and he added 15 points in nine playoff games to stand as the current NAHL postseason leader. Hunka, a Robert Morris University recruit, played in 2024-25 with the NCDC's Ogden Mustangs, scoring 42 points in 50 games to place third on that team in regular season scoring. He added three points in five games in the 2025 NCDC postseason.
For the second time in his career, Cole Cheeseman '07 was taken in the USHL Draft, this time by the Fargo Force, with the 96th overall pick. After concluding his career as Captain of the Academy of Holy Angels (Minn.), he played in three NAHL games with the Minnesota Wilderness in March and April, scoring a 1-1-2 line.
Closing out Round 6 was Caden Ingalls '09, who was taken by Cedar Rapids with the 106th overall pick. Ingalls, a 2025 NAHL selection by the Aberdeen Wings, played two games for the Wings this year to start his junior career after playing essentially all his career with the Omaha Mastery AAA team.
Round 7
We circle back to the Janesville Jets with the first selection of this round, seeing Justin Bloink '07 selected by the Waterloo Black Hawks with the 105th overall pick. The Jets defenseman, a University of Alaska-Fairbanks commit, registered 22 points in 48 games to rank second among Jets blueliners in points.
U.S. NTDP center Logan Stuart '08's USHL career will likely continue with the Lincoln Stars, who selected the University of Denver recruit with the 108th overall pick. Stuart is ranked 127th among North American Skaters for the NHL Entry Draft in June, scored 61 points in 114 overall NTDP games, including 29 points in 56 USHL games. He is the son of former NHLer Brad Stuart (1,198 NHL games) and he will join his brother Jake at Denver. Jake finished his three-year USHL career with Sioux Falls this spring.
Grant Molski '08 was selected with the 111th overall pick by Waterloo. A 200-point scorer with Stevens Point (Wis.) High School, Molski played his first NAHL game on Dec. 14 with the Wisconsin Windigo.
The 113th overall pick was made by Des Moines, and they selected Broden Hontvet '07, a standout with Warroad (Minn.) High School, who also played three NAHL games this past season with both Watertown and Aberdeen.
Closing out the round was the El Paso Rhinos' Kamden Kaiser '06, selected by Youngstown with the 119th overall pick. The Rhinos Captain finished third on the team with 61 points in 57 games, plus another seven points in nine playoff games. His three-year NAHL career yielded 71 points in 110 combined regular season and playoff games.
Round 8
Team USA defenseman Jackson Marthaler '08 was the first selection of the eighth round, 120th overall, by the Waterloo Black Hawks. In 111 games, he registered 15 points, including 11 points in 58 USHL games. NHL Central Scouting has him ranked 167th among North American Skaters for this June's draft. Marthaler is bound for the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2027-28.
Brieg Hazelwood '07 scored his first NAHL goal on April 10, in one of his five games he played with the Janesville Jets, coming after a powerful three-year career with Northstar Christian Academy's AAA team. Des Moines selected him with the 125th overall pick.
Sig Ebersold '09 played in two NTDP/USHL games on Oct. 10-11, playing the full season for Little Caesars 16U. The Waterloo Black Hawks selected him with the 126th overall pick.
Goaltender Ethan Phillips '07, a Providence College recruit, was frequently mentioned in JHRS, so it should come as no surprise that Phillips was selected in the USHL Draft. He was taken with the 129th overall pick by Cedar Rapids. Phillips has played in 29 NAHL games, most recently with the Shreveport Mudbugs. He has won 14 total games and has a 3.33 GAA at that level.
Maryland Black Bears defenseman Anthony Pellitteri '07 was taken by the Fargo Force with the 130th overall pick. Pellitteri scored 23 points in 45 regular season games for Maryland, and additionally saw his first four USHL games as a call-up with Waterloo. He notched one assist in four playoff games. He is committed to University of Alaska-Anchorage.
Round 9
The Lincoln Stars selected Andrew Horn '07 from the Elmira Aviators, with the 138th overall pick. Horn has completed three NAHL seasons, totaling 40 points in 118 games. The Princeton University recruit started with Danbury in 2023-24, and contributed 23 points in 59 games.
Two picks later, Cedar Rapids took Luke McPherson '07 with the 140th overall selection. McPherson, a winger for the Odessa Jackalopes, scored 21 points in 59 games as a junior rookie. He also added four points in two Top Prospects Showcase games, no doubt raising his draft profile.
Cedar Rapids also selected Team USA's Tyler Martyniuk '08, a defenseman born on New Year's Eve (making him eligible for the 2027 NHL Entry Draft). He was selected 144th overall. His NTDP resume shows 19 points in 113 games, with seven of those points coming in 57 USHL games. He also recently had three assists in four World Under-18 Championship games. Michigan State University awaits in 2027-28.
Round 10
The Lincoln Stars made the selection of Austin Bruins center Samuel Kline '07, with the 153rd overall pick. Kline scored 30 points in 63 regular season and playoff games. He had previously played for the Stars' 18U team (scoring more than 100 points there) and played one USHL game with the Stars in 2024-25. The Stars had previously selected Kline in the 2023 Phase I, or "Futures" Draft.
With the very next pick, Wisconsin Windigo defenseman Callen Grilz '07 was taken by the Chicago Steel, 154th overall. He scored 20 points over 66 games, including eight playoff games this year.
Patrick McCormick '07 was selected 160th overall by Youngstown, following his second season at the Northwood School. He made his NAHL debut with Aberdeen on April 3, playing also on April 4 and registering his first junior assist in his debut.
With the 162nd overall pick, we saw Jack Dunne '09 taken by the Omaha Lancers. Dunne made his NTDP debut with one game on Oct. 17 with the Under-17 team, while playing the full season with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite.
The U.S. NTDP's Luke Schairer '08 was selected by the Sioux Falls Stampede with the 163rd overall pick. Another Boston University recruit from NTDP, Schairer finished his time with the NTDP with 46 points in 113 games (including 13 points in 52 USHL games, and four points in five World Under-18 Championships). Schairer is ranked 45th among North American Skaters.
Rounds 11-12
Jack Holland '08 was taken 168th overall by the Lincoln Stars in the 11th round. He had eight points over 52 games, playing for the North Iowa Bulls.
Kingston King '09 was the 170th overall pick, made by Des Moines. King made his NAHL debut on April 9 for the Jamestown Jets. King is also a Medicine Hat Tigers and has been a longtime Northstar Christian Academy teammate of Brieg Hazelwood and Bradyn Strom.
Also in Round 11, we saw Sacred Heart University recruit Matt Portz '08 taken 178th overall by the Sioux Falls Stampede. Before and after spending the season with the Woodbridge Wolfpack AAA team, he played in 11 games for the Rochester Jr. Americans, earning one assist. He stayed with them through seven playoff games, earning a 2-1-3 line.
Moving on to the 12th round, Owen Fask '07 was taken by the Green Bay Gamblers with the 191st overall pick. After making his NAHL debut with two games for the Watertown Shamrocks in 2024-25, he played his first full season in Watertown this past year, scoring 25 points in 58 regular season games.
Youngstown picked the Johnstown Tomahawks goaltender Nikita Oleksiienko '08 with the 194th overall pick. In 15 games, he had an 8-5-0-0 record with a 3.24 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
Rounds 13-21
Defenseman Ian Tuffin '07 skated this year for the NCDC's Northern Cyclones, and he earned a selection by the Omaha Lancers with the 196th overall pick. Tuffin joined the NCDC team for three games in 2024-25 out of the Cyclones' 18U team, and then hit the ice for 39 games in 2025-26, scoring 22 points. He joined the Aberdeen Wings of the NAHL for 10 games, but did not register a point.
Fargo took Jake Pietila '08, a forward, from the Watertown Shamrocks with the 205th overall pick. He scored 18 points in 49 games for the Shamrocks this year.
The Sioux Falls Stampede selected Matteo Alvarez '07 with the 208th overall pick. He split most of the season between Deerfield Academy and the Northern Connecticut Nor'Easters AAA team, but he also played two NAHL games with Maryland April 3-4, scoring his first junior goal on April 4.
In the 16th round, the Youngstown Phantoms made Caden Lindsay '07 the 254th overall pick. After being selected by the Minot Minotauros in the 2025 NAHL draft, he made his junior debut with Minot on Sept. 26, adding an assist in that game and playing seven more games before rejoining Minnetonka (Minn.) High School to close the season.
In the 18th round, Jackson Reeves '07 was selected by the Fargo Force with the 280th overall pick. Reeves played one game in 2024-25 with the Bismarck Bobcats out of Hill-Murray High School in Minnesota. This year, with the Minnesota Wilderness, he skated in a total of 56 games and scored 19 points.
The 19th round saw the Fargo Force take the Aberdeen Wings' David Hruby '07, with the 296th overall pick. After posting 17 points in 27 games of the regular season, he picked up an additional five points over nine playoff games. Hruby also saw his first games in the USHL, playing 12 with the Omaha Lancers.