2018 USHL Draft

[JMCx4]

From: The United States Hockey League > News > Top Story

2018 USHL Draft Dates and Times Announced
05/03/2018, 9:15am CDT
By USHL
USHL Phase I and Phase II Draft set for May 7 and May 8, respectively.

The United States Hockey League announced the dates and times for the 2018 Phase I and Phase II Draft for Monday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 8, respectively.

The USHL Draft takes place in two stages, beginning with Phase I on Monday, May 7 at 6:00 PM CT. During Phase I of the USHL Draft, member clubs select 2002 birth-year players over the course of 10 rounds.

Phase II of the USHL Draft is set to begin on Tuesday, May 8 at 10:00 AM CT. USHL member clubs can select any player born between the years 1998 and 2002 until each team has 45 players on their roster.

USHL member clubs are allowed to sign players to a tender prior to the USHL Draft, guaranteeing the player a spot on next year’s roster. A team forfeits their first-round pick with a tender, and a second-round pick should they sign an additional tender. Teams are allowed only two tenders per year. So far, eight players have signed tenders prior to the 2018 USHL Draft: Ruben Rafkin (Tri-City Storm), Chase Bradley (Omaha Lancers), Colby Ambrosio (Tri-City Storm), Alex Gaffney (Muskegon Lumberjacks), Ben Schoen (Youngstown Phantoms) and Wyatt Schingoethe (Waterloo Black Hawks), Andrei Bakanov (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) and Anthony Kehrer (Sioux City Musketeers). The last day for teams to sign a player to a tender is Saturday, May 5.

Live selections for both USHL Phase I and Phase II Draft will be hosted at ushl.com/draft. Live coverage of the USHL Draft will be hosted on social media using #USHLDraft.

Click to read more...

 

[JMCx4]

Phase I draft starts @ 6:00 p.m. Central today. Where the future of the USHL begins (again).

 

[JMCx4]

Phase I draft results being updated real-time HERE.

 

[JMCx4]

Top pick by the Flying Aces was Stephen Halliday, a 6'2" 203-lb. left winger from Glenwood, MD. Eight of the 16 first-round picks were surrendered in favor of tender offers, and three more tenders spots were claimed in Round 2.

Phase II starts @ 10:00 a.m. Central today, where older players enter the mix and the teams fill out their initial 45-player rosters.

 

[JMCx4]

Phase II draft results being updated real-time HERE.

 

[JMCx4]

The draft is finally complete. Phase II seemed interminably long, with lots of position swapping through the first 11 rounds then the "PASS" count stacking up after that. The final round (23) had just one pick, with Muskegon choosing forward Billy Feczko from Birmingham, MI.

Congratulations & good luck to all of the young men chosen this year.

 

[BenchedGuy]

Just peaking in on the thread...where does one find information on signings (or players reporting) to USHL teams after they are drafted?

 

[JMCx4]

...where does one find information on signings (or players reporting) to USHL teams after they are drafted?

I refer to the USHL league website or the individual team sites (links from the League site) for that kind of near-real time information. Data specific to each player is usually available on the Elite Prospects website.

 

[BenchedGuy]

I refer to the USHL league website or the individual team sites (links from the League site) for that kind of near-real time information. Data specific to each player is usually available on the Elite Prospects website.

Thanks. I do follow elite and hockey db. Just didn't know if you had some insider stuff.

Is there any rationale for why the USHL has 2 phases and so many rounds?
Are the phases to highlight the top end?

 

[JMCx4]

I've only been following the USHL for a few years, so I'm not an "insider" by any definition. But this CollegeHockeyInc.com article from 2016 gives some explanation of the USHL's 2-phase draft scheme.

... Phase I selections traditionally are not ready to play in the USHL immediately, though they may see game action in the coming season. Most will continue to develop in other levels of hockey in the meantime. ...

Phase II ... is a multi-age group draft as teams can select players anywhere between (16 & 20 years of age) and look to fill their protected lists with players who will compete for roster spots in (the coming season).

The number of rounds in Phase II is not pre-determined; the draft continues until all teams have secured 45 players on their initial protected list. ...

 

[JMCx4]

The Junior Hockey News has USHL coverage, but it's primarily re-posts of League website releases.

USA Junior Hockey Magazine is another on-line source, but again primarily a feeder for League-generated news.

 

[Mr Sniper]

How long is a player drafted in phase 2 "locked" for the specific team thats drafted him? For example if you draft a player born 02 in next years draft and dont sign him for the following season, he is free to be drafted by any team the year after right?