Nine New Englanders were selected in Wednesday night’s USHL Phase I Draft in which the league’s 15 teams select players born in 2005. It didn’t take long for a local to be selected. With the second overall pick, the Sioux Falls Stampede selected Boston Advantage 16-U right wing Will McDonough. The big power forward is...
Nine New Englanders were selected in Wednesday night’s USHL Phase I Draft in which the league’s 15 teams select players born in 2005.
It didn’t take long for a local to be selected. With the second overall pick, the Sioux Falls Stampede selected Boston Advantage 16-U right wing Will McDonough. The big power forward is known for his goal-scoring ability. In four USPHL 16-U contests, the Duxbury, Mass., native posted eight goals and two assists. He was invited to May’s USA Hockey NTDP Evaluation Camp in Plymouth, Mich. His bid to make next year’s U-17 team fell short, but he went high in the draft, as expected. It is the second year in a row that a Boston Advantage product was drafted in the first round by Sioux Falls. In 2020, defenseman Ryan Healey of Hull, Mass., was plucked by the organization.
The Junior Eagles 16-U were the local team with the most players selected in the 2021 USHL Phase I Draft. Seven players from Kent Hughes’ team were drafted on Wednesday night, including five New England residents. Forwards Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass.), Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.), Trip Pendy, Will Cannata (Milton, Mass.), defensemen Jason Zaccari and Jonathan Lanza (Winthrop, Mass.) and goaltender Thomas Kiesewetter (Plymouth, Mass.) were the Junior Eagles picked in the 10-round draft. The team also had two players — forwards Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) and Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.) — selected for USA Hockey’s NTDP.
Mid Fairfield 15 Only had five players drafted, led by first-round selection Brian Nicholas of Scarsdale, N.Y. He was plucked by the Sioux City Musketeers. Forwards Logan Renkowski, Eli Friedman and Brendan Giles (Ridgefield, Conn.) and defenseman Lucas St. Louis (Riverside, Conn.) also were taken.
The other two local programs represented during Wednesday’s draft were Mount Saint Charles and the Neponset Valley River Rats. Three players, all hailing from New York or New Jersey, were picked out of the Woonsocket, R.I.-based program. Providence commit Tanner Adams, another Mountie, previously had signed a tender agreement with the Tri-City Storm, which guarantees he’ll play in the USHL in 2021-22. Forward Cam Russo (Middleton, Mass.) and defenseman Nico Pasquale were drafted from the River Rats.
Below is the full list of players with New England connections who were drafted in Wednesday’s USHL Phase I Draft:
