USHL Futures Draft

The USHL held their Futures Draft tonight. Here are the results.

Here's a look at the first round of the draft:

Fargo's new team had the first pick, and they selected St. Cloud Cathedral HS defenseman Nate Schmidt. Schmidt is a very nice pick, since he's one of the top '91 birthdates not on the NTDP team, and might be looking to move to the USHL instead of playing for the Class A Crusaders.

Chicago had the second pick and selected Cretin-Derham Hall defenseman Mark Alt. Alt is related to former NFL offensive lineman John Alt.

Arizonan Dakotah Collins was selected third. He's currently playing for the Fargo-Moorhead Jets of the NAHL, and could be looking to make the jump to Tier I Jr. A next season.

Cleveland Barons defenseman Eamonn McDermott went fourth to Ohio. He's a pretty small defenseman that played in the Czech Republic for the US Select team last summer.

P.F. Chang forward Kyle Beattie went 5th to Omaha. The Arizona AAA program is having a nice year so far. Beattie also played with the US Select 17 team this summer. His WHL rights are owned by Prince George.

Northeastern recruit Daniel Erlich was drafted by Waterloo. Erlich passed on an opportunity to play in the OHL this year to keep his college eligibility. He may want to move to the top college development league in the future.

Des Moines selected Eden Prairie HS defenseman Nick Leddy. Leddy is a fast, talented defenseman.

Cedar Rapids selected Pittsburgh goalie Matthew Skoff.

Green Bay select St. Louis Bandits defenseman John Ramage. Ramage is a physical player that is already playing at the Jr. A level and should be ready for the USHL soon.

Sioux Falls selected easterner Daniel Furlong.

Lincoln selected Team Illinois forward Garrett Peterson.

Tri-City selected Notre Dame recruit Riley Sheahan from Ontario.

With the final pick, Indiana selected BU recruit Ethan Werek. Werek was considering playing for Kingston in the OHL, until an injury sidelined him, and he decided to wait another year before making that decision.

Indiana got the first pick of the second round, and selected Kingston native Jordan Mayer. Mayer was pretty much a lock for the OHL, until he was selected by the Soo, where he did not want to play. So he's still eligible for college for now, but that could change if the Greyhounds trade his rights.

It looks as though teams are starting to try and pick up players from Ontario that have outgrown the Ontario college-feeders, but still want to keep their college options open. That's probably the effect of USHL Central Scouting chief Bob Turow, who moved on to the USHL after working many years in Ontario.