29 USHL players selected in the NHL draft

PAPILLION, NEBRASKA – The NHL Entry Draft was once again showed promise for the USHL as 29 players and alumni heard their name called from the powers that be. Two players had previously spent time in the USHL and have moved on to the OHL and the NCAA. The remaining 27 are all current members of the league, ten of which anticipate playing in the league next season. The USHL has gained considerable notation throughout the hockey world in recent years as it has become a premier league in the development of young talent. While many players will make one more stop at the NCAA level prior to officially becoming professional hockey players, there are those who will find their way onto professional rosters straight from the USHL. The first round saw the two superstars of the league head close to home. Louis Leblanc was selected by the Montreal Canadians 18th overall. The Montreal, Quebec native has quickly become the toast of the town as he returns home to play for the Habs. Also selected in the first round was Chicago Steel defenseman John Moore who has shown considerable improvement over the past few years and was rewarded for his hard work and efforts when he was taken with the 21st pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The second round of the draft allowed two more players to continue to follow their dreams. Alex Chiasson was taken 38th overall by the Dallas Stars and Philip Samuelsson was selected 61st by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Chiasson had experienced a rough season in Des Moines with the team finishing near the bottom of the league standings. Samuelsson’s selection by the Penguins allows him to play in the same franchise his father Ulf who helped the team win back-to-back championships in the early 90’s. The third round was all about Fargo when four players were selected from the USHL, three of which wore the sweater of the Fargo Force. Josh Birkholz would be selected 67th by the Florida Panthers, followed by Troy Hesketh being selected 71st by the Edmonton Oilers. Mac Bennett of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders would be the only non-Fargo player selected as the Montreal Canadiens would choose him 79th overall. Cat-like goaltender Mike Lee of the Fargo Force would have his name called 91st overall by Phoenix as he would be the final USHL prospect elected in the third round. The fourth round saw four players selected from the USHL. Nashville would select three, two from the Waterloo Black Hawks. Craig Smith was selected 98th overall by the Predators along with Patrick Wey who was chosen 115th overall. Former RoughRider Chris Wideman, who spent last season with Miami University, was chosen 100th overall by the Ottawa Senators. Nashville’s second pick in the fourth round was Nick Oliver (Fargo) who was selected 110th overall. New Jersey selected Sioux City’s Seth Helgeson 114th overall as a total of five players with USHL ties were selected in the fourth round. The fifth round saw one of the larger runs of USHL talent as six players were chosen to join the NHL ranks. Eric Knodel would be the first player from the USHL ranks to be selected in the fifth round as the Toronto Maple Leafs would reward his efforts with the 128th overall selection. The Chicago Steel’s Mark Adams would find his way to professional hockey via the Buffalo Sabres 134th overall. Corban Knight of the Lincoln Stars was selected 135th by Florida, followed by the Storm’s Radoslav Illo who was selected 136th by the Anaheim Ducks. Ottawa chose Jeff Costello of Cedar Rapids 146th overall and with the 150th selection, Detroit picked Nick Jensen of Green Bay. While the fifth round showed plenty of promise for the USHL’s developmental ability, the run on talent would not carry over to the sixth. Anders Lee of Green Bay was the only USHL player selected in the sixth round. Lee was selected 152nd overall by the New York Islanders. The seventh round saw the largest selection of the USHL players chosen. In total of nine players (eight current) were selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NHL Draft. Omaha’s Erik Haula was chosen by the Minnesota Wild with the 182nd overall choice. Formerly with the Steel, Barron Smith of Peterborough (OHL) found his 188th selection with the Maple Leafs. Michael Sdao of Lincoln was selected 191st overall by Ottawa, and Anthony Hamburg of Omaha went to Minnesota at 193rd. Paul Philips of Cedar Rapids was selected 195th overall by Chicago and Nic Dowd of Indiana was selected 198th overall by Los Angeles. The Ices Mike Cichy was chosen 199th by Montreal and Max Tardy of Tri-City was selected 202nd by St. Louis. The last player with ties to the USHL to be chosen in the draft was Waterloo’s Jordan Samuels-Thomas, selected by Atlanta, respectfully. You may email the author at: john.strathman@prohockeynews.com

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