Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Three Quinnipiac commits selected in USHL Phase I draft


The USHL Phase I Draft took place last night for the top 2001 born prospects in North America. Quinnipiac has five 2001 born commits but only four can be drafted as defenseman Dom Fensore has already accepted an invitation to play for the USNTDP Under 17 team. That left Nick Kent, Ethan Phillips, Connor Tait and PJ Fletcher eligible to be drafted.

Kent was the first future Bobcat selected as he went in the second round with the 24th pick by the Green Bay Gamblers. The Delta Hockey Academy product was invited to the USNTDP evaluation camp but didn't make the final roster. In 30 games for the Delta Elite 15 team, Kent had 24 points (3 goals, 24 assists) but he elevated his game in the playoffs with 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 3 games. The Ladera Ranch, California native will look to earn a spot on the Green Bay roster once he attends the teams training camp.

In the third round with the 39th pick in the draft, Nova Scotia born forward Ethan Phillips was selected by the Sioux Falls Stampede. Phillips is in his first season playing for the Selects Under 15 team at the South Kent School in Connecticut. His team made USA nationals in Arizona losing once again to Yale Bulldogs midget program. In 52 games played on the season, Phillips had 67 points (34 goals, 33 assists). He is expected to play another season with South Kent before potentially heading to the USHL. Two of his fellow South Kent teammates were also selected by Sioux Falls in defenseman Simon Mack (Penn State) and forward William Margel. 

The final future Quinnipiac Bobcat, Connor Tait, was selected in the sixth round with the 85th overall pick by the Madison Capitols. The Boyds, Maryland native is a product of Team Maryland 16U where he scored 44 goals in 34 games which included the playoffs. He was the Washington Post player of the year after scoring 39 goals for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. Tait is a right shot power forward that has big time goal scoring ability.

The only 2001 not selected was forward PJ Fletcher out of the South Kent School who should hear his name called today in the Phase II portion of the draft.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.


No comments:

Post a Comment