2024 USHL Draft Review: Des Moines Buccaneers

The Des Moines Buccaneers hit a home run with their first pick in the USHL Phase I Draft, taking forward Blake Zielinski with the third overall pick in the first round. During the USHL Phase I Draft Show, Neutral Zone's Ian Moran described the Berlin, New Jersey, native as a player who can take over a game.

Zielinski, listed at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, is a left-shot forward who spent last season with the North Jersey Avalanche 15U team, the same program that produced Waterloo Black Hawks star forward and potential first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, John Mustard.

With the Avalanche, Zielinski recorded an even 26 goals and 26 assists in 22 games played, making his 52 points the most on the team. Leading up to the Phase I Draft, Zielinski visited with the Des Moines staff and some current players to see what the organization had to offer in terms of his development should he still be on the board when the Buccaneers were on the clock with the third overall pick.

"We're really excited to have him," Des Moines head coach and general manager Matt Curley told The Hockey News. "It was good to meet him in person, have (Zielinski and his family) out, and him vice versa, getting to see what we're really about. So when it came time for that draft, he was a guy that we had targeted as hopefully being able to make that work, and we're really glad that it was able to. We're excited to have him as a part of our program. I think he's going to be a really, really good player here for us in the future, and I think the sky will be the limit for him and a player of his caliber."

After taking Zielinski, Des Moines selected Reed Brown, another promising forward, with the 18th overall pick in the second round. The Tempe, Arizona, native is listed at 5-foot-11 and 154 pounds. As a left-shot forward, Brown spent last season with the Okanagan HA Colorado 15U team, where he finished with the most goals (34) and the second-most points (57) on the team. He is also the son of former Air Force and USHL forward Erik Brown, who won a USHL Clark Cup championship with the Omaha Lancers in 1991.

"I don't want to say we were surprised when he was there, but pleasantly, pleasantly happy to take him off the board when we got to (the pick)," Curley said of selecting Brown. "I think with his size and ability, he's going to be a really nice hockey player. He is now, but I think he's going to be a really good one coming up through. Very excited, and quite frankly, we're lucky to have those two kids getting them where we were able to get them. Given how talented the draft class was, we're really excited to have those two guys under our umbrella."

Here is a look at the Des Moines Buccaneers' entire 2024 USHL Phase I Draft class:

Round 1, 3rd Overall: Blake Zielinski, F

Round 2, 18th Overall: Reed Brown, F

Round 3, 33rd Overall: Brayden Thompson, D

Round 4, 48th Overall: Henry Chimel, D

Round 5, 63rd Overall: Oskar Drabczynski, D

Round 6, 78th Overall: Booker Toninato, F

Round 7, 93rd Overall: Nathan Garski, F

Round 8, 108th Overall: Riley Zupfer, F

Round 9, 123rd Overall: Loic Nasreddine, D

Round 10, 138th Overall: Evan Hazelberg, G

The Buccaneers used the opportunity in the Phase II portion of the USHL Draft to select a number of players who will be ready to be inserted into their lineup next season.

With the third overall pick, Des Moines took forward Gavin Garland, who spent last season with the AJHL's Calgary Canucks. The Clearwater, Florida, native, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds, recorded 17 goals and 26 points in 52 games, making his 43 points the fourth-most on the Canucks roster. Garland is also committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

"He moves well; he's a competitive kid," Curley said of Garland. "He's got ties to the U.S. here, which is an attractive thing, and he's a Nebraska Omaha commit. UNO does a tremendous job with the players that they've been able to bring into their program. We've had a few UNO commits over the years that have worked out extremely well for us, and I'd like to think for UNO as well. 

"Working with their staff and identifying a guy like Gavin, he's a kid that I feel comfortable in saying that I think a year of experience already would be able to transition fairly well. It's always a transition coming to this league, but with his skating ability, compete level, and the way he can get around the sheet, especially in our rink, I think he's going to do just fine. Again, happy to have a guy of his character and caliber of play part of our program."

With their second pick in the Phase II portion, the Buccaneers took their first of four goalies, taking Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau with the 18th overall pick in the second round. 

The 18-year-old, listed at 6-foot-4 and 183 pounds, spent last season with the NAHL's Shreveport Mudbugs, where he recorded a 26-7-1 record in 38 appearances, with a 1.99 goals-against average and a 0.925 save percentage. 

The North American League has long been an avenue for producing quality goaltenders for USHL teams to acquire and immediately plug into their lineup. Recent names include Cameron Korpi (Tri-City), Patriks Berzins (Madison), Aiden Wright (Youngstown), and Ethan Dahlmeir (Des Moines).

The Buccaneers are hoping that lightning strikes twice with their selection of Seguin-Lescarbeau.

"We're really excited to be able to get him," Curley said. "He was someone that we had looked at with our goalie coach, his size, he still has a lot of room to grow. He hasn't even started to reach the ceiling in terms of what he can do in net. Losing both of our guys (Dahlmeir and Jonathan Reinholdt) and not having much coming off our affiliate list, we're looking to Eliot as a kid to come in and help fill that void."

Here is a look at the Des Moines Buccaneers' entire 2024 USHL Phase II Draft class:

Round 1, 3rd Overall: Gavin Garland, F

Round 2, 18th Overall: Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau, G

Round 3, 33rd Overall: Keaton Orrey, D

Round 4, 48th Overall: Max Weilandt, G

Round 4, 58th Overall: Philip Monnich Hagen, D

Round 6, 84th Overall: Dylan Moran, F

Round 7, 95th Overall: Drew Roelofs, F

Round 8, 110th Overall: Richard Baran, D

Round 9, 125th Overall: Chase Furlong, G

Round 10, 140th Overall: Ryan Seelinger, F

Round 11, 155th Overall: Brenden Espenell, D

Round 12, 170th Overall: Logan Hughes, G

Round 13, 185th Overall: Eli Molde, F

Round 14, 200th Overall: Brandt Dubey, D

Round 15, 215th Overall: Yaroslav Bryzgalov, F

Round 16, 230th Overall: Hans Hedlund, F

Round 17, 245th Overall: Abzal Alibek, F

Round 18, 260th Overall: Ben Brown, F

Round 19, 275th Overall: Luke Gallo, F

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