The Dubuque Fighting Saints selected a crop of promising talent in their USHL Phase I Draft and followed that up with experienced players to hopefully help them make another deep postseason run next season in Phase II.
The Dubuque Fighting Saints were forced to balance the hectic two days of the USHL Phase I and II Drafts while also preparing for the Fargo Force in the Clark Cup Finals. As is the case in this league, multiple people wear multiple hats, and it took a team effort to select the next wave of talent coming into ImOn Arena.
"I think the guys we got were awesome," Dubuque head coach Kirk MacDonald told The Hockey News. "You're pumped when you're seeing the names that are getting called for us. No question about it, Kalle (Larsson) and the rest of the scouting staff did an amazing job, so you're excited for what's coming."
With the 14th overall pick in the first round of the Phase I Draft, the Saints selected forward Nicholas Desiderio. If that name sounds familiar, Nicholas is the younger brother of Matthew Desiderio, who played for Dubuque this past season and is expected to be with the team next year as well.
Nicholas, listed at six feet tall and 194 pounds, spent this past season with the New Jersey Rockets 15U team, where he led the team in goals (54), assists (39), and points (93).
"He's a big body, skilled," MacDonald said. "At the end of the day, we know he comes from a good family. He's a good person. When you're familiar with the family and know what they're about, I think it makes it a lot easier to make a pick, and it just enhances somebody like that that you're looking to get in the first round when you kind of have a good idea what the character's all about as well. (We're) really excited. I know (Matthew) was pumped when we called to tell him that we drafted his brother."
Just two picks later, the Saints selected forward Xavier Lieb. The 16-year-old, listed at 5-foot-8 and 154 pounds, hails from Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, and spent last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 15U squad. There, Lieb tallied 24 goals and 54 assists in 61 games, making his 78 points the second-most on the team.
Here is a look at the Dubuque Fighting Saints' entire 2024 USHL Phase I Draft class:
Round 1, Pick 14: Nicholas Desiderio, F
Round 2, Pick 16: Xavier Lieb, F
Round 2, Pick 29: Zane Torre, F
Round 3, Pick 44: Cody Powels, F
Round 4, Pick 59: Kane Johnson, F
Round 5, Pick 61: Nathan Hauad, F
Round 6, Pick 89: Lincoln Krizizke, D
Round 7, Pick 104: Mason St. Louis, F
Round 8, Pick 119: Beksultan Makysh, F
Round 9, Pick 134: Rennick Hendrickson, F
With the first overall pick in the Phase II portion, the Fighting Saints had their choice of anyone in front of them. Dubuque selected Finnish forward Heikki Ruohonen, a good friend of Saints defenseman Joona Väisänen.
Ruohonen, listed at 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, was ranked the No. 35 European skater by NHL Central Scouting for the 2024 NHL Draft. The 17-year-old spent this past season with the Kiekko-Espoo U20 team, where he led the team in goals (20), assists (27), and points (47).
He also represented his home country at the 2024 World Juniors. There, he scored three goals and five points in five games and was named a top-three player for Team Finland at the tournament.
"He's committed to Harvard, so we knew he was interested in coming over," MacDonald said of the pick. "We were watching film and finding out potentially what he could get with the number one pick. It definitely wasn't a stretch taking him in that spot, putting it that way. I think everybody was super excited. Our imports last year were all difference-makers for us. I think (Ruohonen) is going to continue in that line of guys. Probably similar to (Erik) Paulsson a little bit, I would think, in how he plays."
Dubuque also took advantage of several U.S. National Team Development Program players using a third year in the league. The Fighting Saints are no strangers to welcoming former NTDP players into their program, with recent examples in Ryan St. Louis, Seamus Powell, and Beckett Hendrickson.
Dubuque selected forward Lucas Van Vliet with the 14th overall pick in the first round of the Phase II Draft. Van Vliet, who is committed to Michigan State and listed at 6-foot-1 and 181 pounds, tallied 13 goals and 22 points for the NTDP U18 team, primarily in a bottom-six role this past season. With essentially two years of experience in the USHL already, Van Vliet will be a player that Dubuque can insert into their lineup and play big minutes right away.
"I think there's a lot of pressure on those kids to go (into college) right away," MacDonald said. "That's not always the right decision, especially for the guys in the program that are playing down the lineup. Lucas is a guy that needs to play top-six minutes. He's probably going to do that for us. He's going to get that experience that (Hendrickson) got this year in the league, especially with us, where all of a sudden now you're playing winning hockey, you're playing big minutes on a winning hockey team, where, hopefully, we're again going on another run late in the year. That is so invaluable. Again, it doesn't diminish his value as a prospect at the NHL level or as a college player. I think it just only enhances it. It takes a very mature person and family to make those decisions."
Here is a look at the Dubuque Fighting Saints' entire 2024 USHL Phase II Draft class:
Round 1, Pick 1: Heikki Ruohonen, F
Round 1, Pick 14: Lucas Van Vliet, F
Round 2, Pick 16: Kristian Kostadinski, D
Round 2, Pick 29: Josh Niedermayer, D
Round 3, Pick 40: Liam Beerman, G
Round 3, Pick 44: Torkel Jennersjö, F
Round 4, Pick 59: Erick Comstock, D
Round 5, Pick 74: Melvin Ekman, F
Round 6, Pick 90: Cole Spicer, F
Round 7, Pick 106: Lukas Swedin, F
Round 8, Pick 121: Grayden Robertson-Palmer, F
Round 9, Pick 136: Hayden Russell, F
Round 10, Pick 151: Ivar Stenberg, F
Round 11, Pick 166: Owen Thomas, D
Round 12, Pick 181: Kohyn Eshkawkogan, D
Round 13, Pick 196: Elias Puolanne, F
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