2024 USHL Draft Review: Green Bay Gamblers

Ryan Sikes

Jun 3, 2024, 11:41

Ryan Sikes

Jun 3, 2024, 11:41

After losing their tender signing to the OHL, the Green Bay Gamblers landed one of the best 2008-born players in the USHL Phase I Draft and added a wealth of European talent in Phase II.

Photo courtesy of Carl Ljungquist - 2024 USHL Draft Review: Green Bay Gamblers

The Green Bay Gamblers were dealt a blow in advance of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft. After signing Colin Fitzgerald, who many believed to be the top OHL Draft prospect, to a USHL tender agreement in April, the Peterborough, Ontario, native, who was drafted third overall in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection, signed with his hometown Peterborough Petes.

The 16-year-old, listed at 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds, led the Peterborough Petes U16 team in goals (39) and points (64) this past season. Fitzgerald would have made it back-to-back years in which Green Bay went north of the border and grabbed one of the best Canadian prospects after landing Lev Katzin last year.

"It happens. I mean, it's his hometown team," Gamblers head coach and general manager Mike Leone told The Hockey News of Fitzgerald's signing with Peterborough. "It's unfortunate, but he did it before the draft. I hope nothing but the best for him.

"We kind of knew going into it that there could be a chance of (him going the OHL route). We knew that we would most likely get our pick back. Then, we got a kid that I've been on for two years, and we moved up to get him. I think he's one of the top three 08s in the world."

The "him" was Yegor Shilov, whom the Gamblers moved up eight spots to select with the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the USHL Phase I Draft. The Russian forward, listed at 5-foot-10 and 146 pounds, spent last season captaining both the Yunost Yekaterinburg U16 and U17 teams.

Shilov recorded 76 points on 31 goals and 45 assists with the latter. At the World Selects Invitational in Philadelphia, the left-shot forward was one of the standouts at the showcase, finishing tied with the most goals (12), and the third-most assists (13) and points (25).

Green Bay is no stranger to landing high-end European talent, with notable names recently coming through the program, such as Artyom Levshunov, Rasmus Larsson, Adam Gajan, and Misha Danylov.

"Now, in hockey, it's a relationship business," Leone said of the Shilov selection. "I had a really good relationship with his advisor. I stayed in contact with the people that used to pick the Russian national teams when I was at (the U.S. National Team Development Program). I stayed in contact with them, and I knew about this player for quite some time and the talent that he was. We were really excited to get him."

With their next pick, Green Bay selected forward Cody Sokol with the 27th overall selection in the second round. The left-shot forward, listed at 5-foot-6 and 130 pounds, is certainly undersized at this stage of his career. However, the 16-year-old possesses a unique combination of speed and stick handling, making him a top talent. With the Long Island Gulls 15U team, Sokol scored 19 goals and 58 points in 41 games this past season.

"He's a really, really talented player. He's really competitive," Leone said of the pick. "I did a lot of homework on him. He trains with Brian Galivan (strength and conditioning coach for the U.S. National Junior Team), someone who I'm really familiar with, in the summertime, and spoke to his character: his compete and how hard he works."

Here is a look at the Green Bay Gamblers' entire 2024 USHL Phase I Draft class:

Round 1, Pick 4: Yegor Shilov, F

Round 2, Pick 27: Cody Sokol, F

Round 4, Pick 57: Robin Kuzma, F

Round 7, Pick 97: Nathan Bienstock, D

Round 8, Pick 117: Anthony Thomas-Maroon, F

Round 10, Pick 147: Chase Trompeter, F

Round 10, Pick 149: Andrew Robinson, D

Much like other teams that acquired assets to help them right now, the Gamblers parted with several high picks in the Phase II portion. As a result, Green Bay had to be strategic in its approach to selecting the right group of players who could come in and contribute right away. With several European players moving onto the next level, the Gamblers targeted several players from overseas to fill their non-American import roster spots.

"We got all the kids that we wanted and targeted," Leone said of Phase II overall. "Their European kids because we had a lot of openings in European spots, so that was kind of our focus ... We had to really be smart about the kids that we wanted to get in Phase II and build relationships with the kids and the agents. I think we have five kids that are in NHL Central Scouting. Not that they're going to get drafted, but just to speak of the talent that we identified and that we're bringing into our organization."

With the 55th overall pick in the fourth round, Green Bay landed William Samuelsson, who checked in as the No. 79-ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting for the 2024 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old center, listed at 6-foot and 176 pounds, finished with the second most goals (18), assists (26), and points (44) for the Södertälje SK J20 team this past season.

Just eight picks later, Green Bay took mobile defenseman Edvin Nilsson. The Swedish blueliner, listed at 5-foot-11 and 183 pounds, was ranked No. 47 overall among European skaters by Central Scouting. Nilsson spent most of last season with the HV71 J20 team, where he scored 14 points on four goals and ten assists in 34 games.

Committed to UMass, the 18-year-old represented his home country in both the 2022 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and the World Junior A Challenge, where he recorded a goal and an assist between the two.

"We've had a lot of success with European players," Leone said of the two picks. "It's the needs in our team and we've been able to develop players over the last couple of years, and, both kids, we feel are our great fits.

"(Samuelsson) is a 200-foot center, kind of a late bloomer. He can really skate, and he competes. And then Nilsson is a really, really highly talented puck-moving defenseman that could run a power play, and he's played on a national team in Sweden, so we're really excited about both kids."

Here is a look at the Green Bay Gamblers' entire 2024 USHL Phase II Draft class:

Round 4, Pick 55: William Samuelsson, F

Round 5, Pick 63: Edvin Nilsson, D

Round 7, Pick 94: Vasili Zelenov, F

Round 7, Pick 104: Will Schumacher, F

Round 9, Pick 134: Ryan Staples, F

Round 10, Pick 149: Carson Olsen, D

Round 11, Pick 164: Pierce Mbuyi, F

Round 12, Pick 179: Max Pendy, F

Round 13, Pick 194: David Green, D

Round 14, Pick 209: Max Edwards, F

Round 15, Pick 224: Valdemar Andersen, G