2024 USHL Draft Review: Omaha Lancers

Ryan Sikes

Jun 11, 2024, 12:10

Ryan Sikes

Jun 11, 2024, 12:10

Despite having to forfeit their first overall pick in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft, the Omaha Lancers came away two highly-talented forwards with their first two picks and added leadership early in the Phase II portion

For the second consecutive season, the Omaha Lancers were forced to forfeit their first-round pick as a result of an off-ice interaction with the league. Without the 16th overall pick in the second round as well, the Lancers' first pick in the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft came in the third round.

With the selection, Omaha took forward Jimmy Egan at 42nd overall. The 16-year-old, listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, skated for Mahtomedi (Minnesota) High School, where he accumulated the most assists (43) and the second-most points (52) on the team.

If the name sounds familiar, Egan was one of 47 players invited to USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp in March.

"Jimmy (Egan) has got so much upside," Lancers head coach Lennie Childs told The Hockey News. "He can score, he can make plays, he's long, he's big, there's a lot to love about him; he plays pretty mature for being that age, putting up the amount of points he did in high school. There's a reason why he was at the (evaluation camp) for the NTDP. We're ecstatic about him, and I think he has a bright future here at Omaha."

Moving into the fourth round, the Lancers stayed within the forward group and selected Dakotah Bailey with the 46th overall pick. Another player who was invited to the NTDP's Evaluation Camp in March, the 16-year-old, listed at 6-foot and 181 pounds, had 16 points on seven goals and nine assists in 27 games for Gentry Academy this past season.

"If you would have told me that we would get (Jimmy) Egan and Dakota Bailey in our one and two picks, I would have been jumping up and down prior to," Childs said of the two selections. "For me, I coached both those guys at the Select 15s (Select 15 Player Development Camp), so it was really cool to have a prior knowledge of them, kind of a prior relationship, and then they were both available. It was unbelievable.

"I think a lot of people were kind of saying, 'Who is this guy? Why is he here?' And then he got there, and all the reports were, 'Oh, I know why he's here now,' Childs said of Bailey, who tallied five points on three goals and two assists in four games at the Select 15s. "He's a big body, plays heavy, he's very mature in his game, does a lot of things really well, and can really fit up and down the lineup. If you meet him, you get this sense that he's a dog. You want those guys."

Here is a look at the Omaha Lancers' entire 2024 USHL Phase I Draft class:

Round 1, Pick 1: Forfeit

Round 3, Pick 31: Jimmy Egan, F

Round 4, Pick 46: Dakotah Bailey, F

Round 5, Pick 72: Max Bies, D

Round 7, Pick 91: Kevin Lysohir, F

Round 8, Pick 106: Ryan Yurkiw, D

Round 9, Pick 121: Drake Gram, D

Round 9, Pick 129: Noah Keyes, F

Round 9, Pick 131: Brock Cheslock, F

Round 10, Pick 136: Brayden Hughes, D

Round 10, Pick 146: Hudson Kowalchuk, D

In the Phase II portion of the USHL Draft, the Lancers were focused on filling out their protective list to give the franchise depth over the next couple of seasons. Omaha took 17 players in all, broken down into four (4) goaltenders, four (4) defensemen, and nine (9) forwards.

With the 22nd overall pick in the second round, the Lancers took a familiar face in goaltender Kam Hendrickson. The 18-year-old, who began the year in the Chicago Steel's Development Camp, captained Chanhassen (Minnesota) High School, where he posted a 23-6-0 record in 29 appearances to go along with a ridiculous 1.01 goals-against average, 0.951 save percentage, and seven shutouts.

Once his season was over at Chanhassen, Hendrickson joined the Lancers in late March. In seven outings, Hendrickson, ranked as the No. 32 North American goaltender by Central Scouting for the 2024 NHL Draft, went 4-1-0 with a 2.92 goals-against average, a 0.924 save percentage, and one shutout.

With Mikhail Yegorov expected to return as well, he and Hendrickson should make for a formidable 1-2 punch in net.

"When I was watching Omaha at the end (of the season), I just saw this kid got called up, you know, and obviously did a really good job in the amount of starts that he had," Childs said of Hendrickson. "We had to protect him still because he didn't get his ten games in as an affiliate. Kudos to (general manager and CEO) Dave Wilkie on that one because we're really happy with him and excited for him and for the future for sure."

Eyeing a forward that can come in and play right away, the Omaha Lancers took Lucas Busch with the 31st overall pick in the third round. The 18-year-old, listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, primarily spent last season captaining Maple Grove (Minnesota) High School. There, he led the team in goals (23) and points (47) in 28 games.

Busch also got a 13-game look with the NAHL's Wisconsin Windigo, where he had five points on two goals and three assists and added a goal in three playoff games.

"Lucas (Busch) has shown that he can step into junior hockey and have an impact," Childs said. "Whether it's on the score sheet or off. He definitely plays a multitude of different roles and provides energy and grit that you're going to need. Especially playing the 60-plus games that we're going to play, and he was available (at the draft slot). I know he was very sought after with a lot of different teams, and it was a need for us that we look at there and like, 'Hey, he's available. It makes sense for us.' Tracking him while I was at Union College and watching his game progress, I think he definitely has a future in this league."

Hendrickson and Busch captaining their respective teams this past season was also a major draw for the Lancers.

"One thing that we definitely wanted is character kids," Childs said. "That's something that was super important to us as an organization and definitely to myself. Even having these guys here at the facility the last couple of days and meeting them, (Busch) is one of those kids that you can tell he's got a great personality. People love being around him. When you have guys like that who work as hard as he does, that's going to rub off on your group. We're just excited to have a guy like that that has that pedigree to be able to bring to the organization."

Here is a look at the Omaha Lancers' entire 2024 USHL Phase II Draft class:

Round 2, Pick 22: Kam Hendrickson, G

Round 3, Pick 31: Lucas Busch, F

Round 5, Pick 67: Zach Wooten, F

Round 6, Pick 87: Hugo Daniel, F

Round 7, Pick 105: Maxime Ly, F

Round 8, Pick 109: Bobby Williams, D

Round 8, Pick 115: David Hruby, F

Round 9, Pick 123: Ryan Cameron, G

Round 9, Pick 137: Steven Luciano, G

Round 10, Pick 138: Valtteri Lehtosaari, F

Round 11, Pick 153: Kash Crawford, D