2024 USHL Draft Review: Sioux Falls Stampede

Ryan Sikes

Jun 17, 2024, 01:01

Ryan Sikes

Jun 17, 2024, 01:01

The Sioux Falls Stampede selected two high-end forwards to start the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft and took two former NTDP players early in the Phase II portion

Photo courtesy of Steven Ellis / Daily Faceoff - 2024 USHL Draft Review: Sioux Falls Stampede

Ryan Cruthers returned to the Sioux Falls Stampede at the perfect time. After spending a year guiding the Fayetteville Marksmen of the Southern Professional Hockey League to a 31-19-6-0 record and a postseason berth during the 2023-24 season, the 39-year-old was named the Herd's tenth Head Coach in team history at the end of April.

Having previously served as an assistant coach for the Stampede in 2022-23, Cruthers was familiar with the outgoing roster and the immediate and long-term needs for the USHL Phase I and II Drafts.

Tony Gasparini, General Manager and VP of Hockey Operations of Sioux Falls, and his support staff largely handle the draft, putting in the hours to watch a lot of video and identifying a list of players to target.

For Cruthers, returning to the organization meant observing what the scouting team had established and weighing in with his own opinion and whether those players would fit the organization well.

Noah Kosick was a no-brainer selection with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the Phase I portion. The 15-year-old forward is committed to the University of Michigan and is among the few 2008-born players already committed to schools.

Kosick, listed at 5-foot-8 and 134 pounds, played above his age group for the last two years with the Pacific Coast Academy U18 Prep team. This past season, the left-shot forward led the team in assists (50) and points (62), averaging 2.14 points per game.

"His hockey IQ is amazing, and the way that he handles the puck and makes plays is important to us," Cruthers said of Kosick. "He's a guy that had 62 points last year, and 50 of those are assists, so he's going to make everyone around him better."

Without a second-round pick in the Phase I portion, the Sioux Falls Stampede grabbed forward Cooper Soller with the 36th overall pick in the third round. The 15-year-old, listed at 5-foot-10 and 157 pounds, spent this past season with the Shattuck St. Mary's prep school, where he scored 37 goals and 35 assists, making his 72 points the second-most points on the 15U team.

"He's another guy that fits what we're trying to do in the way that we're going to play, and he can make plays with the puck and make the guys around him better," Cruthers said. "He has a knack for scoring. Pucks seems to always find him.

"He's a guy that when you look at the two of them, between him and Noah (Kosick), it's exciting with Cooper being able to have more finish and a natural goal-scorer who is always excited to score goals. You have him, and then you have a guy like Noah who can find players and make plays. It's exciting for us with the offensive upside that we're going to have for years to come."

Here is a look at Sioux Falls' entire 2024 USHL Phase I Draft class:

Round 1, Pick: Noah Kosick, F

Round 3, Pick 36: Cooper Soller, F

Round 4, Pick 51: Kaenan Smith, G

Round 5, Pick 66: Luke Wilfley, F

Round 6, Pick 81: Jacob Xu, D

Round 7, Pick 96: Alexey Vlasov, F

Round 9, Pick 126: Nicklas Nelson, D

Round 10, Pick 141: Cade Kinnear, F

Prior to the USHL Draft, the Herd traded goaltender Caleb Heil to the Madison Capitols and recouped a second-round pick in the Phase II portion as part of the return. With the understanding that they will be one of the youngest teams in the league next season, Sioux Falls targeted players who could come in, help the team right away, and help the young guys along.

To that end, the Stampede took former NTDP forward Austin Baker with the sixth overall pick in the first round. The 18-year-old, ranked No. 104 for North American skaters by Central Scouting for the 2024 NHL Draft, recorded 15 goals and 31 points for the NTDP U18 team this past season. The Michigan State commit had a quiet showing at the 2024 Under-18 IIHF Men's World Championship, but he will be relied upon by Sioux Falls to come in and play big minutes.

"Taking (him) from the U.S. National Program with two years of experience there, that helps us immediately with these young guys that are going to take a little bit to adjust to the junior hockey game, so that was an important add for us up front from an experience standpoint," Cruthers said of Baker.

The Herd took a chance with their second-round pick and selected John Whipple. The former NTDP defenseman is committed to the University of Minnesota, and Sioux Falls went into the Phase II Draft with the understanding that the blueliner could potentially go to school this fall.

The Stampede found themselves in a similar situation last year when they selected Beckett Hendrickson in Phase II. Another Minnesota commit, there was a chance that the former NTDP forward would join the Gophers in the fall, but Hendrickson took another year in the USHL.

"We don't know right now," Cruthers said of Whipple's decision. "It looks like it's going that way (that he will go to Minnesota). We'll continue to talk to him about his development and why this would be a good option for a year and see what happens."

Perhaps the biggest add for Sioux Falls came in the third round when they selected forward Brock James with the 36th overall pick. The 20-year-old, listed at 6-foot and 170 pounds, scored 22 goals and 56 points for the NAHL's Lone Stone Brahmas during the regular season. The University of Maine commit added six goals and 14 points en route to helping the Brahmas win the organization's seventh Robertson Cup.

"He's a guy that I'm really excited about on the offensive side of things because, for us, adding championship caliber human beings is important," Cruthers said of James. "That's the mindset we want, and he just went through that with Lone Star, winning a championship and putting up very good points. Watching him this week in camp, he's a guy that we're going to lean on for some leadership as well."

Here is a look at Sioux Falls' entire 2024 USHL Phase II Draft class:

Round 1, Pick 6: Austin Baker, F

Round 2, Pick 25: John Whipple, D

Round 3, Pick 36: Brock James, F

Round 4, Pick 57: Ryan Manzella, G

Round 5, Pick 66: Tomas Anderson, G

Round 7, Pick 98: Bryce Ingles, D

Round 8, Pick 113: Sheldon Rioux, F

Round 9, Pick 128: Jonas Kohn, D

Round 10, Pick 143: Brent Solomon, F

Round 11, Pick 158: Connor Deturris, F

Round 13, Pick 188: Gairin Michalski, D