2024 USHL Draft Review: Tri-City Storm

Ryan Sikes

Jun 19, 2024, 11:36

Ryan Sikes

Jun 19, 2024, 11:36

Ilya Morozov headlines the Tri-City Storm's 2024 USHL Draft class following his 74-point campaign with the Windy City Storm this past season

Photo courtesy of the Minot Minotauros / NAHL - 2024 USHL Draft Review: Tri-City Storm

The post-Anthony Noreen era is officially underway in Kearney, Nebraska. However, prior to taking the Miami University (Ohio) head coaching job, the now former Storm head coach secured another high-end forward as an early Christmas present for the organization in Ilya Morozov.

The Russian phenom, listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, signed a tender agreement with Tri-City, and he is a left-shot, playmaking forward who spent the 2023-24 season with the Windy City Storm 15U team. There, Morozov finished with 74 points on 33 goals and 41 assists, all of which were the second-most on the roster.

"Big, pro-style two-way centerman," Tri-City Storm general manager Jason Koehler told The Hockey News. "Probably for context, the best bigger-bodied centerman I've had like this was the 2004 and righty centerman from Cleveland, Curtis Hall, who ended up playing two years for me in Youngstown and then went to Yale and is a Bruins NHL pick. I'm a big fan of Hall, but I think Morozov is a better, bigger-bodied pro-center is the way I would foresee it and how it plays out.

"The nice thing is with a young centerman like this, again, don't get me wrong, it's going to be a jump, it's going to be an adjustment, but when the light bulb goes off for this young man—if you told me it's a plug-and-play kid as a fourth-line developmental center, worst case when this starts out—I think it will be just fine. That's where we had Curtis Hall a few years ago when he was in his first year as a high school junior with us in Youngstown, and by playoff time, he was our top centerman."

Building off the Morozov tender, the Tri-City Storm selected a top-notch defenseman with the 22nd overall pick in the second round, Levi Harper. The brother of Storm defenseman Brandt Harper, who played in 51 games for Tri-City last year, Levi skated with the Shattuck St. Mary's 15U team in 2023-24. There, the 5-foot-9, 143-pound blueliner recorded nine goals and 23 assists, making his 32 points the second-most among defensemen on the roster.

"I personally think he was at least one of the ten best defensemen in the U.S. this year," Koehler said of the pick. "I thought he had an extremely outstanding year with U15 Shattuck. I believe he's only been playing defense for three years, too, so it's kind of what can he kind of be, learning the positions and the nuances of positioning and stick and such. He's got a brain. He's very mobile. He's got some bite for an average-sized defenseman right now. He will play at Shattuck next year. He will not be with us next season. At the end of the day, we see him developing and being here in a year. He's going to develop into an all situations, top-pair, right-shot defenseman is how I see it and we see it."

After taking Harper, the Tri-City Storm selected another talented forward in Will Bent. The 16-year-old, listed at 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, spent the 2023-24 season with the Mount St. Charles Academy 15U squad, where he posted some eye-popping numbers. Bent finished with the second-most points (93) on the roster, broken down into 51 goals and 42 points.

To say that Tri-City was surprised that Bent was still available in the third round is an understatement. Koehler and his scouting staff debated taking him in the second round, with the hope that they could land Harper in the third. As it played out, the Storm got both Harper and Bent.

"He's a bigger-bodied, scoring line, handsy, goal-scoring centerman, and those are hard to come by," Koheler said of Bent. "The way I watch and chart out the games, that was a young man, where I probably saw Mount St. Charles at least 15 to 20 times through the course of the year, just because I thought it was a good team, a lot of good 08s.

"As the year went along, he had a tremendous Northeast Pack playoffs when I was there as well in February in Utica. He's going to go back to Mount (St. Charles). We see him with us in a year. The kid's just a nice big body, has hands, has vision, and scores goals. He is going to develop into a top-six forward, top-two centerman in my eyes and our eyes."

Here is a look at the Tri-City Storm's entire 2024 USHL Phase I Draft class:

Round 1, Pick 7: Ilya Morozov, F (Tender)

Round 2, Pick 22: Levi Harper, D

Round 3, Pick 37: Will Bent, F

Round 3, Pick 39: Ben MacBeath, D

Round 3, Pick 41: Trevor Theuer, C

Round 4, Pick 52: Ryder Fetterolf, G

Round 5, Pick 67: Matthew Krayer, F

Round 6, Pick 82: Jackson Strukel, D

Round 7, Pick 100: Hunter Rudolph, F

Round 8, Pick 112: Jake Gustafson, F

Round 9, Pick 132: Nolan Duskocy, F

In the Phase II portion, the Tri-City Storm were able to address immediate needs for next year's roster. Out of the seven defensemen they finished with last season, only one full-time blueliner is returning in 2023-24 (Harper).

As such, four of the Storm's first six picks in Phase II loaded up the blueline, beginning with Colby Woogk, who was selected with the seventh overall pick in the first round. The 19-year-old, listed at 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds, is committed to Western Michigan and spent the last three seasons playing junior hockey for the NAHL's Minot Minotauros.

This past season, Woogk was the top-scoring defenseman for Minot, finishing with 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points. Overall, his point production was the fifth-highest on the team.

"He's been a talent for a few years," Koehler said of Woogk. "This was the year that it all kind of came together, and he was a horse for Minot. They were a successful team. He was the anchor of that team at the blueline and probably was their best and most valuable player, I would say, this season.

"He is a plug-and-play top-four defenseman the way we look at it. Nice, strong, solid veteran presence back there. At the end of the day, it's hard to find good D. We feel we got the best one out of the North American League."

Just four picks later, the Storm selected right-shot defenseman Ethan Beyer. The 20-year-old, listed at 5-foot-11 and 183 pounds, skated with the Brooks Bandits in the 2023-24 season. There, he recorded 15 points on one goal and 14 assists during the regular season.

In the playoffs, he contributed one goal and three assists, helping the Brooks Bandits capture wins in the Alberta Cup and Rocky Mountain Challenge.

"We felt these were the two best American left-shot and right-shot, plug-and-play guys that had junior experience for us to come in, contribute, and solidify that D corps." Koehler said of Woogk and Beyer, collectively.

Here is a look at the Tri-City Storm's entire 2024 USHL Phase II Draft class:

Round 1, Pick 7: Colby Woogk, D

Round 1, Pick 11: Ethan Beyer, D

Round 2, Pick 24: Landon Fandel, D

Round 7, Pick 93: Kyle Jones, G

Round 7, Pick 99: Alexei Noskov, G

Round 7, Pick 100: Adam Boatter, D

Round 8, Pick 114: Chase Pirtle, F

Round 9, Pick 129: Sebastian Gatto, G

Round 10, Pick 144: Jack Broderick, F

Round 11, Pick 159: Andrei Malyavin, D

Round 12, Pick 174: Luke Drury, F