2024 USHL Draft Review: Youngstown Phantoms

Ryan Sikes

Jun 24, 2024, 11:18

Ryan Sikes

Jun 24, 2024, 11:18

The Youngstown Phantoms tendered two more players ahead of the 2024 USHL Phase I Draft and found one of the best steals in Adam Benak in the Phase II portion.

Photo courtesy of Steven Ellis / Daily Faceoff - 2024 USHL Draft Review: Youngstown Phantoms

Over the last couple of seasons, the Youngstown Phantoms have been more active in the tender agreement market. It has been an organizational philosophy to utilize both slots under the current regime, and this year was no different.

The Phantoms got the party started when they inked forward Beckham Edwards to a tender agreement just days before Christmas. The 16-year-old, listed at 6 feet and 168 pounds, is already projected to be one of the top prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft. The left-shot forward, who hails from London, Ontario, spent this past season with the Little Caesars 15U team, where he posted a whopping 60 goals and 37 assists for a team-leading 97 points.

The Youngstown staff had been tracking him since he was playing for the Elgin Middlesex Canucks in 2022-23. Once he joined the bigger program at Little Caesars and continued to succeed, the Phantoms brought Edwards in for a visit and determined that his skill set and character would be a good fit for the program.

"He has such a good stick, stripping pucks and he has an elite shot, very heavy, very accurate, can pick apart goaltenders," Youngstown head coach Ryan Ward told The Hockey News. "The biggest thing is his 200-foot game. He works extremely hard. He's got vision, he's got speed, and he's a pure goal scorer."

Two weeks after signing Edwards, the Phantoms landed forward Jack Hextall as the 13th tender in Youngstown franchise history. The 16-year-old, listed at 5-foot-11 and 172 pounds, skated for the Chicago Mission 15U team this past season, where he tallied 88 points on 29 goals and 59 assists in 64 games.

Ward first got a look at Hextall when he coached the young forward for the Windy City Storm 13U team during the 2021-22 season. With the familiarity in place, it was a relatively simple decision to ensure that Hextall would end up in Youngstown.

"Jack was someone we just had our eye on, someone we identified early," Ward said. "He plays a game that is very skill-based. He makes plays, he works hard, he's extremely smart. He's one of the smartest players in the world for his age group. He always has been. He's a good teammate, he plays with a little bit of an edge, he's strong, he's good either in the middle or on the wing. Overall, Jack is someone that we're comfortable with, and obviously, we think he and Beckham (Edwards) complement each other very, very well."

Here is a look at the Youngstown Phantoms' entire 2024 USHL Phase I Draft class:

Round 1, Pick 11: Beckham Edwards, F (Tender)

Round 2, Pick 26: Jack Hextall, F (Tender)

Round 2, Pick 30: Eric Frossard, D

Round 3, Pick 34: Connor Schubert, F

Round 4, Pick 56: Dylan Rozzi, F

Round 5, Pick 74: Sean Burick, D

Round 6, Pick 76: George Komadoski, D

Round 6, Pick 86: Ethan Garden, F

Round 7, Pick 99: Luca Jarvis, F

Round 7, Pick 101: Odin Vauhkonen, D

Round 8, Pick 116: Andrey Molgachyov, F

Round 9, Pick 127: Sean Miller, F

In the Phase II portion, the Phantoms came away with every player they had targeted, featuring a blend of skaters in each position group. While the organizational depth addressed immediate needs, it also created healthy competition at every position and restocked for future teams.

Youngstown bolstered their goaltending room with Swedish netminder Melvin Strahl, who was taken No. 21 overall in the second round. The 19-year-old, listed at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fifth round, 156th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft. Strahl spent this past season with MoDo Hockey J20, where he posted a 2.91 goals-against average, 0.903 save percentage, and one shutout in 30 games.

The Phantoms followed that pick with forward Michael Coleman in the second round, just nine picks after Strahl went off the board. The 19-year-old, listed at 6 feet and 174 pounds, skated for the NAHL's St. Cloud Norsemen in 2023-24. There, the UMass commit tallied 50 points on an evenly split 25 goals and 25 assists in 59 games. Coleman gives Youngstown a ton of flexibility, being able to play both down the middle and along the wing.

Perhaps the most intriguing and one of the biggest steals of the draft came in the third round when the Phantoms took electric forward Adam Benak with the No. 41 overall pick. Already projected to be one of the top prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft, the 17-year-old, while undersized (5-foot-7 and 157 pounds), features a ton of speed and offense from the center position. Benak skated above his age group this past season, primarily playing for the HC Plzeň U20 team in Czechia, tallying 29 points on eight goals and 21 assists.

He represented his home country at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and the U18 Men's World Championship. At the Hlinka, Benak led Czechia with ten points and finished with a tournament-high eight assists. At the WHC-17, he finished with three goals and five assists in eight games, making his eight points tied for the second-most on Czechia's roster. At the U18s, he had three points on one goal and two assists in five games played and scored a dazzling shootout goal in Czechia's upset over Sweden.

"He is going to be an absolute stud," Ward said of the Benak selection. "He had a great training camp. He's excited about coming over. He is extremely smart. His habits and details are excellent. He plays a full, complete 200-foot game. He's extremely skilled, very smart, and makes plays all over the rink. He actually scored one of those shootout goals in one of our All-Star games at camp."

Here is a look at the Youngstown Phantoms' entire 2024 USHL Phase II Draft class:

Round 2, Pick 21: Melvin Strahl, G

Round 2, Pick 30: Michael Coleman, F

Round 3, Pick 34: Justin Kerr, F

Round 3, Pick 41: Adam Benak, F

Round 4, Pick 46: Hubert Clarke, D

Round 4, Pick 56: Liam Fleet, D

Round 4, Pick 60: Kade Stengrim, F

Round 5, Pick 71: Rian Chudzinski, F

Round 7, Pick 103: Oliver Turner, D

Round 8, Pick 108: Jonathan Brown, D

Round 8, Pick 118: Victor Mannebratt, D