Cooper Simpson and Ryan Rucinski of the Youngstown Phantoms both sit in the top 10 in the USHL scoring race
The Youngstown Phantoms are starting to separate from the rest of the United States Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. After a weekend slate with the Lincoln Stars that saw the Phantoms win 4-3 in a shootout on Friday and then 4-1 on Saturday, the team from Youngstown now has a nine-point lead on the second-place Dubuque Fighting Saints with 18 games remaining.
The Phantoms will meet the Fighting Saints twice more before the season ends, face the Green Bay Gamblers twice, who currently sit third and square off with the fourth place Muskegon Lumberjacks four more times in the regular season’s final two months.
The Phantoms are 8-2-0 in their past 10 games, outscoring opponents 51-23 over this stretch. Next weekend will see the Phantoms and the Lumberjacks face each other three times in three days in what should be spirited affairs.
The Phantoms currently have two players, Cooper Simpson and Ryan Rucinski, in the USHL’s top 10 point leaders. Simpson has posted 26 goals and 32 assists, good for second most amongst all skaters in the USHL, and Simpson sits two points behind Stars forward Alex Pelletier for the league lead. The 26 goals place Simpson in third in the USHL. Simpson was selected by the Boston Bruins in the third round, 79th overall, at the 2025 National Hockey League draft. The 19-year-old has committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2026-27 season.
Rucinski finds himself seventh amongst all players in the USHL for points with 47. The 19-year-old and captain of the Phantoms has totalled 21 goals and 26 assists through 44 games played. Rucinski, a former seventh-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres at the 2025 draft, has committed to Ohio State University for the 2026-27 season.
In net, the Phantoms are being led by Tobias Trejbal. Trejbal has appeared in 30 games, posting a record of 22-6-2, with a 2.11 goals-against average and 0.920 save percentage. The 18-year-old’s 2.11 GAA leads the USHL, while the .920 SV% places him second, trailing only Lumberjacks netminder Carl Axelsson. Trejbal, who is eligible for the 2026 NHL draft, has recorded three shutouts, tied for the second most in the USHL.
The Phantoms next game is set for Friday, Feb. 13, as they host Muskegon. Puck drop set for 7:05 p.m. EST.