We're getting ready for another USHL season on The Hockey News with a look at the goaltending rooms in the Eastern Conference
The 2024-25 USHL season is right around the corner. To help get you ready, The Hockey News' USHL writer Ryan Sikes is looking at the goaltending situations across all eight Eastern Conference teams.
Below is a collection of information that I have been able to gather from various sources around the league.
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Rudy Guimond (DET), Andrew Reyelts
Rudy Guimond headlines the RoughRiders' goaltending room after appearing in 32 games last year. The Detroit Red Wings draft pick went 13-13-3-1 with a 3.66 GAA and 0.869 save percentage.
A fourth-round pick in the 2024 USHL Phase II Draft, Andrew "AJ" Reyelts split last season between Proctor High School and the NAHL's Kenai River Brown Bears. With the latter, the Lindenwood commit posted a 3.50 GAA and 0.88 save percentage in six games.
Dubuque Fighting Saints
Dylan Johnson, Lukas Swedin, Liam Beerman
Kevin Reidler (OTT) has moved on, but Dylan Johnson is back after posting an impressive 2.75 GAA and 0.901 save percentage with one shutout in 11 games.
Drafted in the seventh round of the 2024 USHL Phase II Draft, Swedin saw 14 games with Muskegon last year and posted a 3.24 GAA and 0.887 save percentage in 14 games.
Beerman got a full year of junior hockey experience with the NAHL's Anchorage Wolverines last year, recording a 2.37 GAA and 0.923 save percentage with four shutouts in 42 appearances.
Madison Capitols
Caleb Heil, Ajay White, Kyle Ozgun
The Capitols revamped their goaltending room this offseason with two key draft-day trades to acquire Caleb Heil and Ajay White.
Heil played in 19 games for the Stampede last season, posting a 4.32 GAA and 0.850 save percentage while also seeing four games with the U.S. National Team Development Program U18 squad.
Meanwhile, White spent the bulk of last season with the NAHL's Chippewa Steel, where he registered a 2.90 GAA and 0.910 save percentage with one shutout in 32 appearances.
Then, there is 19-year-old Kyle Ozgun, who split his time between the Yale Jr. Bulldogs 18U team and The Lawrenceville School last year. With the Bulldogs, he posted a 1.98 GAA and 0.923 save percentage across 13 appearances.
USA Hockey NTDP
Luke Carrithers (2026), Brady Knowling (2026)
Carrithers comes to the Program via the Sioux Falls Power, where he recorded an impressive 22-12 record with a 2.76 GAA and 0.913 save percentage in 34 games last season.
Knowling spent last season with the North York Rangers U16 AAA team, where he made 76 appearances and posted a 31-10-0 record.
Chicago Steel
Louka Cloutier (COL), Jack Parsons
Cloutier emerged as the No. 1 for Chicago last year and played much better than his numbers would suggest: 3.68 GAA and 0.904 save percentage in 34 appearances. The Colorado Avalanche draft pick played very well down the stretch, posting a 12-7-2-3 record with a 0.911 save percentage in the second half.
Parsons joins the Steel after spending two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program. The Providence commit posted a 3.71 GAA and 0.864 save percentage in 33 games with the U18s a season ago and saw action in three games for Team USA at the 2024 World Juniors.
Green Bay Gamblers
Gavin Moffatt, Christian Kirsch, Valdemar Andersen
After playing in a secondary role behind Adam Gajan (CHI) last year, Moffatt has an opportunity to be the No. 1 one. The 20-year-old recorded an 11-6-3 record with a 3.14 GAA and 0.900 save percentage in 22 appearances.
Phase II draft pick Christian Kirsch makes the jump to the North American game after playing for the Zug U20 team in Switzerland last year. There, the UMass commit posted a 22-5-1 record with a 2.32 GAA and three shutouts in 30 games.
The younger brother of Hurricanes' Frederik Andersen, Valdemar, will look to form a role in the USHL this season. The 19-year-old skated with the Herning Blue Fox team out of Denmark last year, where he went 3-2-0 with a 2.92 GAA and 0.885 save percentage in seven appearances.
Muskegon Lumberjacks
Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev, Stephen Peck, Raiden LeGall
One of the most energetic goaltenders you'll see, Gadzhiev provided a proverbial and literal spark for the Jacks last year. The Russian netminder posted an impressive 18-10-0 record to go along with a 3.18 GAA and 0.901 save percentage in 30 games last year.
A 2023 Phase II pick, Peck primarily played for the NAHL's Bismarck Bobcats last season, where he recorded a 2.25 GAA and 0.917 save percentage with five shutouts. The 6-foot-2, 174-pound netminder is currently committed to the University of Michigan.
The Jacks selected LeGall in Phase II of this year's draft after an exceptional 2023-24 season with the NAHL's Niverville Nighthawks. There, the Bemidji State commit posted a 20-14-0 record with a 2.73 GAA and 0.920 save percentage in 37 appearances.
Youngstown Phantoms
Melvin Strahl (CBJ), Owen Lepak, Anthony Sciere
Phase II pick Melvin Strahl is a confirmed signing for Youngstown after skating with the MoDo Hockey J20 team last year. There, the Swedish netminder posted a 2.91 GAA and 0.903 save percentage in 30 games.
Lepak spent all last season getting a year of junior hockey development with the NAHL's Maryland Black Bears. The Western Michigan commit was one of the top-performing goaltenders, registering a 2.19 GAA and 0.913 save percentage in 27 games.
Sciere skated with the Cleveland Barons 16U team last season and could be in line for more of a development role this year. With the Barons, the 17-year-old recorded a 2.62 GAA and 0.883 save percentage in six games.