The USHL, the highest level of junior hockey in the United States, has always prided itself on being "players-first." Thanks to its recent dispersal draft, the league has proven that to be the case once again. 

With the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and Madison Capitols both shutting down operations for the season, the players drafted by those teams and on those teams' rosters were re-selected on Sept. 21, alleviating the collective anxiety of 55 players.

"We had to do a dispersal draft to make sure those players could still play in our league, and we waited to make sure that they were taken care of," USHL commissioner Tom Garrity said in a phone conversation on Wednesday afternoon.

The draft order was determined through a weighted lottery system.  

While Madison's primary reason for shuttering for the season stems from the strict COVID-19 restrictions of its native Dane County in southern Wisconsin, the RoughRiders found themselves battling Mother Nature. Due to extensive damage caused by a storm in mid-September, the RoughRiders' ImOn Ice Arena has been rendered unplayable. 

"I felt really bad for both Cedar Rapids and Madison," Garrity said. "They were doing every single thing in their power to play."

The USHL season is slated to kick off on Nov. 5 with a game between Sioux Falls and Des Moines, which will feature a combined eight dispersed players.

The RoughRiders and Capitols will have those players returned next season, dashing any fantasies Chicago Steel fans may have had of their team keeping the Capitols' top overall pick from this spring's Phase I Draft, Quinn Finley.  

"Both franchises have full intentions of continuing in 2021-2022, so they're going to be back with us when the smoke clears, so to speak, and they will have their players back," Garrity said.

And that's what the dispersal draft was all about - the players. 

"Out first, second, and third concerns are, always, the players," Garrity said. "Credit to Cedar Rapids and Madison for having to make the tough decision. They could have asked up to drag it out a little bit longer," Garrity continued. 

"But they knew, with camp already starting, and teams bringing kids in, we wanted to make sure that all these kids had a place to play this year."