It’s May, it’s muggy, and with Memorial Day approaching, it’s time for the offseason’s evaluation process to move into draft mode. 

Post-NTDP evaluation camp, the USHL’s Phase I and Phase II Drafts are set, with Phase I slated to begin on Wednesday, May 26, and Phase II to commence on Thursday, May 27. 

This year’s Phase I Draft will feature players born in 2005, while Phase II will include all draft-eligible players from birth years 2001-2005. Draft-eligible players include any player that is age-eligible and is not currently protected by another USHL club. 

After the drafts are completed, USHL teams will hold their tryouts during June and July, whittling their rosters down to 30 players with an 18-player affiliate list. By the time the season starts in the fall of 2021, that active roster will be down to 23 players, with the 18-player affiliate list staying intact. According to the USHL website, teams typically have 60-80 players at the initial tryout.

Last year, 19 Minnesotans were selected in the 10-round Phase I Draft, with nine players going in the first five rounds. Only one player, Hermantown’s Zam Plante, went in round one, picked by the 2021 Clark Cup champion Chicago Steel. As a sophomore, Plante tallied 29 goals and 61 points for the Hawks in the shortened 2020-2021 campaign.

The number of Minnesotans drafted is affected by the amount of players that opt for the National Team Development Program, which this year includes Minnetonka's Beckett Hendrickson and Totino-Grace's Austin Burnevik and Oliver Moore. The number can also dip if any Minnesotans have already tendered with a USHL team. 

The average number of Minnesotans drafted in the USHL Phase I Draft is 25.8 over the last five drafts. Of the 19 players drafted in 2020, YHH featured 15  in last year's preview. 

Finn Brink
Hometown: Maple Grove
2020-2021 Team: Maple Grove High School  

Brink recorded four goals and 10 points in 18 games in his first high school season with Maple Grove last year, getting his feet wet on a stacked Crimson varsity squad. Armed with good hands and a motor that never slows down, Brink was selected to participate in this summer’s USA Hockey Select 16 National Camp.

Jake Fisher
Hometown: Woodbury 
2020-2021 Team: Cretin-Derham Hall  

The rare freshman that steps into a quality Class AA lineup and immediately produces, Fisher tallied 11 goals and 16 points in his first season of high school action at Cretin-Derham Hall. Fisher improved as a sophomore to the tune of 18 goals and 37 points for the Raiders last year, as the team went 18-2 in a shortened 2020-2021 campaign. A rangy 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Fisher could slot in at either center or wing, but his strong two-way game fits the center profile.

Ty Hanson
Hometown: Hermantown 
2020-2021 Team: Hermantown High School  

Hanson was invited to try out for the National Team Development Program’s Under-17 squad last week, and though he was not selected for the team, the invitation speaks to the Hermantown defender’s talent on the blue line. Hanson has quick feet and moves the puck well, just as comfortable on the power play as he is on the penalty kill. As a sophomore in his first season of high school hockey, Hanson notched nine goals and added 20 assists for the Hawks.

Ty Henricks
Hometown: Woodbury
2020-2021 Team: Shattuck-St. Mary's 16U 

Henricks recorded 31 goals and 68 points during the 2019-2020 season, his second with the Shattuck-St. Mary's 14U squad, before bumping up to the 16U team this year. In his first season with the 16U's, Henricks tallied 15 goals and 18 assists. If his previous performance is an indication, the numbers should improve next year, giving the Woodbury Area Youth Hockey Association product  the stat line to match his highly draft-able 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame.

Danny Nelson
Hometown: Maple Grove
2020-2021 Team: Osseo-Maple Grove Bantam AA

Like Henricks listed above, Nelson has one the most USHL-ready frames of the 2005 birth years at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and his skills match up with the measurables. Nelson’s play features a blend of stiff-arming running back and ball-handling point guard, as his drive-to-the-net instincts mesh with an ability to handle the puck on the perimeter. Nelson helped the Osseo-Maple Grove Bantam AA team to a 27-11-4 record last season, culminating in an overtime loss to Wazyata in the state championship game. 

Wyatt Olson
Hometown: Maple Grove
2020-2021 Team: Maple Grove High School  

A bruising power forward with a 6-foot-1, 174-pound body to match his rough-and-tumble game, Olson could fit right in with the physicality of junior hockey, and it typically at his best low in the offensive zone. A 2020 YHH Bantam Player of the Year finalist, Olson was selected No. 15 overall by the Kelowna Rockets in last year’s WHL U.S. Prospects Draft. 

Jayson Shaugabay
Hometown: Warroad 
2020-2021 Team: Warroad High School  

Shaugabay’s creativity with the puck could be unparalleled in Minnesota high school hockey, as the sophomore consistently displays an impressive understanding of space and time on the ice. Shaugabay led the Warriors in scoring last season with 24 goals and 54 points and has totaled 54 goals and 126 points in just two seasons of high school hockey. 

Drew Stewart
Hometown: Minnetonka
2020-2021 Team: Benilde-St. Margaret's 

Electric with the puck on his stick, Stewart joined the Benilde-St. Margaret’s varsity a few games into the 2020-2021 season and contributed six goals and 14 points in 16 games for the Red Knights. The speedy forward was a YHH Bantam Player of the Year finalist in 2020 and won the Wiz Wyatt Award as a Peewee in 2019. Stewart racked up 18 goals and 27 points in 15 games in last summer’s Bantam Elite League. 

Teddy Townsend
Hometown: Eden Prairie 
2020-2021 Team: Eden Prairie Bantam AA 

The 2021 YHH Bantam Player of the Year is one of the most well-rounded players in the 2005 birth year, combining speed, hands, and scoring ability into a lethal trifecta. Townsend has a high motor, is adept at handling the puck at top speed, and led the Eden Prairie Bantam AA team to the state tournament consolation championship in 2020-2021 with 54 goals and 107 points. 

William Whitelaw
Hometown: Rosemount
2020-2021 Team: Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep  

The third player on this list that earned a spot in the NTDP’s evaluation camp but curiously not the final roster, Whitelaw played significant minutes for the Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep team as a double-underage skater, totaling 14 goals and 31 points. Consistently an intelligent player, Whitelaw has incrementally added new weapons to his arsenal, showing an improved shot and skating burst in his time with the Sabres.