The USHL’s Phase I Draft will be held on May 5, and over the course of a few hours the next crop of talent will be added to USHL rosters, rights-lists, and tender agreements. This year, it’s the 2009 birth year’s turn to take the offseason’s center stage of the United States’ top junior hockey league. 

The Phase II Draft will commence on May 6th, allowing USHL teams to select any player old enough to play junior hockey and not protected by another USHL club.

Last year, 29 Minnesotans were selected in the Phase I Draft, headlined by Shakopee’s Nate Pederson, who was taken 12th overall by the Lincoln Stars. A complete list of first-round Minnesotans picked in 2024 can be found below. 

Some of the selections this weekend will be affected by consensus top players who have already signed on to skate for the National Team Development Program’s Under-17 team for the 2025-2026 season or have signed a tender with a USHL team ahead of the draft. For example, Lakeville North standout Gunnar Conboy has tendered with Green Bay. In exchange for the tender, Green Bay will not pick in the first round of the Phase I Draft. Former Gentry Academy forward Ryland Rooney has also tendered, signing an agreement with Des Moines. 

Finn Spehar and Luke Christopherson are also not likely high picks because they have signed with the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks.

Holton Davison
Wayzata 

Davison's stats won't jump off the screen, but he is a responsible defender who skates well and wields good size at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. Even with the rise of puck-rushing, deking and dazzling defensemen, junior teams love big bodies that can eat pucks and minutes without being a liability. It also doesn't hurt that Davison has come through the Wayzata program, which has traditionally done an impressive job developing backend skaters.  

Brooks Demars
Long Island Gulls 15-Only 

The Mahtomedi product who's more commonly known as "Boomer," offers USHL teams a tantalizing mix of size and skill, listed by Elite Prospects as 6-foot-1 and 174 pounds and totaling 32 goals and 69 points in 50 games for Long Island's 15-Only team. In addition to captaining the 15-Only team, Demars averaged a point per game in a stint with the program's 16U squad, scoring five times and adding 10 assists in 15 games. 

During the Gulls' run in this year's USA Hockey 15-Only Nationals, Demars finished third overall in scoring with six goals and 13 points. 

Bo Schmidt
St. Cloud Cathedral 

Schmidt introduced himself to the wider hockey world with a superb performance during the Class A State Tournament, helping the Crusaders to a runner-up finish with a goal in each game. Schmidt finished his debut varsity season with 18 goals and 36 points. The freshman has a rocket of a shot and a nice aggressive streak, which he deploys in all three zones. 

Cole Swanson
Hibbing/Chisholm 

Perhaps the darling-est darling on the team that became the state's favorite story as the year progressed, Swanson is ridiculously skilled with the puck. In his first season of high school hockey, Swanson racked up 20 goals and 54 points, and showed a penchant for big moments. It was his assist that found Whit Rewertz for the game-winning goal against Cloquet-Esko-Carlton in the Section 7A championship. He finished the postseason with seven goals and 16 points, including six points during the Class A State Tournament. 

Evan Wanner
Moorhead 

Among Moorhead's embarrassment of riches, it could be forgiven if some of the more casual hockey fans in the state aren't familiar with Wanner. In his second season of Bantams, Wanner amassed a staggering 72 goals and 128 points in 60 games for the Spuds. Lower on the depth chart with the move to high school, Wanner still impressed, registering 10 goals and 22 points during the Spuds' run to the program's first Class AA state championship. 

Jack Rykkeli
Andover 

A big winger listed at 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds, Rykkeli jumped to the high school ranks as a freshman, and totaled four goals and 11 points for the Section 7AA champion Huskies. Rykkeli has a knack for scoring goals, netting 32 in 50 games during the 2023-2024 season for Andover's Bantam AA squad. 

Tate Batchelor
Stillwater 

Will Batchelor wow you with size? No. But he will make smart plays, distribute the puck, and play disciplined games in every phase and facet of the game. In his first high school hockey season, Batchelor played a top-four role for the Class AA State Tournament runner-up Ponies, concluding the year with 20 assists and 22 points. He's a quality skater, and can be just as impactful on the penalty kill as he is on the power play and even strength. 

Gavin Sattler
Providence Academy 

An Eden Prairie native who played with the Minnesota Machine AAA program during the offseason, Sattler took the ice for Providence Academy as an eighth-grader and became an immediate contributor, totaling eight goals and 13 points. His totals jumped to 16 goals and 31 points last season, and he is regarded as a good puck-handler.

His musical abilities may help his stickhandling - he is an All-State percussionist, and has trained for several years with renowned percussionist Derrick Raiter. 

Griffin Storey
Waseca 

Storey may be the most statistically productive player among the Minnesotans who could be selected in the Phase I Draft on Monday. Through two seasons with the Waseca varsity, Storey has totaled 37 goals and 122 points, averaging 2.3 points per game as a result.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and over 180 pounds, Storey fits the USHL mold of a bigger forward with scoring ability. Storey also scored five goals and added four assists with Team Spade in last fall's Upper Midwest High School Elite League. 

Jack Lonke
Rosemount 

A versatile defender with offensive and defensive ability, Lonke played a critical role in the Rosemount Bantam AA team's highly successful season, culminating in an appearance in the Bantam AA state championship game. He has room to grow in every aspect of his game, but it's not far-fetched to believe a USHL club would love to get their hands on his upside.