The Youngstown Phantoms added 35 new names to their prospect pool earlier this week across both phases of the USHL draft.

Highlighted by forward tender Logan Anderson, who counts as the team’s first-round selection of the Phase I Draft, the Phantoms got multiple players who could contribute to the roster as soon as next year.

“We’re very excited,” Phantoms co-GM Jason Deskins said. “I think for us, Phase I went about as well as planned. I don’t know if we really could have asked for a whole lot more in terms of the players that we got in the Phase I draft. I think we had a great balance of forwards and defensemen, goaltenders, right shot, left shot, size, skating, intelligence, compete level, stick skill. I think we really got everything we needed in Phase I. Phase II was more of a niche draft, like trying to fill holes for our immediate future. … I think overall it was a really, really good draft for us.”

The Phantoms heavily drafted out of Czechia this season, selecting eight players across both phases. Out of the entire USHL draft, 20 Czech players in total were selected.

After the success of players like Adam Benak, Jakub Hes, and Tomas Machu, Youngstown is becoming a destination for Czech players looking to play junior hockey in America.

“We knew that we wanted to go after some particular kids, and then working with some different agents that we have relationships with, we felt very confident in the type of play we were gonna get,” Deskins said. “I think we’ve had a lot of success with Czech kids. They’re just built like Phantoms, to be honest. They’re all extremely hard workers and very humble kids that are great teammates, so we’ve had a lot of success with those types of kids in the past, and we just felt very comfortable going down that road here for the future.”

PHASE I

Phase I, also referred to as the “Futures Draft,” is exclusively for 16-year-old prospects. Past Phantom selections in Phase I include Evan Jardine (Round 5, 2023), Tory Pitner (Round 1, 2022), and William Whitelaw (Round 1, 2021).

The Phantoms kicked off their selections with second-round selection Brody Berard, a right-shot defenseman from Mount St. Charles Academy. Berard racked up 38 points (9 goals, 29 assists) in 58 games this season. Sitting at 6-foot, 181 pounds, and turning 16 in September, expect Berard to be a defensive force and draw comparisons to Phantom fan-favorite Chase Pietila.

“I’m absolutely stoked about Brody Berard. That kid is – he’s meant to be a Phantom and he was ecstatic about being a Phantom,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “We’re ecstatic about Brody. He’s enthusiastic, he has so much juice, he’s mean, he’s tough, he plays a two-way game. Just jacked about Brody.”

In Round 3, the Phantoms added forward Spencer Anderson. Anderson is cousins with first-round tender Logan Anderson, potentially adding a fun dynamic to the locker room.

“Having the Anderson cousins terrorizing people for the next few years is going to be pretty, pretty fun,” Ward said. “Those guys love to be physical. They’re they’re full of passion. They’re really, really good players.”

Jumping ahead to the fifth round, the Phantoms added Czech defenseman Lukas Kachlir, a 5-foot-7 right-shot blueliner with plenty of skill. Kachlir scored 38 points (11 goals, 27 assists) in 24 games this past season in the Czech U17 league as a 15-year-old and averaged half a point per game during a brief stint in the U20 league.

Kachlir also played on the Czech U18 World Junior team, something only four other players have done at the age of 15.

“He’s the type of player that I think could immediately come in and make an impact in the USHL,” Deskins said.

Another Phase I name to watch out for is 13th-round selection Thomas Charbonneau out of Shattuck St. Mary’s. The left-shot defenseman tallied 50 points (11 goals, 39 assists) in 61 games with Shattuck this past season and is regarded as one of the top 2009-born defensemen in North America.

The Phantoms also brought on goaltending prospect Cole Brindley. Brindley will be just a stone’s throw away from his brother, Gavin, who is a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect currently on the Cleveland Monsters’ roster.

“He’s a legend of a kid,” Ward said. “He’s a young goalie, so it’ll take him some time. He knows that, but he came and skated with us in Youngstown, and he is as athletic and competitive as they come. He’s got an unbelievable presence in the locker room. He’s playing goalie because of Jacob Fowler. He skates really well. He’s just a puck-stopper, man. He’ll stop a puck with his teeth.”

PHASE II

Phase II encompasses all other junior-age players, ages 17 to 20. Past Phantom selections in Phase II include Charlie Cerrato (Round 1, 2023), Cal Huston (Round 10, 2022), and Stiven Sardaryan (Round 2, 2021).

Just like last season’s first pick Melvin Strahl, the Phantoms opened up the Phase II Draft with a Swede, selecting Melker Morin with their top selection in the fourth round.

“(Morin is) this big, heavy, experienced defender that skates really, really well and plays a hard-nosed game,” Deskins said. “He’s someone that would fit in extremely well here in Youngstown.”

Youngstown added three goaltenders in the second phase, and the first of those came off the board in the fifth round, with the selection of Czech netminder Tobias Trejbal. Boasting a .930 save percentage in the Czech U20 league, Trejbal could be ready to make an instant impact.

Another player who could be an immediate factor for the Phantoms is defenseman Jakub Vanacek. A 17-year-old also from Czechia, Vanacek is someone the Phantoms are incredibly high on and likened him to Luke Osburn.

“In my mind, I think he could walk into this league and be an instant impact player, and one of the best defensemen in the USHL next year during his (NHL) draft year,” Deskins said. “I think there’s a lot of similarities to Luke Osburn and how he plays. I do think at the same age, he’s probably a little physically more mature than Luke was, just from a biological standpoint, but I think he can step right in the league and be a big-time defenseman in the USHL next season.”

The Czech parade didn’t stop there, with the Phantoms taking Adam Zidlicky with their next pick. Zidlicky spent last season in the OHL scoring 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 53 games. Zidlicky also comes from a hockey family; he is the son of former NHL defenseman Marek Zidlicky.

Also like last season’s Phase II Draft, the Phantoms selected a goalie prospect already drafted by an NHL team. This year, it’s Kirill Zarubin, a 2024 third-round pick by Calgary. Zarubin boasted a .935 save percentage last season with AKM Tula of the Russian junior league.

“He’s as close to being NHL-ready as they come for our league,” Ward said.

Phantom fans can catch a glimpse at these new players and returning favorites at the team’s main camp, which is scheduled for June 18 to 22 at Printscape Arena in Canonsburg, Pa.

“We’re excited about camp, excited to get guys here,” Ward said. “We feel real confident that, as a group, we got the right guys. We didn’t need much upfront. I felt like we got what we needed upfront and on the back end, we have five guys leaving, and that’s going to be a little bit of a puzzle, but certainly, we have the pieces. We just gotta put it together.”

FULL DRAFT RESULTS

PHASE I

Round 2, Pick 29 Brody Berard (D)

R3, P37 Spencer Anderson (F)

R4, P59 Evan Wanner (F)

R5, P61 Lukas Kachlir (D)

R5, 74 Mitchell Mars (F)

R6, P82 Dylan Sampair (F)

R6, P89 Wyatt Finkenkeller (F)

R8, P119 Kurt Beck (D)

R10, P149 Cole Brindley (G)

R11, P164 Owen Koller (D)

R12, P179 Dário Blengino (F)

R13, P194 Thomas Charbonneau (D)

R14, P208 Henri Giroux (D)

R15, P219 Rhett Owen (F)

R15, P229 Brogan Chinlund (F)

PHASE II

R4, P50 Melker Morin (D)

R5, P72 Tobias Trejbal (G)

R6, P101 Jakub Vanecek (D)

R7, P126 Adam Zidlicky (F)

R8, P141 Kirill Zarubin (G)

R9, P156 Nic Whitehead (F)

R10, P171 Filip Vavro (G)

R11, P186 Vladimír Dravecký (D)

R12, P188 Kyle O’Leary (F)

R12, P201 Jackson Adams (D)

R13, P216 Braden Guolla (F)

R14, P231 Sebastian Dell’Elce (D)

R15, P246 Harrison Smith (F)

R16, P261 Filip Matejka (F)

R17, P276 Filip Kacmarsky (F)

R18, P291 Blake Cash (F)

R19, P306 Ben Rakowski (F)

R20, P321 Ryan Franks (F)

R21, P336 Vojtech Svancar (F)