In 2023 USHL Draft, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders go to Canada ... a lot

CEDAR RAPIDS — You look for patterns when it comes to how teams handle the United States Hockey League Draft.

Do they take a lot of “older” guys? Do they load up on size?

Is there one particular position they hit heavily upon? Are there areas of the country or world from where they draft a lot of kids.

Coach/General Manager/President Mark Carlson said his Cedar Rapids RoughRiders drafted this year no differently than usual. They simply wanted players who fit the club’s identity.

“Be hard to play against,” Carlson said. “Be able to get on top of people with our speed. Same plan, as far as our identity, for sure.”

The RoughRiders drafted 31 players Tuesday and Wednesday: 12 during Tuesday’s Phase I of kids with 2007 birthdates and another 19 in Wednesday’s Phase II. With potential returning players and guys on the affiliate list, Cedar Rapids (and everyone else in the league) has a base of 45 players to work with in the offseason, as they all get ready for the 2023-24 season.

That’s even though the 2022-23 season is still going for four teams in the playoffs: Chicago, Youngstown, Fargo and Lincoln. Carlson said that returning-guys thing is fluid right now, mentioning his club could have as many as 10 returnees, though he preferred not to be specific.

He did say he expected forward Cade Littler to be part of the 2023-24 Riders. The Minnesota State commit was taken by the Calgary Flames in the seventh round of last year’s NHL Draft and joined the RoughRiders recently for the playoffs, after his team’s season concluded in the junior British Columbia Hockey League.

Speaking of Canada, the Riders selected nine players from that country Wednesday, including the top two picks: first-round forward Lucas Brennan and third-round forward Ty Paisley. Both are from Manitoba: Brennan from Winnipeg and Paisley from Steinbach, with Brennan a Bemidji State commit and Paisley a St. Thomas (Minn.) commit.

“Tenacious player, skilled. Great personality. Really works,” Carlson said of Brennan. “He can score, he can make plays. We think he’s going to be one heck of a RoughRider.”

On Paisley ...

“Similar attributes (to Brennan), as far as vision, deception, patience with the puck, poise,” Carlson said. “He really, really sees the ice and can make plays. He’s going to continue to build into his frame. He’s going to be a real exciting player.”

Carlson said drafting so many Canadian kids was happenstance. USHL teams can only have so many non-U.S. players on their active roster.

“You can kind of plan for the future a little bit, too, so we picked some guys, obviously, for this year coming up that we think will really impact our team,” he said. “Certainly Brennan and Ty Paisley, for sure. We think they will be very impactful players for us. Later on, we took some guys that we thought could compete for us this year but also maybe be part of the future, too.”

The RoughRiders drafted defenseman Ryan Philbrick for the second year in a row, this time in the seventh round. The Cushing Academy product was a 12th-rounder last year who did not make the team or stay on the club’s affiliate roster.

“We’ve always liked Ryan,” Carlson said. “We expect him to be a big part of our team. As you know, we can only protect so many guys. This isn’t the first time that has happened, where a team drafts a guy back to back. He’s a good character guy, a good player who is going to fit in with us.”

C.R.’s first-round selection in Phase I was forward Haeden Ellis, whose father, Matt, played 356 games in the NHL with Detroit, Los Angeles and Buffalo. Other notable picks included goaltenders Rudy Guimond (fifth round) and Vladimir Nikitin (11th round), the former from Quebec and the latter from Kazakhstan.

They will compete with expected returnee Sam Scopa and others for time in the crease this upcoming season. Number one goalie Bruno Bruveris is on to Miami of Ohio.

“We feel great (about the position),” Carlson said. “We feel good about Scopes coming back and with Rudy Guimond. He was the top goalie on our chart, and we feel really, really fortunate to get him. He’s another character guy from a great family that we think is going to be one heck of a goalie for us.”

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL Draft Phase II Picks

(Round, Name, Position, Age, Hometown/Previous Team, College Commit)

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL Draft Phase I Picks

(All 2007 birthdates)

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