RoughRiders take 6 in 1st phase of USHL draft

CEDAR RAPIDS – The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders selected six players Monday in the first phase of the 2014 United States Hockey League draft.

Defenseman Alec Semandel was the club's first pick, that coming with the 12th selection of the second round (24th overall). He is a left shot from suburban Madison, Wis., and played this past season for the Chicago Mission junior program.

Semandel was taken last month by the Plymouth Whalers in the eighth round of the Major Junior Ontario Hockey League Priority Draft.

'We are Tthrilled to draft Alec,” said RoughRiders Coach/General Manager Mark Carlson. 'He is a versatile defenseman that is strong in all facets of the game.”

Other RoughRiders draft picks Monday were forward John Deroche (fourth round/Boston Jr. Bruins), center Shaun Bily (fifth round/New Jersey Colonials U16), defenseman Mike Young (sixth round/The Rivers Prep School in Massachusetts),right wing Nicholas Prestia (seventh round/Southern Tier Admirals in Canada) and Cody Christofferson (eighth round/Rocky Mountain RoughRiders).

Deroche has committed to Quinnipiac University and Bily to Northeastern. All players taken Monday have 1998 birthdates.

The second phase of the USHL Draft begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

In other news, assistant coach Phil Osaer has left the organizations, Carlson said. The 2013-14 season was the first for Osaer, a former longtime professional goaltender in the United States and Europe.

The 34-year-old Michigan native played in the United States Hockey League for Waterloo and then collegiately at Ferris State.

'We enjoyed Phil being with us,” Carlson said. 'He is looking at other opportunities. We wish him all the best.”